Summary: Monica buys the wedding dress she wants but is forced to choose between her dress and the band Chandler wants to play at the wedding when she is blackmailed by somebody who wants her dress. Ross and Joey end up dating the same girl and try to decide who will continue to date her.
The Good: Monica's story is pretty good. By the end of the episode she makes a selfless decision to preserve what Chandler wants at the expense of her wedding dress. The show has developed a nasty habit of making Chandler and Monica argue far too much so it's always nice when we are reminded of how much they actually care for each other in stories like this one. Rachel and Phoebe's involvement in the story is pretty fun, particularly as they shop for the wedding dresses. Meanwhile, Joey and Ross find themselves in a hilarious predicament that's equally fun to watch being set up as it is to see the pay-off. The most consistent laughs of the episode came here with several excellent comedic moments. The Bad: But some aspects of this episode were disappointing. Rachel and Phoebe trying their hardest to get Chandler away from the band he wants was extremely selfish, and also unsubtle which took away from any humour that could have been present during those scenes. Chandler wasn't characterized very well either as he inexplicably became a nervous wreck around Kristen, which isn't consistent with what we know about the character. Ross and Joey had a really fun dinner set-up but it was ruined when the writers decided to have them immediately give away that they knew each other in a generic shouting fest instead of playing a funnier, more subtle scene. In these past few seasons the show is still good at getting easy laughs, but the subtlety has been really lacking. Best Moment: Chandler realizing that Joey and Ross were dating the same women, and the joy he took in slowly revealing it was very funny. A rare case of a fantastic, patient joke that was well written in an episode that was in-your-face a little too much. Character of the Episode: Ross. Conclusion: This was a decent episode. The 2 stories were fun to watch and there were several great jokes. But a lack of subtlety hurt what should have been one of the season's best episodes. Score: 65
0 Comments
Summary: In flashforwards, Kate is on trial for her crimes and things aren't going in her favour. In a desperate attempt to help her, Kate's lawyer brings Jack to the witness stand where he attests for Kate's character to make her appear more likeable. Kate speaks with her mom, the main witness and gets her to decide not to testify. Kate is given a deal, 10 years probation and no leaving the state which she takes. Jack and Kate meet outside and discuss their future. It's revealed that Kate has a child, and it's Aaron. On the island, Kate sneakily talks to Miles when Locke doesn't let her see him. Kate wants to know if they know who she is. Miles agrees to tell her if Kate can get him with Ben for 1 minute. With Sawyer's help, Kate sneaks Miles into Locke's house where Ben is. Miles offers to tell the freighter that Ben is dead for 3.2 million dollars. Locke realizes what Kate has done and sends her home. He learns what Miles said to Ben and then banishes Kate from the barracks. Sawyer tries to get Kate to stay but when it's clear that Kate is planning to leave anyways, a resigned and annoyed Sawyer lets her go back to Jack's camp. Meanwhile, Jack gets upset when Desmond and Sayid haven't called in from the freighter and that nobody knows where they have gone.
The Good: Once more, this episode was really compact and had a great pace to it. The drama on the island was really engaging and there was a sense of importance in the main plot. Kate's goal to get Miles to speak with Ben was an engaging story, and it set up some fun setpieces as Kate and Sawyer schemed their way past Locke to make this meet-up happen. It's enjoyable television that leads to a tense climax as Miles gives Ben a very intriguing offer that continues to amp up the mystery surrounding the freighter (see: The Unknown). Outside of the plot, this episode spends a lot of time teasing the idea of Kate as a mother. It's mentioned frequently on the island and it's contrasted by the reveal of Kate having a son in the flashforwards. The episode heavily teases that the baby is Sawyer's, and there's a lot of time spent setting this up as a possibility. It seemed so heavy-handed to me and initially I wasn't a fan of how the show was so heavily building to this obvious reveal. But of course no show can surprise like "Lost" can, and we get the surprise ending reveal that Kate's "son" is actually Aaron. It's an excellent twist that's not only really surprising, but is also quite ominous when you remember Claire's flashbacks with Richard Malkin and how Claire is supposed to raise Aaron. This extra information turns a pleasant surprise into something that could be a major twist that completely changes the show. I'm very excited to see what comes next. I thought that this episode did a superb job depicting the characters. Kate is of course as selfish as ever as she refuses to settle in with Sawyer on the island, and outright rejects her mother in the flashforwards. Ben is fittingly quite manipulative as he preys on Locke's insecurity as effectively as ever. Locke on the other hand is completely lost despite having his faith renewed and is totally unsure of what to do. Terry O'Quinn is excellent as always and it's great to see Locke's frustrations coming out again. Sawyer comes off superbly well. He genuinely looks to be in love with Kate and wants nothing more than to spend more time with her. However, he isn't a fool and we get to see him very openly chastise Kate over her poor treatment of him. It's a lovely bit of character growth as Sawyer adjusts to the flaws in the woman he loves. Hurley is as loveable as ever in the episode as he cluelessly falls for Kate's trap. Finally there's Jack who is suitably angry about the lack of news from the freighter and quickly turns on Charlotte and Daniel to get what he needs for his people. As a final point, I thought that the flashforwards had some really strong scenes. Jack on the witness stand (see: Best Moment), Kate reuniting with her mother, Kate and Jack's conversation near the end of the episode, and of course the Aaron reveal were all very good scenes. The Bad: Some of the writing here was extremely sloppy and it prevents this episode from scoring higher. What particularly irked me was the lack of attention to detail during the trial scenes. The trial itself is practically nonsensical and all logic was thrown out the window for the sake of drama. It was clear that the show did not care at all about authenticity when setting up these courtroom scenes. Hell, the courtroom didn't even look like a courtroom! It's very easy to poke holes in the drama we are presented. The witnesses are called up in the incorrect order. Furthermore, it's amazing how there was only one witness against Kate (her mother). Were there really not any other people who would attest to what she has done. How able the guy from the bank in "Whatever the Case May Be" or the thugs that Kate worked with? How about her ex-husband? Any other strangers who witnessed any of the multiple crimes she committed? It's absurd that Diane was the only witness to build the case upon. I'm sure if you have a greater knowledge of legal proceedings than I do, there are even more holes that can be poked into this story. Kate's arc on the island is pretty difficult to buy into. Is she really willing to go to such an extreme only to figure out if the freighter people know who she is? Of course they know who she is! She was preparing for this exact situation back in "Born to Run" in season 1! Did Kate expect people to just forget about her? It's ridiculous. Furthermore, why does she have to ask Miles, who seems like the least likely person to answer her question. All she has to do is go back to Jack's camp and ask Daniel or Charlotte instead, which is much less risky. I get that the writers wanted Locke to do somethign dramatic in response to Miles orchestrating something behind his back. But sticking a grenade in his mouth and pulling out the pin is the height of stupidity. It takes one tiny mistake from Miles and he's blowing up. One jaw cramp, or one sneeze will kill Miles. What use is it to keep a hostage like that if you're going to take such a huge risk with his life? The Unknown: What is the exact story that the Oceanic Six told the press? Why did they lie about what happened? Is somebody forcing them to stay quiet? Why does Miles want 3.2 million dollars specifically? It's a very odd number. Is this the whole reason he signed up for this mission? To make more money from Ben? There's still a lot to be uncovered about his motives. Why has it taken so long for Desmond, Sayid and Frank to arrive at the freighter? Did something happen to the helicopter? Does this have something to do with Daniel's experiment from the previous episode with the time discrepancy? What was with Daniel's memory test? Has he been having memory problems? How did that happen? He seems to be quite bright. What went wrong with Jack and Kate? They were on much better terms here than in "Through the Looking Glass". Is Sawyer not one of the Oceanic Six? It seems odd to have a Kate-centric episode and not have him appear if he is actually off the island. Why is Kate the one raising Aaron? What happened to Claire? Did she die? How did Kate end up with Aaron in this situation? What are the consequences of Aaron not being raised by Claire? How is this going to effect the future of the show? Best Moment: The most powerful moment to me was Jack effortlessly throwing out lies on the stand as he sticks to the false story that the Oceanic Six have apparently been telling everyone. Kate's evident discomfort as Jack says things about her that are inherently false is terrific and it was the part of the episode that hooked me the most. Character of the Episode: Kate. Conclusion: Kate episodes have always been a weakness of "Lost" and that remains true here. However, a strong plot twist, engaging drama and some really good scenes ensured that this wasn't a bad episode and was actually quite fun in spite of some writing issues. Season 4 is running at a much better pace than the first 3 seasons and I'm intrigued to see if this pacing can be maintained throughout the season. Score: 65 Summary: Monica and Chandler search for somebody to marry them and Joey offers himself up as a candidate. Ross leaves Rachel to take care of Ben and she starts teaching him practical jokes.
The Good: This is fine stuff with mostly sound storytelling. Rachel's character is handled perfectly with her awkwardness around Ben as well as her affinity towards practical jokes, which upsets Ross. A lot of Ben's jokes are ultimately pretty funny and it's a lovely moment to see Ross come around and play a prank on Rachel at the end of the episode. Monica and Chandler's story is mostly quite good. There is some solid drama with the truth about London coming out, and it never feels too melodramatic or cheesy. The hunt for a good rabbi is also pretty funny at times, and I enjoyed Joey's absurdly ridiculous speech. The Bad: There aren't any particularly good jokes here and the episode feels rather ordinary as a result. Phoebe is practically meaningless in this episode as she contributes nothing whatsoever and still manages to come off an unlikeable and annoying. The flashback to London did have poor moments as Monica and Chandler behaved a little too childishly at times. Best Moment: Joey walking in on Chandler in London was funny and the writers got some pretty good jokes out of it. Character of the Episode: Joey. Conclusion: This episode had 2 solid stories with some pretty funny moments. Nothing that special happened, but it was a solid episode of comedy. Score: 67 Summary: Caleb restores Dolores to a new body. Caleb takes the drive and goes to Incite to destroy Rehoboam. Dolores is separated from him by Charlotte and Maeve and she is defeated and taken back to Serac. Caleb gets to Rehoboam but Maeve stops him from inserting the drive. Maeve discovers that Serac is only a puppet and is operating purely under Rehoboam's control. Serac destroys the drive and deletes Dolores' memories, but this causes Maeve to enter a world with just her and Dolores and they finally come to terms with each other. It's revealed that Dolores' memories being injected into Rehoboam gave Caleb control over it. Caleb orders it to delete itself and Serac is horrified. Meanwhile, Bernard and Stubbs escape from William. Stubbs is injured so Bernard tries to help him. He discovers that the key to the host's world is in his head. Bernard enters the world to learn how to save humanity. Meanwhile William tries to hunt down the hosts and finds Charlotte in a facility. Charlotte reveals a host version of William who then kills the real William.
The Good: My praise remains the same as it has been all season. The show is pretty. It's well acted. On paper, there are some good scenes and some fun action sequences. I did enjoy the scenes with Dolores and Maeve speaking about their views and finally understanding each other, as well as Serac panicking once he realizes that he lost. The Bad: But what has this show become? This once fascinating show is now just your everyday dumb sci fi drama with mindless action, boring characters, a lack of any clear storytelling and a plot that is so needlessly convoluted that I can't even say that I ever fully understood what was going on, and I certainly did not care enough to try to figure it out. This season was executed horrifically bad, and now that I know what the overall story arc was, it's completely clear to me how badly this show dropped the ball on what should have been a pretty easy story to convey. Instead, everything was made needlessly complex and confusing. The exposition in this show is terrible. None of these plots are ever convincingly explained, and so I'm always left confused as to what a lot of the characters are doing and what the point is. Looking back on the season, I now realize that so many plot threads were completely meaningless and unnecessary. I can't tell you how many unnecessary subplots there were of characters trying to find some meaningless and uninteresting piece of information from a powerful company. It's impossible for the viewers to care about any of these plots, and it's made even worse by the fact that we don't even know why the characters should care about these pieces of information either. This leads me to my next point. The character motivations were horrendous in this episode. I was never entirely sure what any character wanted or what they were doing to further their own interests. The show had 7 whole episodes to make me understand these characters, and instead all of that time was wasted on dumb action, and I was left completely disconnected from everyone. This episode was the big climax where (almost) every character arc came together for one big confrontation. But it all meant nothing because I knew so little about all of these characters. No moments had any actual meaning. The show is also having something of an identity crisis and it's impossible to take it seriously anymore. This episode tried so hard to be profound with its themes and characters and it fell flat on its face. I can't care about the themes because the characters are so badly written. Furthermore, none of the themes of free will or technology were even explained in any meaningful way. In the end, this season offers such a black-and-white perspective on its themes and nothing is explored well at all. An additional problem is that I can't even take the show seriously when it's trying to do this. One second we get these attempted emotional scenes, and I'm left feeling confused because these emotional scenes are packed between countless sequences of dumb, poorly choreographed action that contains no tension. It feels like two completely different shows, and none of them are executed well. Now that I've expressed in general terms what I hated about this episode, and this season by extension, it's time for me to start getting into the details. However, I don't think I will go very in depth here. I'm sure there are other people out there that are more willing to pick apart the inconsistencies in the writing than I am. Besides, I'm nowhere near invested enough to pay complete attention to every little detail in this show and criticize it. It has been this same way throughout the season, and by this point I just don't want to waste any more of my time on this show. So many moments in this episode fell completely flat because they were either awkward or gave me absolutely no reason to care about what was happening. These moments include William choosing to save the world, Bernard meeting with Arnold's widow (why, I have no idea), Caleb and Maeve joining forces after succeeding, and Ash and Giggles returning to help Caleb get to Incite. None of these moments got any sort of emotional reaction from me. I was just sitting there bored. This episode made the massive action sequence from the last episode completely meaningless. The fight between Dolroes and Maeve had zero consequences. Both of them are fine, and I'm not even sure how they were able to come back so easily. Dolores was given a strange body that contradicts everything we knew about hosts beforehand while Maeve just regenerated offscreen apparently. Furthermore, Caleb's characetr journey in the last episode was made completely pointless. I thought it was leading to him taking independence and becoming the central focus of this finale. Instead, he never gets his chance to shine and never makes any meaningful decision at all. The focus is still squarely on Dolores and Maeve and Caleb feels like a spectator to everything, the same way he has been in every episode before this. At least before I thought he was being built up for something. But now it's painfully clear that the writers had no plans for him. He's not important at all and I feel like the time spent with him was a complete waste since there was no pay off in the end. Charlotte's story didn't deliver either. She is so difficult to care about because she is just another Dolores. I know I can't expect any good character development for her because of that (Dolores and Maeve have become so, so bland) and so I'm not at all invested in her getting revenge for her family. Moreso, we aren't even given any compelling reasons for Charlotte to want to go after Dolores so definitively. After all, didn't Serac kill her family anyways? We aren't given any insight into her motivation and her decision-making. She just makes a choice offscreen and we're forced to go along with it. Very poor writing. Then there are Bernard and Stubbs who were completely useless the whole season. In the end they did nothing. Literally. I can't name one single scene where they were important in the season. Both characters are 2-dimensional and boring and they ended up aimlessly wandering around the entire season which doesn't make for good television at all. The reveal that Bernard had the key all along is meaningless and it does nothing to interest me. The post-credits scene is also pretty dull and it didn't get me excited for season 4 at all. Serac's character was completely decimated this episode. I've tried to ignore it but this show seems to really love to paint male characters as weak, pathetic and corrupt, only ever giving "positive" qualities to the females. Serac was the one exception to this trend and because of that, he seemed like an interesting villain. All of that was thrown away these past few episodes with some horrendous writing. Serac became more and more incompetent as the season went on and he fell for every single generic villain cliché you can think of. It was so disappointing to see. And what's the big pay-off for him? It turns out that he was weak, pathetic and corrupt as well, just a puppet for Rehoboam. And just like that, a compelling villain was completely destroyed and lost all credibility. Now he's just another weak and pathetic male character to get put in his place by the strong women of the show. It's a worrying trend and one that is so frustrating to watch because the writers seem to care much more about having strong women put weak men in their place than telling an actual story. I'm extremely disappointed that Serac's credibility as a character was sacrificed for this stupid reveal. He was the one thing that I was still invested in, and it led to absolutely no pay off whatsoever. Lastly, we get to William who ended up being completely pointless this season. His character arc? Meaningless. It all went nowhere. I thought we were going to sit through a redemption arc of sorts that led to William returning to the evil, villainous man that we saw back in season 1. I was expecting the big pay off to come in this season finale. Instead William just dies and is replaced by a host. What? That's such a poor pay off for the character work we sat through in this season, and it makes every scene spent with the character feel like a total waste of time. What's worse is that this all happens in a post-credits scene! Was William really not worth giving an actual storyline to this season? This character was once one of the show's best, and now he has been delegated to being a waste of time that has no impact on the story at all. The handling of this character was awful and it's exemplary of how poor everything has been handled this season. The Unknown: I have a few questions, but I really don't care to learn any of these answers. Is Dolores actually dead? How about Rehoboam? What's next for Maeve, Caleb and Serac? What has Bernard learned from his time with the hosts? Will he actually do something next season? What is Charlotte's plan? What will she do with William? Best Moment: Probably Serac begging for Rehoboam to respond after Caleb deleted it. It's the only moment in the whole episode that stood out to me. Character of the Episode: Dolores. Conclusion: This was a bad finale to a bad season. Usually by the end of the season, the story becomes stronger because then everything comes together and we can realize what all the storylines had been building towards. This finale did the opposite. It made me realize just how horrible and wasteful the earlier episodes of this season were. This episode didn't give me anything worthwhile and it makes me feel like I wasted my time watching this season. It should go without saying that I hated this season. Looking back on the previous episodes, I honestly believe that my scores are too inflated now that I know that there was no pay off down the line. The season was a mess and it failed miserably at establishing any kind of character arcs or exploring any meaningful themes. Add on a needlessly convoluted plot and countless dumb action scenes and it's the recipe for a horrible season of television. This show doesn't even feel like itself anymore. It's just a pale imitation of every dumb sci fi TV show out there. To think, that this show used to be about robots in a western-styled theme park. What happened to this TV show that showed such promise back in 2016? In conclusion, this season was bad and I'm unhappy that I had to sit through it. I am 100% done with this show now, and I will not be watching or reviewing season 4. Score: 40 Summary: Flashforwards show that Sayid has become a hired assassin. He meets a woman named Elsa, who he uses to get to her boss, an economist who is Sayid's next target. However, he grows to care for Elsa and gives her a chance to leave. Elsa shoots him, she is aware of who Sayid is and has been ordered to kill him. Sayid manages to get away and kills Elsa. He returns to his boss: Ben. On the island, Sayid decides to go bring Charlotte back from Locke's camp in exchange for Frank taking him to the freighter on the chopper. Sayid, Kate and Miles head towards the barracks but they find it deserted. Hurley has been tied up and left behind by Locke. However, it's a trap and Locke's group make themselves known and capture Sayid, Kate and Miles. Kate decides to stay after hearing how Sawyer doesn't care to leave the island. Sayid makes a deal with Locke to take Charlotte back in exchange for Miles. Sayid returns with Miles and Frank takes him back on the helicopter. Desmond and Juliet also return, and Desmond joins Sayid on the chopper.
The Good: The flashforward storyline is terrific entertainment. It's a perfect blend, of mystery, drama and character and it's a joy to figure out what exactly we are watching. Sayid is really engaging as a hired assassin and it's enjoyable to see him at work. The opening scene at the golf course was very well done, and a welcome surprise. The Elsa story is also really well done. We get to see a combination of the ruthless Sayid and the romantic Sayid which makes for a very interesting dynamic. The story remains interesting all the way through due to the fact that we never fully understand what Sayid is doing and why. By the end of the episode we still don't entirely have our answers (see: The Unknown), but we do get an outstanding twist that raises the stakes of Sayid's story immensely (see: Best Moment). On the island, I thought the drama was just as compelling. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Sayid's logical approach to solving problems is tremendously fun, especially in a show where characters have become increasingly questionable with their decision-making and secrets. Sayid is a breath of fresh air as he simply does his best to solve the problem that's in front of him, and works hard to get everyone off the island. The island drama here is established wonderfully as Sayid pressures Frank to take him off the island, and immediately goes to work to bring Charlotte back in a reasonable and bloodless manner. Sayid's plan is very good and it's great to watch him come to a peaceful agreement with Locke, leaving Miles behind as a hostage since he isn't willing to put all of his faith in the freighter people yet. There are some nice moments in this story. I was genuinely surprise by Hurley's betrayal since he's the last person anyone would have expected to lead Sayid, Kate and Miles into a trap. Ben continues to be given a lot of good lines and is tremendous fun to watch in captivity. I thought that the brief Sawyer/Kate story was wonderfully executed. I was incredibly pleased to see the change in Sawyer following his killing of Anthony Cooper. Now that he's taken care of his baggage, he seems more at peace than ever before, and he, like Locke, seems to have accepted his new life on the island as an improvement over what he had before. Sawyer's given a great scene to express this change in his character and I thought that Josh Holloway played the character superbly well, as always. I also really enjoyed Miles, who is still quite funny and manages to be wonderfully sarcastic with everyone he speaks with. I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of dynamic he forms with Locke and everyone else in that camp. Finally, I enjoyed the little bits of mystery developing surrounding the freighter, like with Minkowski's condition and Daniel's strange experiment (see: The Unknown). As a final point, I've been really impressed with the pacing of this season so far. The past 2 seasons were woefully inconsistent, but this season hasn't had very much that I didn't like so far. Furthermore, there haven't been any slow episodes, and every scene feels like it's vital for the story. This change in pacing and structure has been wonderful for the series, and I'll have to wait and see if the show can keep it up. The Bad: Just a few nitpicks. Surely Jack would be much more upset with Kate choosing to stay with Locke, who he views as a lunatic. Surely Sayid and Elsa's gunfight would have been heard by other people. They weren't using silencers and they were inside of what looked like a pretty public hotel. The Unknown: Why isn't Sayid with Nadia off the island? Did something happen to her? Who is the economist? Why does Ben need Sayid to kill all these people? How is Ben off the island anyways? Why is Sayid working for him? Is he one of the others now? What does he have to gain from this work? How did Ben recruit Sayid? Ben vaguely refers to a major event that happened before involving Sayid. What was it? What happened? How did the cabin move? Is Jacob somehow doing this? How can you find the cabin if it moves at will? Why was the payload delayed so much? Does the island exist in some kind of separate dimension? Does time function differently on the island? Or can this time anomaly be explained by some kind of dimensional rift? What's going on with Minkowski? Why was Daniel ordered not to speak with him? Where did he go anyways? Best Moment: The Ben twist at the end of the episode was superb. I didn't predict it, so I was quite shocked to discover that Sayid has become one of his men. This raises a truckload of questions, but also raises the stakes for whatever happens to Sayid before these flashforwards. On the island, Sayid says that the day he trusts Ben is the day he would have sold his soul. This ominously suggests that something bad is coming to Sayid in the near future. The twist is so wonderful not only because of the surprise, but because of the significance that working for Ben has on Sayid's character. Character of the Episode: Sayid. Conclusion: Another superb episode, and one that I think is even better than the last. The drama remains extremely joyful to watch and the character dynamics are as fun as ever. Add on a shocking twist, and we have another great episode. Season 4 is off to an excellent start. Score: 75 Summary: Joey's character comes back and Joey is really excited, but it means the departure of a much-loved actress, Cecilia Monroe, who Joey grows close to. Ross tries to convince Chandler and Monica to let him play bagpipes at their wedding. Rachel and Phoebe argue over who should keep a phone that was left behind by a hot guy.
The Good: Joey's story is really well done and reminded me of the quality one-off stories that the show would produce in season 1. It was a lovely mixture of funny and engaging, and Joey looked better here as a person than he has in a long time. He's childlike in just the right amount without being over the top, and he comes off really well as he tries to respect Cecilia's character and her feelings despite being really excited about being back on the show. The side stories had their moments as well. The Bad: But for the most part, the side stories weaken the episode significantly. Ross looks really bad here as he tries to force bagpipes on Monica and Chandler. There aren't very many good laughs here either so it's a weak story. Phoebe and Rachel do have funny moments, but the resolution of the story feels extremely lazy with Phoebe being super attracted to the old guy. I also don't think that Rachel and Phoebe come off well as they continually bicker and argue over a really dumb conflict. Best Moment: Ross' hate for the brain transplant followed by Joey insulting him for not having sex in 3 months was the best joke of the episode. Character of the Episode: Joey. Conclusion: This episode had one great story but the rest didn't really hold up. What this results in is a solid episode, but one that isn't particularly special. Score: 64 Summary: Flashbacks reveal that Caleb has been reeducated by Serac. It's revealed that Francis was killed after the war by Caleb. Serac had tasked outliers like Caleb with recruiting other outliers for reeducation and eventually gave Caleb and Francis an offer to kill the other for a great sum of money. Caleb ended up killing Francis and was promptly reeducated to fit in better with society. In the present, Dolores and Caleb break into Serac's reeducation facility where Caleb learns what happened to him from an insane AI creation of Serac and Jean's called Solomon. Maeve arrives at the location and Dolores goes out to fight her. Caleb is revealed to be the heart of Dolores' plan, and she tasks him with leading the human revolution before leaving. Caleb accepts the task and is given instructions from Solomon on how to find and kill Serac. Dolores is defeated by Maeve but she activates an EMP, disabling herself, Maeve and Solomon. Meanwhile, Bernard and Stubbs discover that William was one of the outliers. They leave him alive as they may need him and they begin to track Caleb. However, William turns on them with a gun and prepares to kill them.
The Good: It was great to finally see Caleb's past and fully understand who he is. Caleb's story has been intriguing thus far though it never quite got me to feel for the character. Revealing his past here clears up the character's entire arc and makes me appreciate what the season did with him in retrospect. It's pretty strongly written and there are elements of tragedy that are incorporated very well into the story. What really sells it for me is Aaron Paul's acting, as he beautifully portrays Caleb's frustration and sense of betrayal throughout the episode. I think the ending reveal of Caleb being Dolores' master plan all along was very smart and it sets up the season finale in a very creative way. The Bad: Unfortunately most of this episode did not work for me. I'm still not invested in the show and that hurt the quality of this episode. Even though Caleb's story made sense and it was well acted, I still felt too much of a disconnect from the show to enjoy it to the fullest. Had Caleb's storyline been more clear from the start, I may have bothered to emotionally invest in him, but the show never earned that from me. Even though he was the most interesting part of the season, I didn't quite get to the point where I felt like I really understood him and his plight. Even this episode which fully centers around him doesn't quite get his story to resonate emotionally as much as it should. If anything, I found Caleb's reaction to learning about his past to be too subdued. It's well acted sure, but I never felt like his perspective of everything he's been through had been changed in the way that it should have. There should have been more time spent on how Caleb felt about being reeducated instead of just giving us the story about what really happened in Caleb's past. We need to see the characters react to these life-changing moments, just giving us these moments and not exploring them isn't satisfying enough. The Dolores and Maeve fight wasn't good. The action wasn't very well done unfortunately, and that was disappointing. I thought that the choreography was lacking and that the show tried too hard to make it futuristic and "cool" with both Dolores and Maeve having control of their very own drones during their fight. Furthermore, I still felt nothing while they were fighting, even though I really should have felt something. The entire season has been building to this climactic confrontation, and yet I still felt like I didn't fully understand why they were fighting each other and what the stakes were. Their hate for each other wasn't effectively established and that gave the whole fight scene a sense of meaninglessness. Disappointingly, this big climax ended up being rather boring. Bernard and Stubbs still have not done anything worth noting this season. They feel like a complete waste of time at this point as it's still unclear what role they are going to play in the climax of the season. I haven't been particularly engaged by their storyline and that continued here. William was okay here as he develops a new life philosophy post-therapy, but I didn't find anything he did to be particularly compelling. It was just average television at best. If EMPs can deactivate hosts this easily, why the hell weren't they used more often in the series? WHy weren't the Delos guards armed with EMPs? Clearly the guns did nothing, so they should have been using more electronic weapons if they are more effective. The big EMP blast at the end of the episode brings up this glaring plot hole and hurts the immersion of the show. The Unknown: How is William dead already? Was this because he was being reeducated? What is the virus that Charlotte put into him? What is William's overall goal? Is he going to kill Bernard and Stubbs? What's next for Dolores and Maeve now that they have defeated each other? How will Caleb try to kill Serac? Will he be stopped? Best Moment: The real story of Caleb killing Francis was very well done. The scene was engaging, well put together, and provided us with a logical story of how Serac has taken everything from Caleb. Character of the Episode: Caleb. Conclusion: This episode finally explained Caleb's past, and it did so in a pretty good way. But everything else that was going on was dull, sloppy, and unemotional, leaving me feeling indifferent going into the season finale. I'm unsure of who to root for and what to look forward to. The show has failed to get me invested in the story, and it has resulted in a deeply unsatisfying season. I don't know what to expect in the season finale (probably nothing special), but regardless of what happens, I think that it will be the last I watch of "Westworld". Score: 53 |
Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
February 2024
Categories
All
|