Summary: Monica hosts a party the day before Rachel goes to Paris. Rachel says goodbye to everyone individually. Chandler tries to find the owner of handcuffs he finds in the guestroom.
The Good: The goodbyes are all decent fun and they nicely showcase the relationships between the characters with some fun moments. Ross getting skipped over is sensible for Rachel and an effective way to create some drama. The baby cliffhanger is a decent way to end the episode, and it is fitting that there will be a birth in the finale. Every character gets a couple fun moments, like Phoebe with the cuffs, Joey with the bubble wrap, and a few other good laughs. The Bad: Unfortunately a lot of the jokes fall flat. This episode works better as an emotional farewell than it does as a laugh-fest. The furry handcuffs storyline is pretty weak, especially since it leads to more ridiculous presumptions from Chandler who still hasn't learned anything about how to effectively communicate. The same goes for Ross getting angry at Rachel for skipping over him. It should be blatantly obvious to him that she is finding it hard to say goodbye to him. It's baffling that nobody brought this up, and Ross getting angry feels forced because the writers wanted some drama. Best Moment: Joey getting beat up with bubble wrap on his head. Character of the Episode: Joey. Conclusion: This episode was too melodramatic, but it was decent stuff before the series finale. Score: 55
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Summary: Gene forces a situation that allows him to bond with Jeff's mother Marion. When Jeff arrives, Gene offers to get him into the game and Jeff agrees. Gene spends the next while bonding with the security guards Nick and Frank at the mall, timing how long it takes Frank to eat a cinnamon roll. Gene plans to use this window for Jeff to rob the department stores in the mall, unnoticed on the cameras. Gene executes the plan with Jeff's friend bringing a fake delivery into the mall - Jeff in a wooden box. Gene fakes being a supervisor and convinces the lady working there to leave the box overnight. At night, Gene distracts Frank while Jeff robs the stores. The plan goes well until Jeff slips and falls unconscious. Gene fakes an emotional breakdown to give Jeff enough time to get back up and get out of there. The next morning, Jeff leaves successfully. He celebrates with Gene, but Gene ensures that they are done, threatening that if Jeff turns him in, he's going to get Jeff behind bars too. Jeff agrees and Gene returns to his normal life.
The Good: This was a sudden change in pace and I think that it works pretty well. Coming off of what was probably the most intense 3-episode stretch of the show, we needed to rebuild a little bit to set up the endgame of the show. This episode does a great job of slowing things down and transitioning the show to a new phase while also telling a compelling character story that allows the episode to stand up on its own and become more than just a transition into the post "Breaking Bad" era. This episode covers what Gene does to take care of Jeff, and it is beautiful to watch. One of the biggest questions coming out of the previous Gene scene in season 5 was which character would Gene return to. Would he become Saul again, or would he return to Jimmy? We finally get our answer here as Gene uses the reputation of Saul Goodman, but his actions are unequivocally a classic Slippin' Jimmy con. Gene has turned back to Jimmy to make this work, and the episode is packed full of references to Jimmy's past, which I'll dive into with more specifics later in the review. But first I will focus on the con itself, because it takes up the majority of the episode. This felt like classic "Better Call Saul" as the entire episode sees Gene making some questionable moves, with the purpose behind them only becoming clear as the episode goes on. It's puzzling when we see Gene befriending Marion, and it's puzzling that Gene continued to give Cinnabon gifts to the security guards. Like with all of the great schemes in this show, we never know what the plan is and slowly realizing what is going on is part of the fun. It helps that this episode was created with that typical "Better Call Saul" flair to add another level of enjoyment. Things like that gorgeous montage halfway through the episode, Gene faking his knowledge of sports, and the clever rhymes to ensure Jeff remembers what to steal are delightful little things which make the episode feel that much more immersive and real. It's something that this show has always done well. Furthermore, the cons are amplified by the high stakes. We know that any mistake will result in Gene going behind bars, so there is suspense in the possibility of failure. This adds a great deal of tension to the execution of the robbery. Jeff running around is so intense because we have a sense that something is going to go wrong, and so the suspense is enormous through every second of that painstakingly long sequence, which left me at the edge of my seat. I was really pleased with how Gene turned the tables on Jeff following the successful robbery. It's so easy to get lost in the small scale success of this robbery to the point where you almost forget that Gene is only doing this to get rid of Jeff as a threat. I think that this is one of the episode's big successes, since I think that Gene himself also almost forgot about the real purpose of this scam as well. Gene comes to life when he is returning to Slippin' Jimmy to pull this con, and it would not be a stretch to assume that he got so lost in the scam that he almost forgot that he was doing all of this only to return to the mundane, uneventful life he was living before. It's always a show of impressive talent when an TV episode can unconsciously place you in the exact mental state as the main character of that episode, creating a strong sense of empathy that elevates an episode from good to great. Now let me take a look into the character of Gene in particular. Bob Odenkirk brings him to life splendidly and we can see the light returning to his eyes throughout this episode as he does what he does best throughout the episode. We can see that Gene is back in his element when he's playing Jimmy McGill, and that he enjoys everything that he is doing. This makes it especially impactful when Gene is forced to dive into his buried emotions when he fakes a breakdown to allow Jeff the time he needs to regain consciousness after his fall. We have seen Jimmy draw out his buried emotions for his own benefit before ("Expenses" and "Winner" come to mind), but this one is a bit different. Here, Jimmy uses his disappointment at the state of his own life to get out of this situation, but this time he's actively shaken by doing that. Before it was always crocodile tears, but this time there's a much harsher truth to his breakdown, evidenced by Gene needing to take a moment before leaving the mall. We can see the harsh reality of Gene's unsatisfying life weighing on him in this moment and it is brutal to watch. What makes it so much easier to buy into this story of Gene finding joy in returning to being Jimmy is the countless references to Jimmy in this episode. I've already mentioned the crocodile tears moment evoking Jimmy's actions from before, but stopping there would be a great disservice to the sheer number of moments which evoke the past for Gene. Perhaps the most obvious is the return of the pinky ring, which was the moment that confirmed that Gene was going to return to Jimmy and not Saul. The pinky ring has always been symbolic of Slippin' Jimmy, and it was nice to see it return. I also loved the brief moment where Gene did Jimmy's iconic "it's showtime folks" hand gesture in the mirror before executing the robbery, evoking that Gene was embracing Jimmy in spirit. Gene's interactions with Marion and his effortless ability to charm her is another lovely callback to Jimmy's lauded ability to charm old folks and make them love him, which is something that we haven't seen him do in quite a long time. Lastly, I couldn't help but smile at the irony that it was a slip and fall which almost screwed up Gene's con. Live by the sword, die by the sword. I imagine there were even more references that I missed here, but the sheer number of callbacks added so much more depth and emotion to Gene's story in this episode. I haven't talked about them much, but the side characters in this episode have been wonderful. Pat Healy was a different Jeff to be sure (see: The Bad), but he does a good job with the role. Frank and Nick were lots of fun as the security guards too, and I was surprised to see Carol Burnett being given a role as Marion, which she also does a really good job with. The casting in this show is always spot-on, and that continued here. I really enjoyed the new intro. It was a surprising moment that was indicative of how the show is about to go through a change before these final episodes. The Bad: The Jeff recast is evident immediately and it's an unfortunate situation. Don Harvey was so splendid in the role in seasons 4 and 5, so it's a shame to lose him. Pat Healy does well, but it does feel jarring to have Jeff feel so different from the last time that we saw him. He feels like a different character because of how the two actors brought out such a different energy. It's an unavoidable situation, but it is still something that I have to mention because I found it to be distracting while watching the episode. This episode was slow, especially coming off of three of the most eventful episodes of the series. I'm not surprised that this episode is polarizing because of that. There's nothing wrong with the writing or storytelling, but the timing of the episode is really unfortunate and works against it. Coming after a transition to the "Breaking Bad" era is jarring, and it feels like it was intentionally done to frustrate audiences. Even if it's intentional, frustration is never a good thing to make your viewers feel, so I can sympathize with the people who weren't fond of this episode, and I understand why this episode will not go down as a beloved episode. The Unknown: Is this the end of Jeff's story? If it is, then what's next for Gene? What will he do next? I'm surprised that we didn't spend any time at all in the "Breaking Bad" timeline. When will we see that timeline? Next episode? Or even later? I'm curious about how these remaining three episodes will handle chronology. Curious ending scene as Gene chooses to leave behind the Saul Goodman-esque clothing. Does this symbolize that Gene is going to attempt to return to his uneventful life? Or could this be Gene embracing Jimmy McGill ahead of Saul Goodman? It's open to interpretation right now, and I'm sure that the final three episodes will make the significance of this moment much more clear. Best Moment: The robbery scene was tense and lots of fun. I was on the edge of my seat waiting for the shoe to drop, and I was delighted by Gene faking an emotional breakdown for just long enough to allow Jeff the opportunity to get out of there. Character of the Episode: Gene. Conclusion: Placement and timing issues aside, this episode did a lot right. It was a pleasure to return to Gene's world and the story we got was masterfully executed. I'm left curious and excited to see what's next following a fascinating and fun episode that gave us further exploration of Jimmy/Gene. This character has become so layered and complex that anything exploring him is interesting to watch. Bring on the final three episodes. Score: 70 Summary: A flashback shows Whitover allying with Hoski. In the present, Chee calls Bernadette and warns her about Whitover. She arrives at the lake and slips away from him. Leaphorn watches in the cave as Hoski sends the father of the mormons to get Dan's van. Hoski and Frank notice Leaphorn and try to smoke him out. Leaphorn comes out and makes his presence known when Whitover walks in, but Whitover turns on him. Leaphorn gets Frank to turn on Whitover but Whitover shoots him. Whitover shoots at Leaphorn who falls in the hole. Hoski escapes, but can't take his car since Leaphorn ruined the tires. Whitover tries to escape with the money but is confronted by Chee. Guy shoots and kills him and Chee and Bernadette cover it up by making it look like he died in a cave-in. Leaphorn goes after Hoski and talks to him. Hoski chooses to kill himself. A while later, Chee returns to the reservation, having left the FBI. Leaphorn learns the truth about what happened to Whitover and tells Chee that Frank survived.
The Good: The flashback scene was a strong start to the episode. Following the Whitover twist, it was important to understand the kind of relationship that he has with the Buffalo Society, especially seeing that he was a white man. It was completely logical that he forced his way into their operation with threats. This season has slowly unveiled that Frank and Hoski are really in over their heads with all of this and that a lot has gone wrong. That continued to be the case here. The climax was decent fun to watch. Chee is smart as he tips off Bernadette and comes in to save her, while Leaphorn is resourceful as he escapes his predicament and prevents Hoski and Frank from escaping. Whitover turning on Leaphorn was a sad moment and it was tense to see him clash with Hoski and Frank over their differing ideals. It was all consistent with what we had seen of the characters beforehand. Whitover's death was satisfying. He tried one last hail mary to get Chee to his side, but naturally it didn't work and his lack of compassion cost him as he infuriates Guy who goes the extra mile and kills him in cold blood. Whitover was a simple villain, but he was effective, and this felt like the right time for him to die. Hoski's death on the other hand was surprisingly tragic. I felt for him at the end as he sacrificed his life, understanding that he had gone astray in his ideals. It was a sad scene that helped flesh out the character. The Bad: This episode ended up feeling a bit by-the-numbers. It was fun and an effective climax, but there wasn't anything special emotionally, or even from a plot perspective. This was the simplest way to end the show and there were few surprises along the way. It felt like this episode played it far too safe for concluding the first season. I was left with next to no lingering questions and there wasn't much for me to dwell on after finishing this episode. I've finished the show and hardly thought about it since. Hoski and Leaphorn's scene didn't quite connect me with the characters. These two have hardly interacted, so their final heart to heart felt a bit forced. It was a sudden interjection of themes that felt rushed and inorganic; it was an attempt to be meaningful and significant without doing the necessary legwork to actually be meaningful and significant. Having both Leaphorn and Chee get shot in the shoulder after dodging a gunshot was too much. Getting shot in the shoulder is a cliche, and doing that same thing twice in the same episode was weak. The Unknown: Frank survived somehow and left with the money. Is he actually unable to die? How on Earth did he survive? Where did he go? What is he going to do with the money? Will there we any consequences for Chee regarding his decision to cover up Whitover's death? Best Moment: I enjoyed seeing Leaphorn come up with a way to get out of the smoky prison he got trapped in. Using bullets in such a clever way was a creative solution that was satisfying to watch unfold. Character of the Episode: Leaphorn. Conclusion: This was a fine, if unoriginal, finale. There wasn't anything bad here, it just felt very by-the-numbers and uninspiring overall. "Dark Winds" season 1 was decent overall. If you're looking to fill some time with a fun mystery, then this show definitely delivers that. It's a condensed mystery with good acting, good writing, and some interesting ideas. However, if you're looking to watch something that really hits hard and has something special about it, then this will not be the show for you. This show was simple, it was effective, it was satisfying, but it never so much as teased being a genuinely great show. "Dark Winds" played it safe and provided simple popcorn television without ever threatening to do something special or mind-blowing. Because of that, this is not a show I would ever suggest going out of your way to see. But it is fine enough, considering what it is. Score: 57 Summary: Phoebe learns that Estelle has died and doesn't have the heart to tell Joey. Ross tries to get Rachel her old job back so she doesn't have to go to Paris. Chandler and Monica learn that Janice is likely going to be their neighbor.
The Good: There is a lot of fun to be had in all 3 stories. Ross is the star as he awkwardly bribes Zelner to give Rachel her job back. What started as a fun one-time gag kept on going and adding new layers of humour with every scene. It was original, well-acted by David Schwimmer who extracts as much comedy as possible, and fun to watch. I'm also glad that the episode ended realistically with Ross being blindsided that Rachel was actually excited to go to Paris in spite of her fear, and so he ultimately chooses to encourage her to leave. That was a sweet moment. Janice returns for what is presumably one final appearance and she is actually pretty good here. She is still a caricature, but the episode makes her presence funnier by coming up with some clever new jokes and showing awareness of how ridiculous it is that she never seems to go away. Chandler pretending to still love her is a fun ending to that story. Joey and Phoebe's story is decent. Phoebe is fun as she impersonates Estelle, and the story goes to a predictable but still amusing conclusion as Joey thinks that he is speaking with Estelle's spirit. The Bad: Phoebe's lies to Joey are shockingly bad, and Joey looks terrible for believing them. Joey has become an unfeasibly stupid caricature of his past self in this last season, which is unfortunate. The guy that eats paper is a random, unfunny joke that doesn't work at all. Best Moment: Ross accidentally making himself sound like a creepy pedophile. Character of the Episode: Ross. Conclusion: This was a consistent, funny episode that furthered some storylines in the build-up to the series finale, and offered some good laughs. Score: 69 Summary: Jimmy and Kim return to business and usual but find it hard to keep living their lives. Gus meets with Eladio after Hector accuses him of killing Lalo. The evidence proves Gus to be innocent but Eladio is wary of the hate in Gus' eyes. Gus meets with a sommelier who he is clearly attracted to, but chooses to leave when given the chance to pursue his revenge. Gus gets Mike to resume construction on the lab. Mike meets with Manuel and tells him about Nacho's death. Jimmy and Kim attend Howard's memorial where they lie to his wife Cheryl to continue to sell the lie that he was on drugs. Afterwards, Kim resigns from being an attorney. Jimmy returns to their apartment and tries to convince her to go back on it but Kim has decided she can't be a lawyer and can't be with Jimmy. After a lengthy debate, they ultimately break up. The story moves forward several years where Saul wakes up and heads to his office.
The Good: "Better Call Saul" and "Breaking Bad" are shows that thrive on showing fallout from major events. This is one of the things that sets these shows apart from everything else. The reason we care so much about the big plot events in this show is because we know that these plot events will affect the characters and their development. As such, it can be just as riveting to watch how the characters react to a major plot development, compared to watching the event itself. That's why this episode, despite being slow and character-driven, was every bit as gripping and engaging for me as the two action-packed episodes that preceded it. This was all about how the characters reacted and changed following the entire Lalo situation, and it was fantastic because of it. Jimmy and Kim interested me the most going into this episode, and their story is the best in my opinion. The opening montage does a spectacular job of setting the stage for this episode and for their story. Sure, we see Mike as well, but the bulk of this opening montage is about Jimmy and Kim, who will never be the same following their run-in with Lalo. It was a bold choice to show Jimmy and Kim simply living out a normal day in their life, almost like nothing happened. But it's clear that despite their normal exteriors, there is a lot that is wrong inside of them right now. The music choice is phenomenal and give these scenes a haunting and melancholy feeling, despite being pretty normal overall. Cutting to Mike a few times also adds to this sense that something is wrong. There are some terrific cuts involving blood that were particularly unsettling, linking the daily lives of Jimmy and Kim to something far more sinister. That permanent link is what makes things so uncomfortable for Jimmy and Kim. By the end of the montage, both have moved to a nearby hotel where Jimmy reiterates Mike's words verbatim to Kim, telling her that one day they can move on and forget. Jimmy clearly believes it, and that's sensible for someone who finds it so easy to compartmentalize his emotions. But for Kim, this is something else. Kim is like Mike in this way: she will never be able to forget what happened and she knows that. So while Jimmy's words are an attempt to comfort Kim, she gets no solace from his words at all. Kim's personal crisis continues when Jimmy and Kim find themselves at a memorial for Howard. The scene here is absolutely brutal, with pictures of a happy Howard plastered everywhere, and a sad air as everyone who knows him now has to mention his drug addiction, an addiction that never existed. Rich's scene alone is tough to get through, but it's the scene with Cheryl that really drives home how awful this whole situation is. As Jimmy taps into his real emotion of jealousy for Howard to defend himself from Cheryl, it's Kim who viciously goes all the way to ensure that there will be no suspicion from Cheryl. Kim not only comes up with a lie on the spot, but she executes it perfectly to make it seem earnest, and follows up by gaslighting Howard's widow for the purpose of protecting her own story. Kim prioritizes her and Jimmy getting away with it, and the cost is doing one of the most immoral things we have ever seen her do. I was devastated for Cheryl in this moment, and horrified that Kim chose to encourage Cheryl's own self-hate for self-preservation. Kim has well and truly gone too far, and there's no denying that now. Kim herself can't deny it either, and the end of the episode is a magnificently executed, heartbreaking cathartic moment as we see the culmination of Jimmy and Kim's relationship after five seasons of them being together. Jimmy is trying to move on, but Kim can't escape the self-hatred and the inner turmoil she is feeling after what she has done. She can't look at herself and she can't live with herself, so the only way forwards for her is to be rid of it all. She has to quit being an attorney, she has to leave her apartment, and worst of all, she has to leave Jimmy. The slow reveal of all of this was incredible, and each step hit harder than the last. We have followed this character and wished for her success for so long, and this is the point when it all finally comes crumbling down. Perhaps the worst part, and also the most genius, is that it wasn't some outside force that took everything away from Kim. It was Kim herself, distraught and unable to live with what she had done. Somehow, this is even worse than our worst nightmares about Kim's fate. The final argument with Jimmy is spectacularly written and acted with so many little details done perfectly, like Kim tragically having to downplay the "I love you" moment, and also a subtle nod to how Jimmy and Kim drifted apart when they weren't scamming together, and Kim's fear that this would happen again if she didn't con with Jimmy anymore. I was pleased with how the show handled Kim telling Jimmy that she knew that Lalo was alive, and how it framed Kim's self-hatred with Kim's own disgust in herself for not telling him. Jimmy has always been one to lie to himself and others, but Kim has proven that she is unable to, and that is true again here. When giving her reasons to Jimmy about hiding Lalo's survival, she is able to go past the excuses she told herself, and face her true motives. Rhea Seehorn's delivery of "because I was having too much fun" is devastating, and encapsulates the dilemma in Kim's head perfectly. It's the perfect note to end this scene on, and it leaves devastation in its wake. I've focused a lot on Kim, but Jimmy is just as broken by the end of this episode. Jimmy is messed up by what happened to Howard, but as I mentioned before, he is able to compartmentalize and move on easily. Unlike Kim, Jimmy has this ability to seamlessly become someone else in his business life so that he can forget about all of his pain. But what Jimmy isn't able to escape from is the tragedy of losing Kim. The past few seasons have been explicit in showing how much these characters love each other, and while Kim is able to make the choice to leave Jimmy, we know for sure that Jimmy would never be able to make the same decision. So it wrecks him when Kim leaves, and we see the carnage in such an unexpectedly genius way: with a flashforward to the future. Jimmy has embraced Saul, and it becomes clear that he is no longer Jimmy McGill anymore. Saul is present in every moment, whether it's at work or not. In that final sequence, there isn't a single sniff of Jimmy left, and Saul dominates everything. In fact, I don't even think that it's correct to call him Jimmy anymore, so I will be calling him Saul when discussing this ending sequence. At the start of this show, all of us were excited and waiting to see Jimmy become Saul, excited at the possibilities. But this episode takes Jimmy turning into Saul and turns it into something devastating. The sudden cut from Jimmy and Kim's break-up to Saul Goodman emphasizes that this is how Jimmy coped with Kim leaving. He became somebody else in every single facet of his life to the point that he is now permanently playing a character. This final sequence is filled with Saul's energy, and yet it feels lifeless, like we're looking at a husk going through a daily routine. Saul has never felt so empty because we know that Jimmy McGill that is supposed to be there, and yet he isn't even remotely present. It's unbelievably depressing, and it sells the idea that Jimmy turning into Saul was always a tragedy. It's another example of tremendous storytelling ability in this episode. The cartel half of proceedings aren't quite as interesting, but they manage to tell a powerful story that centers on the theme of how lusting for revenge has stolen away the lives and inner peace of Gus and Mike, damning them to their fates in "Breaking Bad". Both characters have a sense of finality in this episode, and I wouldn't be surprised if this is the last that we see of them in the show. Mike's story sees him meeting with Nacho's father Manuel and the emotional journey here is superb. We start in a familiar image as Mike is once again unable to sit peacefully at home, calling back to episodes like "Inflatable", and "Smoke" where he is unable to find peace in a home life. The knowledge of Nacho's death eats away at him because he can empathize all too well with Manuel, another father who lost his son. Calling back to the situation with the good samaritan back in seasons 2 and 3, we also remember that Mike likes to give closure to families when their loved ones are killed, instead of leaving it up in the air. So Nacho meets with Manuel, tells him what happened to Nacho and assures him that justice will be done to the people that took his son away from him. Manuel is emotional upon hearing about Nacho's fate, but what is unexpected is how viciously Manuel turns on Mike, throwing his justice back in his face. I was surprised yet impressed by this because it's perfectly in character for Manuel to condemn all of the "gangsters", stating that revenge is not the same as justice. And it's a harsh lesson for Mike because Mike has to face the hard truth from Manuel that he is the same as everyone else. Mike may have tried to empathize Manuel, but he's hit with the cold reality that they are completely different. The cinematography emphasizes this spectacularly, framing Mike inside a cage while Manuel roams free. Manuel mourns Nacho without a care for vengeance, and because of that he is free. But Mike? Revenge is all that Mike knows. It's revenge for his son that put Mike on this path that led to him becoming a button man for Gus, and Mike has been condemned to die in the business of revenge because of the choices he has made. It's a very sobering reality for Mike to accept that he is no longer free because of the choices he has made. This is further accentuated by Mike's brief interaction with Gus in this episode. In "Breaking Bad", I had assumed that these two were on good terms and mutually respected each other, but "Better Call Saul" makes it explicitly clear that this is not the case. Mike is not fond of Gus at all, in fact it seems that there is some hatred in his eyes. Mike absolutely has many reasons to hate Gus (keeping him in the business, Werner, Nacho, etc.), but he's a slave of his past choices and has to continue living this life until the day he dies. This is the tragic reality of Mike that this episode paints so beautifully. Gus also gets a good story in this episode. We start by closing out the cartel story by exploring the fallout of Lalo's death and how Gus covers it up to Don Eladio. Eladio continues to be such a joyful character to watch. He's so aloof and fun that it's easy to forget that he has to be quite the cunning and imposing man to be a cartel leader. I really like that Eladio has clocked that Gus hates him, but that "a little bit's okay" as long as Gus doesn't actively go against Eladio. Eladio is likely smart enough to know that Gus killed Lalo, but so long as Gus isn't sabotaging Eladio directly, he doesn't mind. I really like how the show handles Eladio, making him a fun character with more than what he shows on the surface. I also got a real good laugh out of Eladio mocking Hector with the bell, a rare moment of levity in an otherwise relentless episode. Gus was very lucky to get out of this situation though. It's easy to forget, but Gus has two gunshot wounds going into this meeting, and it's great to see him wincing throughout the episode so that we remember that he has to keep these wounds a secret or he will be completely cooked. Somehow, Gus survives, and we get a rare moment where he gets to celebrate and live in peace for a moment. He gets some joy from the simple act of opening his windows again, and in his ecstasy, he goes to a bar where we learned a surprising and interesting tidbit about Gus: there is somebody, a sommelier, that he is attracted to. I was completely taken aback to see somebody like the methodical, eternally calculating Gustavo Fring sitting these enraptured by this sommelier's conversation, looking completely vulnerable and at peace. Giancarlo Esposito plays it brilliantly, giving a new dimension to this character. For a moment, you can't help but hope that Gus has found some peace in this newfound love. But it's not meant to be. We know that Gus rarely visits this place, and his interactions are limited to 3 or 4 minutes to celebrate surviving Lalo and then we see him put on that veil again. Gus leaves the establishment because, just like Mike, he's committed to revenge and he is not allowing himself a way out of it. Gus refuses his own personal happiness to get this petty revenge, and the sad reality is that Gus is going to follow revenge to his death without ever having the chance to share that wine with the sommelier. Just like with Mike, it's a sad reality check which likely concludes the story of Gus in "Better Call Saul". The Bad: Nothing bad. I suppose some might be turned off by the slow pacing of this character-centric episode. The Unknown: Is this the last time we see Gus and Mike? Their scenes had a sense of finality to them, and I wouldn't be surprised if this is how we conclude their arcs. But I do wonder if they have some sort of role to play in whatever happens in these final 4 episodes. On that note, what exactly is going to happen now? How is this show going to tell a compelling story during the "Breaking Bad" timeline? Are we at that point in time now? This episode doesn't offer us many clues on what time period this is. The license plate sticker suggests it is 2005, but that could also be long expired as a way to symbolize that Jimmy has expired and it's just Saul now. Further, the mention of a public masturbator echoes Saul's introduction in "Breaking Bad" where he mistakes Badger for a public masturbator. Could this ending scene be on the same day that Saul first meets Walt? Is Kim gone for good? I imagine that she must come back at some point. Where did she go after breaking up with Jimmy? What is she doing now? Did she ever get over her guilt? Best Moment: And again we are spoiled for choice, but it's hard to argue against Jimmy and Kim's break-up scene. Such a devastating moment that pays off of seasons worth of storytelling. Character of the Episode: Kim. Conclusion: Another magnificent episode as "Better Call Saul" continues to nail its final season. This episode was quieter and less action-packed than the last two, but the emotion, storytelling depth, and consistent feeling of despair made it every bit as good as those episodes, if not better at certain points. This is certainly one of the show's best ever episodes, and the fourth such episode of what is turning out to be a monumental sixth season. Score: 86 Summary: A flashback shows Dan being blackmailed into laundering money for the Buffalo Society. In the present, Leaphorn interrogates Frank and learns that the mining site accident was likely not an accident. Leaphorn meets with Guy and BJ Vines and gathers more information. Meanwhile, Chee is given his transfer to DC and visits Bernadette on his way out and they have an argument. The witch puts Bernadette to sleep and breaks Frank out of his cell. Bernadette goes to arrest her, and after a fight, the witch seemingly dies in a fire. Wanda wakes up right after. Lester gives some intel to Bernadette who goes to check it out with Whitover. Chee heads out but stops by Devoted Dan's where he uncovers that Dan is working with the Buffalo Society and that Whitover is covering it up. He returns to the precinct to warn Bernadette but she's already gone. Leaphorn finds Frank and Hoski out in the desert and prepares to attack.
The Good: Leaphorn is still the definite heart of the show and the character is the highlight of this episode. He has a number of great scenes throughout the episode as he continues his investigation, and we always have a firm idea of who he is and what he is after. He's desperate to solve this case, but he carries the baggage of his dead son around in every scene, and that makes him emotionally vulnerable, and at times volatile. A number of great scenes highlighted this well. An intense scene with Frank, a sweet moment of connection with Guy, and a sad argument with his wife that highlighted his very real love for his son and his struggles as a father. These scenes were excellent and established an emotional foundation for whatever happens in the season finale. Devoted Dan finally gets explored in this episode, and I appreciated the answers that we got. Dan is a fun character, pretending to be a devout while cheating on his wife at every opportunity. He's wonderfully sleazy and amusing to watch. We also confirm that Dan is being blackmailed by the Buffalo Society so that they could use his business as a money laundering business. Chee gets to the bottom of this, and then also uncovers the episode's big twist, revealing that Whitover is working with the Buffalo Society. It will be interesting to see how Chee and Leaphorn's inevitable reconciliation will lead to them solving this case. Bernadette's plot is decent fun as she has a big confrontation with the witch. This story has some major flaws (see: The Bad), but it is visually compelling and does a good job of portraying the witch in an eerie and unsettling way. The Bad: This is the weakest episode of the show because it tries to hold onto far too many secrets going into the season finale. Every scene teases answers, but we're given very few, and that makes the episode quite unsatisfying. We still don't know the motives of the Buffalo Society, we don't know how the witch is involved or even what she is doing, and we don't know how the murders or the mining site accident connect with all of this. It's fine to save some of these answers, but this episode loses its own identity in teasing answers without providing anything over and over again. It's an exercise in frustration which is very typical of mystery TV shows, which have a tendency to spin their wheels towards the end in order to drag out the climax. That's exactly what is happening here, and it unfortunately makes for a pretty weak set-up episode for the season finale. The witch's powers were very vague (see: The Unknown), and it often felt like she was being used as a plot device without any consistency in what her abilities are. When a character's abilities are so supernatural with no visible limitations, it creates the problem of the viewers becoming confused as to why they don't use their powers more. That's what happened during Bernadette's big confrontation with her. I was left confused as to why she wasn't able to simply put her to sleep again. You could make the argument that her powers are being kept secret to highlight the terrifying supernatural forces at play. But considering how grounded and realistic the rest of the show is, there is a major tonal inconsistency in switching from logical and well-written stories to sloppily written sequences with no consistency in what is and is not feasible. I rolled my eyes at the scene between Bernadette and Chee, which was no more than melodramatic filth. I enjoyed their flirting a few episodes ago, but I don't buy that they grew close enough to have such a major fight here, with Bernadette essentially telling Chee to stay there just because of her. They have known each other for only like a week! This scene was overly dramatic to the point of being bad, and is by far the worst scene in the show so far. After I had thought that the show was building up this relationship slowly and effectively, this was way too big of a leap for me to buy into the emotions at play. The Unknown: What is the purpose of the mining site explosion? How does this all tie in with the current plot? How about BJ Vines, how does he tie in with all of this? How does the witch's magic work? What is she even doing? I found it difficult to comprehend what the requirements of her using her powers were. I thought she needed to have the hair of her victims, yet she was able to control Bernadette and put her to sleep without having any hair. What exactly are the extent of her powers? Is the witch dead? It looks like her control over Wanda has faltered which suggests that she's done for. But it would be a weak conclusion to her story if she died in such a simple way. I'm torn on whether to believe if she's alive or not. Where has Frank been hidden? Where is Bernadette going? Is Whitover going to betray her? What is he going to do with her? What are Whitover's goals? It's clear that he is working with the Buffalo Society and only wanted the cases involved with them so he could cover it up. What kind of deal does he have with them? Why did he visit Dan? Will Joe attack Frank without any back-up? How is this going to go for him? Best Moment: Leaphorn had lots of good scenes in this episode, but I found the scene of Guy reconciling with him to be the most emotionally impactful. Character of the Episode: Leaphorn. Conclusion: This was a fine episode, but it fell into the typical trappings of mystery shows as they approach their conclusion. Score: 56 Summary: A flashforward shows a beach where Howard's suicide has been staged. In the present, Lalo orders Jimmy to go to Gus' house with a gun and shoot him. Jimmy manages to get Kim to go instead and remains with Lalo. Lalo ties up Jimmy and leaves. Kim gets to the door but is stopped by Mike. Mike and his men go to Jimmy's place but don't find Lalo there. Gus realizes this was all a diversion and takes his remaining men to the lab where Lalo has gone. Lalo kills them all and films Gus, forcing him to show him the meth lab. Gus has a big speech against Eladio and the Salamancas, then he makes a play for his hidden gun and kills Lalo after a brief shootout. Kim is returned to Jimmy and Mike tells them to act normal and that they will stage a cocaine-related suicide for Howard, but the body won't be found. Howard and Lalo are buried together underneath the lab.
The Good: This was such a suspense-filled episode. This went at a breakneck pace, and every scene offered some sort of twist, or moment of suspense which made this such an engrossing and engaging experience. I have to especially credit the directing in the episode. every scene was shot to perfection with tremendous shot choices, gorgeous lighting, and impressively dynamic cinematography. "Better Call Saul" has always been excellent in this department, but this episode was top-notch, and the fantastic production of the episode is a big reason for why it was so intense. Another big reason is the acting. Every actor in this episode did a tremendous job, from Jonathan Banks to Rhea Seehorn. I was impressed by everybody, and the terrifyingly realistic performances added so much to the experience of this episode. Jimmy and Kim's tense conversation with Lalo was a stellar way to kick off the episode's plot. We're kept in the dark about Lalo's plan so the question remained what exactly he wanted from Jimmy and Kim. Even with 6 weeks to ponder this, I could never have predicted that Lalo would send them on a mission to go kill Gus at his house. This was a lovely twist, aided by how casually Lalo gave them this order. Lalo's calm body language throughout this scene was terrifying, complimenting the raw fear in both Jimmy and Kim. This also made Jimmy's big moment where he opts to send Kim out instead even more of a surprise. When you consider how quickly Jimmy shut down the last time he saw Lalo, I never expected Jimmy to get his game back on so quickly this time around. But he does, and when you realize that Jimmy is sacrificing himself so Kim can get away, it's a real emotional kicker. Both Jimmy and Kim know what the plan is, Jimmy is resolved, and Kim is terrified and in denial. The emotional state of both characters is captured perfectly, and the scene is almost darkly funny in a way with Lalo getting frustrated with their squabbling. Jimmy's short scene with Lalo afterwards gives us a direct tie-in to "Breaking Bad", which I really enjoyed. Under immense pressure and learning about Nacho's betrayal, Jimmy desperately shouts "it wasn't me, it was Ignacio!" as Lalo ties him up. This is a direct connection to "Breaking Bad", suggesting that Jimmy was flashing back to this very moment when Walt and Jesse took him out into the desert. This episode also answers why Jimmy was terrified of Lalo in that episode of "Breaking Bad". Even though he knows Lalo is dead, Lalo has come back from the dead once before, and I'm certain that Jimmy will always be terrified that he might come back once again. Another nice little connection to "Breaking Bad" is when Jimmy falls over onto his side, facing Howard's dead body. In his position, Jimmy is bound and forced to face the consequences of his actions. This positioning will be familiar to "Breaking Bad" fans who will recall Walt in the same position facing Hank's dead body, as well as Gus facing Max's dead body. Then we get into Kim's mission to go kill Gus, and this was ruthlessly intense. Who would have imagined that Kim Wexler, attorney at law, would find herself in such a morally corrupt situation? But here she is, heading over to kill a random civilian to save her husband's life. Rhea Seehorn played this unexpected turn in Kim's life unbelievably well and incorporated impressive layers of frustration, fear, and inner turmoil. A fantastic scene is when a police car pulls up next to Kim and she's forced to decide whether she should involve them or not, and she ultimately decides against it. The scene is gripping, tense, and emotionally powerful, what more would you expect from a scene like that? Kim's trip takes her to Gus' house (where we get a shot that mirrors Walt going to Gus' house back in "Thirty-Eight Snub") and the build up to her making the choice to kill is spectacular. Luckily Mike saves her from having to make that decision, but we're still left with the fascinating question of "would she have done it", a great bit of moral contemplation surrounding the character of Kim Wexler. Following this, we finally start to figure out what's really happening. Mike goes after Lalo immediately, but not after a terrific moment where Kim rages at him for not being there to stop Lalo and save Howard. Mike's guilt is a palpable aspect of this episode as Lalo outsmarts him on every level. Mike immediately goes to find Lalo, but he once again plays right into Lalo's hands as Lalo sneaks inside of the now undefended Lavenderia Brilliante. Gus is the only one to figure out Lalo's plan. Consistent with Gus' sixth sense that he displayed in "Breaking Bad", Gus is able to smell something fishy in Lalo's plan to send Kim and realizes that this whole assassination attempt was a diversion. The reveal of Lalo's plan in these minutes was done really well, and it was a great dramatic reveal to set up the big showdown between Gus and Lalo. And boy was that showdown fantastic. Lalo outsmarts Gus one final time by sneaking into the lab, and even Gus' sixth sense couldn't save him this time. What results is a total dominant victory for Lalo. For a few minutes, Lalo has complete control on a passive and helpless Gus and it is glorious. Here Lalo is gathering all the proof he needs while utterly dominating the man that he despises so so much. It's a shocker to see Gus in such a vulnerable and helpless state, and that's telling of the threat that Lalo poses. Both Tony Dalton and Giancarlo Esposito nail these scenes and they are brilliantly executed. There may not be a huge amount of tension (see: The Bad), but the scenes are very well done. We know that Gus is buying time to get that gun hidden in the lab, and the episode builds its suspense by having us wait until the shoe drops. In the meantime, Lalo indulges in Gus' final monologue, and we get a magnificent hate-filled speech that directly parallels Nacho's speech from "Rock and Hard Place". Gus clearly took inspiration from Nacho, perhaps confirming that Nacho did earn Gus' respect in the end. Utilizing this distraction, Gus gets to his gun and after a few frenzied bullets fly, Gus manages to take out his despicable rival. This gunfight was outstanding in my opinion. It's not visually spectacular or a logn action sequence. Instead it's a brutally real flash of bullets and anxiety, a surprise explosion of action that delivers a few nail-biting moments as we are left wondering if Gus got Lalo or not. Those few moments in the dark with Gus breathing rapidly in total fear before revealing Lalo's motionless legs were outstanding. It was a perfect way to connect us emotionally with Gus' fear and uncertainty before giving us the reveal that he lucked out of this situation and managed to defeat Lalo. This sequence was fantastic television and it was a perfect end for Lalo. Gus toughing through his gunshot wounds to tower over Lalo, and Lalo's sly final laugh as he bled out were beautiful character moments to cap off this spectacle of a sequence. What a way to conclude the war between these two characters, with a thrilling sequence that handles both characters with utmost respect. Well done. Afterwards we get the aftermath as Gus calls in for a week and gets Lyle to cover for him (always good to see sweet, innocent Lyle again). Mike moves into clean-up mode as he reunites Jimmy and Kim and handles disposing of Howard's body. His scene explaining the story that Jimmy and Kim will have to go with was brutal. Howard's fate is absolutely depressing, and it weighs on both Jimmy and Kim what they did to this innocent man. Using the fridge to remove Howard's body from the scene is quite clever, and it also allows for that harrowing shot of Howard's body being shoved into the fridge, an image that Jimmy will not soon forget. Surrounding all of this chaos, we have two wonderful scenes that open and close the episode. These two scenes are slow-paced, melancholic, and atmospheric, creating a sorrowful atmosphere. The opening scene is completely different from anything we have seen setting-wise. This is the first time we've ever seen a beach in the "Breaking Bad" universe, and the change in visuals is striking immediately. It quickly becomes apparent that we are looking at a staged suicide for Howard, and the sequence extracts plenty of emotion out of that idea. Then we have the final scene, a sad burial for both Lalo and Howard underneath the lab. Not only does this change how we will rewatch "Breaking Bad", knowing that these two significant characters are buried in the superlab, but it also serves as a permanent way to marry the legal half and cartel half of the show with the two characters that best represent either side. The scene itself is atmospheric and sad, and Mike's clear sadness over the fate of Howard adds further depth to this scene. Where the first scene is sad because of the idea of Howard's fate, this final scene is sad because it shows us his real fate, and it's nowhere near as beautiful as being lost on a beautiful beach. Instead, Howard in manhandled by Mike's men and buried next to his killer underneath an illegal meth lab where he will never be found. It's a final depressing turn for Howard, concluding his story in a deeply upsetting way. The Bad: The only issue with this episode is that it is predictable at times, which means that it is unable to sustain an extreme level of tension throughout the episode like it is attempting to do. The directing, acting, and writing get the absolute most out of the episode, but that can't overcome the prequel problem of knowing where things end up. We know that Jimmy is not going to die, so there is only so much suspense we can get out of his scenes with Lalo. More significantly, we know that Gus can't die and that Lalo will never be able to tell anyone about the lab. This means that Lalo dying in this sequence is predetermined, and it's only a matter of time before it happens. Knowing that Lalo has to die here saps a lot of tension out from an otherwise superbly directed scene. It's a shame, but "Better Call Saul" had no way to overcome this problem, and the Gus/Lalo sequence was doomed to never be up there with some of the best suspense-based scenes in the show. The Unknown: Will Jimmy and Kim be able to adjust to their normal lives after what happened? How will this affect their relationship? Will they be able to stick to Mike's lie? Will anybody be investigating the circumstances of Howard's disappearance? Howard told Cliff about Jimmy, will Cliff look into things? What will be the fallout of Lalo's death? Will Gus go brag to Hector like we see him do in "Breaking Bad"? With Lalo dead with so many episodes left before the finale, will we be heading to the "Breaking Bad" timeline sooner rather than later? Best Moment: This episode is filled with terrific scenes, and I debated with half a dozen other moments. But in the end, I'll go with Kim reaching Gus' house with the gun and trying to convince herself to kill. A terrific scene, outstandingly acted by Rhea Seehorn. I would never have guessed in a million years that Kim would have ended up knocking on someone's door with the intent to kill, and yet here we are. The shocking nature and intensity of the scene was enough to leave me gripped to see what happens next. Character of the Episode: Lalo. Conclusion: This was a magnificent episode filled with tension, brilliant acting, and impressive directing. There was an issue of this being predictable, but the near-perfect execution of this episode manages to overcome that flaw and ensure that this is still fantastic television. What a way to return from a midseason break. Score: 82 Summary: A flashback shows the Buffalo Society (Hoski and Frank) meet with BJ Vines. In the present, Raymond is shot by Hoski while searching at the lake. Bernadette's investigation leads her to the lake as well as she looks for Raymond. Leaphorn and Chee question Tso and figure out that he is an impostor. They have dinner together and bond before making their next move, though an argument breaks out between Leaphorn and Emma. They go to arrest him but end up in a shootout with Hoski and Frank. Hoski escapes, but Frank is captured. Frank reveals that he knows Chee from the FBI. Bernadette learns that Chee is FBI, and Leaphorn learns that Chee lied to him about not knowing Frank. Leaphorn fights Chee for his betrayal.
The Good: The opening scene was well done and does well to further the mystique of the show. The Buffalo Society haven't been explored much until now, and this scene gives us a good idea of what they stand for and why they are doing what they do, while also offering some curious insight into the motives of the individual characters Hoski and Frank. There's still lots that we have to learn about how this all connects, but the mystery is continuing to build nicely. The ending of the sequence with the helicopter being pushed in the lake and Raymond being shot out of nowhere was an excellent bit of drama. It was a surprise twist that immediately ramped up the suspense in the episode as we waited to see if anyone would realize what happened to Raymond. The build-up in mystery throughout the episode is done well. Leaphorn and Chee speaking with Hoski and figuring out his true identity was a highlight of the episode. This is just a simple conversation between three people, but it was executed spectacularly to convey an enormous sense of tension. It became clear through the acting of all three characters that Leaphorn and Chee were beginning to suspect something was off about "Father Tso" and that elevated the suspense because there was no indication about what was coming next. This was all done so subtly and through simple means. There was no intense music, no dramatic reveals, and no over-the-top moments. It was excellent, slow build of suspense. The ensuing gunfight later in the episode was also suitably dramatic and I loved the way that it was shot. It felt very realistic and there was genuine suspense about what would happen next. The preparations done by both sides and their suspicions and paranoia were fitting. Every character came across as competent and realistic. I like that this intense scene had a couple of huge revelations for the characters as they learned about Chee. Bernadette has to realize that she was completely wrong about who Chee was, and Leaphorn had to come to terms with the fact that Chee had faked honesty with him and was betraying him all along. Good stuff. The build-up with Leaphorn and Chee's relationship throughout the episode was really well done. The dinner scene was good and also did well to reveal more about Leaphorn's trauma through his argument with Emma. It was great how a casual fun dinner scene evolved into something much more dramatic, and also telling about Leaphorn's difficulty moving on from the death of his son. I appreciate that this scene was kept short and left a lot unspoken, mirroring reality and allowing us to analyze the characters ourselves. This show does not spoonfeed information and I appreciate that. In any case, it was clear that despite his trauma, Leaphorn had projected his son onto Chee, which is what makes Chee's betrayal hurt so much more. But Chee himself is compelling here too, because it's clear that he does have affection for the people he has met and that he feels bad betraying them for his own promotion. Kiowa Gordon portrays Chee's inner conflict nicely, and I'm interested to see how Chee handles this inner conflict in the final two episodes. The Bad: This show is a bit too melodramatic at times. A lot of the arguments and conflicts in this episode were a bit hammed up and didn't quite feel natural. Leaphorn and Chee's fight is one such example. I get that there would be enormous tensions between them, but I don't think that the show quite earned Leaphorn punching Chee for what he did. A bigger issue is that this conflict seems unimportant since it is highly likely that they will make up with each other later. Chee needs to still be around for us to have a show, so the conclusion to this conflict seems predictable, unoriginal, and uninteresting. I enjoyed the gunfight scene but I found it hard to believe that Hoski got away so easily. Leaphorn and Chee should have been much quicker to react to him running away, and they look sloppy for letting him escape so easily. The Unknown: Interesting opening scene. Who is BJ Vines and why is the Buffalo Society so against him in particular? How did this tie in with the robbery? What is the significance of BJ going against the Buffalo Society? How will this all play out? Why is the Buffalo Society allied with the witch? Hoski seems like he is the ringleader. How do his personal motives connect with the Buffalo Society? How about Frank? Frank seems to be very against killing Navajo people, while Hoski is fine with it. How was Frank convinced to go along with this? What exactly was Hoski's plan? What is he trying to do? Why is he so willing to kill to achieve his goals? Why did he need a cop car to go to the meet up? How will Chee and Leaphorn work around their problems? I strongly doubt that Chee is going to leave the reservation for his promotion. He's co-starring in this show, surely he sticks around. What will make him decide to stay? Best Moment: The dinner scene was nicely realized with some good emotional subtext. The dialogue in this series is stellar and feels very realistic, and it's aided by a strong cast. Character of the Episode: Chee. Conclusion: A good episode with more action and drama as the story starts to heat up. Score: 63 Summary: Max distracts Vecna while Eddie and Dustin distract the bats but Robin, Steve, and Nancy get caught by the vines. Mike’s group make a bathtub for El in the freezer of a Surfer Boy Pizza restaurant. El is able to find Max and saves her, fighting Vecna. Vecna overpowers El and starts to kill Max but El breaks out and defeats him. Nancy, Steve, and Robin defeat Vecna. Lucas is confronted by Jason and is unable to save Max. Max dies and an enormous gate opens in Hawkins, causing an Earthquake which kills Jason. El brings Max back but she’s comatose. Eddie, having been attacked by bats, dies while doing his distraction. Joyce, Murray, and Hopper return to the prison and kill all of the remaining monsters. Yuri and Dmitri provide an airlift and they get away safely. Everyone reunites in Hawkins, but the enormous gate remains open and Vecna has survived.
The Good: When the plan finally gets underway, it’s pretty fun to watch. Max luring in Vecna is a gripping sequence that has the uncertainty of success, and Eddie playing Master of Puppets as a distraction was awesome. Vecna’s scenes with El are pretty strong, especially how Vecna makes her feel despair. Mike giving her the motivation to keep going is an effective moment that finally gives Mike something to do in the season. Eddie’s death and Max’s coma gives the episode a sense of loss. Their final scenes are sad and impactful. Gaten Matarazzo in particular shines in his scenes grieving Eddie. Eddie finally becoming a hero as he died was predictable but no less effective. It was the perfect way to cap off his arc. The twist of the enormous gate opening was a surprise and it promises something hugely different for the final season. The closing scenes of the episode are fine and offer a decent resolution for the characters and the journeys they just went through. The Bad: The first hour of this episode was a chore. It’s over-indulgent because every scene feels drawn out. In place of a suspense-driven plot, we get interrupted with lengthy scenes of character interaction which fail to do anything of interest. This makes the pacing of the episode disjointed and frustrating, and the episode feels like a slog. The second half is also plagued with flaws. It has exciting moments, but there are too many storylines and too many characters to intercut between. We take forever to follow up again with some characters when they are in the middle of intense situations. Then after everything, the climax disappoints because it is another long, drawn out sequence that tested my patience. I don’t like the decision to have the Russia story stay permanently separated. Outside of a few moments, it was entirely uninteresting to follow and its relevance is extremely limited. Its only purpose is to bring Hopper back, which should have taken just one episode. Instead we’ve wasted a whole season on it. El being able to reverse death is kind of silly and damages the stakes of the show. The Unknown: What are the consequences of the enormous new gate opening? Did nobody notice this somehow? How is it that people have not found it? What happened to Murray, Yuri, and Dmitri? What happened with the military? They didn’t appear at all in this episode. What about Dr. Owens? Will Max wake up? Will she be back to normal or will she have some permanent damage? Best Moment: Eddie’s guitar performance was an epic spectacle. Character of the Episode: Eddie. Conclusion: This was too damn long. A lot of stuff here was pretty good, but the pacing and the exhaustive length turned this into a much tougher watch. Score: 55 Summary: Vecna gives Nancy visions of the future before she wakes. The group come up with a plan to fight Vecna and get weapons from a store called The War Zone and have an encounter with Jason. Max, Lucas, and Erika enter the Creel house to begin their plan. El learns that her friends are going to fight Vecna and tries to leave but Brenner doesn’t allow it. The military attacks the base and Brenner tries to smuggle El out but is shot down in the process. El defeats the military with her powers and is reunited with Mike when the group finds her. Hopper, Murray, and Joyce escape from the prison and Yuri offers to ride them back to America on his helicopter but he needs to fix it.
The Good: Everything involving El and Brenner was pretty good, and we got a satisfying resolution to their story as Brenner dies without El giving him any satisfaction because he did not deserve it. There are good layers to that scene. The helicopter crash scene was visually spectacular and a great moment. There were some other strong scenes. Nancy’s experience with Vecna at the start is suitably scary. Her encounter with Jason in the gun store was a surprising burst of tension that I greatly enjoyed. Noah Schnapp gave a good performance as he was there for Mike while obviously being conflicted by his own feelings for him. The Bad: The LA and Russia storylines have been a slog this season. I’m waiting for them to connect with the main story because they don’t have me interested right now. The Russians having a Demogorgon isn’t a surprise, but I have no idea how they ever managed to contain it with their terrible security. It’s embarrassingly bad. All of the scenes that slow down the plot to address love stories haven’t worked this season. They are cheesy, predictable, and uninteresting. The Unknown: Is there another gate in Russia? What plan did they come up with to fight Vecna? Will Jason get involved with this somehow? Will Yuri’s helicopter be good enough to get Hopper, Joyce, and Murray out of Russia? Best Moment: El standing up to Brenner and telling him that he’s the real monster. Character of the Episode: El. Conclusion: A solid episode of table-setting with an emotional edge from all of the El/Brenner stuff. Score: 65 Summary: Steve is saved from the bats. The group find a way to communicate with Dustin and head to another gate where Chrissy was killed to escape. They manage to get out, but Vecna entraps Nancy. The kids are interrogated by the cops but they escape to help Steve, Nancy, Eddie, and Robin. El continues through her memories and learns that Ballard was One, Victor’s son, and also Vecna. El freed him from his restraints and he massacred everyone, but then El banished him to the Upside Down and forgot everything. Murray and Joyce get into the prison as Hopper and Dmitri fight the Demogorgon. Murray and Joyce give Hopper and Dmitri an escape and Joyce reunites with Hopper.
The Good: El’s story impressed me in the end. I made a few guesses about Ballard, but I did not tie everything together. I expected that One was Vecna, but I was surprised that Ballard was One, that he was responsible for the massacre, that El banished him, and that he was Victor Creel’s son. The reveals were plentiful, surprised me, and answered so many of my questions in satisfying ways. We even learn how the first gate was created! I was thrilled by all of this, and I’m glad to see that “Stranger Things” opted to create a three-dimensional villain this season, someone with differing beliefs, a clear motive, and a fascinating relationship with a main character. I love the added layers to Vecna’s villainy, and it sets up the end of the season to be a dramatic thrill ride. The scenes with the main group are fun. It’s enjoyable to see them communicate with each other, and the show had some fun with the magically suspended rope. I liked the reveal that Vecna could open gates, mainly because the characters’ reactions to it were hilarious. The Russian story had an exciting climax as Hopper and Dmitri battle the Demogorgon, which looked fantastic and was horrifying with its killing ability. Murray impersonating Yuri was a delight and there was some good suspense in his interactions with the Russians. The Bad: The only big issue I have is that this episode is enormous. It certainly could have been trimmed down. The rest are small things that detract from the story. The opening scene should be intense, but it isn’t because it’s filled with character quipping which undersells the danger. I’m also confused why these creatures didn’t immediately inform Vecna of their presence. This season is trying way too hard to shove Steve/Nancy down our throats, and it is way too much. None of their scenes are good. There is still plenty of incompetence, mostly from the Russians, the cops, and the parents. How is it that Vecna was immediately able to get to Nancy when he had to wait before fully trapping everyone else? There are some moments where the show cuts away from a storyline for a long time during a really suspenseful moment. That disrupted the flow of the episode. The Unknown: Why is the Upside Down stuck in the time period of Will’s disappearance? Why did Vecna take so long to make his move? What happened to him when El sent him to the Upside Down? Will Nancy survive her current experience with Vecna? Will the others be able to help her? Did the military learn El’s location? Best Moment: Vecna’s speech that slowly revealed the truth about everything. Character of the Episode: Vecna. Conclusion: This was a good midseason finale with a huge twist at the end that elevates it significantly. One of the show’s very best episodes, even with its length. Score: 67 Summary: After Patrick’s death, Eddie is officially announced as a wanted man. The Hawkins group see that Eddie’s location has been compromised and they meet him at Skull Rock. Dustin realizes there is a gate nearby which they track to Lover’s Lake. Cops show up and get the kids, while Steve, Nancy, Eddie, and Robin end up going through the gate. Steve is attacked by bats. El continues to go through her memories and after seeing that she was bullied by the other kids, realizes that she murdered them. The LA group gets to Suzie’s house and track down El’s location. Hopper, Dmitir, and others are prepared to fight the Demogorgon. Murray and Joyce prepare to infiltrate the prison with Murray posing as Yuri.
The Good: This episode does a lot of things right. The ending sequence is dramatic and intense as the walls close in on the group at the lake, and having half of them in the Upside Down and half captured by cops is a good shake-up in the narrative. Jason is better defined as a character after witnessing Patrick’s death. I didn’t buy into how vengeful he was before, but it makes more sense now that he witnessed something awful firsthand. He’s still not written well (see: The Bad), but he’s more plausible. The Russia story was more enjoyable in this episode. Seeing Murray and Joyce messing with Yuri is surprisingly entertaining. The reveal of Hopper’s plan at the end of the episode was delightful and true to the character. I’ve come to enjoy his dynamic with Dmitri. I appreciate that El’s past parallels her experience with the bullies in her high school. The Bad: Again, this episode suffers from being too long and from being plot-heavy, falling into a lot of this show’s typical trappings of cheesiness, lazy plot development, and predictable storytelling. Jason’s speech to the community is so bad. It’s unfathomable that the police wouldn’t immediately shut him up, and it’s even stupider that people would believe this kid who sounds like he’s out of his mind. Seriously, is there nobody that questions Jason’s hilarious logic of Hellfire Club being a cult, seeing that he has zero proof? Stupid stuff like this hurts the story badly. Suzie’s house feels like it belongs in a cartoon, not a TV show based on the real world. Everything about that storyline was bad, from the over-the-top kid characters to the laughable “hacking” scenes. El’s bullying in the past doesn’t work for the same reason it doesn’t in the present. It’s so cheesy, and the fact that it’s even happening in such a tightly controlled lab is absurd. The scientists look like morons for allowing cameras to go off, and for not soundproofing the walls. El’s discovery at the end of the episode doesn’t have much emotional impact, particularly because we already knew what happened ages ago. The Unknown: Who was One? What happened to him? Is he responsible for Vecna? Thematically it makes sense since Vecna seems to be empowered by the traumatic memories of his victims, similar to how One gets his power. How did the gate open in the lake? Is Steve going to survive this attack? Will the others save him? How will the kids interact with the cops? What will they say? Best Moment: The reveal that Hopper was preparing a plan to kill the Demogorgon was a nice twist that was in-line with the character. Character of the Episode: Hopper. Conclusion: Another flawed episode, but this one had better drama and more excitement compared to the last one. Score: 58 Summary: El is taken to Nevada where she meets Dr. Brenner who will help her restore her powers. She’s forcibly apprehended and sent into her old memories. El tries to escape and her powers start to return. Mike, Jonathan, Will, and Argyle bury the agent that was with them and receive a phone number to find El. They head to see Suzie, in need of a hacker. Nancy determines that Vecna was in the Creel house in Max’s experience. The group explores the Creel house and find Vecna in the attic. At the same time, Jason’s group checks out Reefer Rick’s place and finds Eddie. Eddie escapes into the water and is chased, but Jason stops when Patrick is suddenly killed by Vecna. Hopper grows closer with Dmitri after being imprisoned with him. Joyce and Murray break out from Yuri’s imprisonment on the plane and it crashes.
The Good: The scenes with El are pretty interesting. It’s creepy how she can’t escape her memories, and these scenes are done well. It’s interesting to see everyone combing for clues in Victor’s house and there is some suspense there. Jason finding Eddie, and Patrick’s death was a dramatic climax to the episode. The Bad: The worst episodes of “Stranger Things” are the ones where a lot of plot happens because these developments are never interesting, well-written, or exciting to follow. It’s just hopping from one discovery to the other with no nuance and that’s what happened here. A lot of this is pretty bad, like Max inexplicably being able to remember every detail of Vecna’s world perfectly to the point that Nancy can rearrange Max’s drawings into Victor’s house. That’s so stupid and cheesy. Speaking of stupid and cheesy, that’s what all of the Nancy/Steve teasing feels like right now. It’s just a waste of time and uninteresting. The Russia story does not do much for me. The scenes in this episode are poor and I do not care since the conclusion is obvious. The plane fight and crash is laughably ridiculous, and they all should be dead. Hopper’s heartfelt speech doesn’t do much for me because it feels like a tacked on guilt story. El’s story suffers from the same problem of having an obvious conclusion. We know the secret that El has to uncover from her past, so there is no suspense or excitement. I’m just left to lose my patience as the show lazily meanders its way to an obvious conclusion. The Unknown: What is the monster from America? Is it a Demogorgon? What is the significance of Vecna’s clock? How about the spider jars? Why does Vecna kill from that one specific spot? How does this process of returning El’s powers work? We are already seeing it in action but I’m not sure how it’s happening. I thought it was supposed to take months. How will Jason react to Patrick’s death? Will this make him realize Eddie is innocent, or will he be more convinced of Eddie’s guilt? Best Moment: The sequence of El experiencing the same thing over and over. Character of the Episode: El. Conclusion: A frustrating episode that falls into the worst trappings of “Stranger Things”. Score: 50 Summary: Lucas reunites with the group. Nancy and Robin sneak into a mental asylum and speak with Victor. They are caught but they run away with the knowledge that music can save Max. Max makes letters for everyone she has to say things to. She speaks with Billy at his grave when Vecna attacks. Dustin, Steve, and Lucas play her favourite song and she is able to escape. Jonathan, Mike, and Will are under house arrest but the house is attacked by the military. They escape in Argyle’s car. Joyce meets Yuri as Hopper makes his escape. However, Yuri betrays Enzo and turns him in, capturing Joyce and Murray in the process.
The Good: Max has a really good episode as she stares down death. We get to see who she really is, and we even see her learn an important lesson about the value of reaching out to people while you’re still alive, which is something she definitely needed to learn. There are some good emotional scenes here, like the meetings with her mother and Billy. The climax of the episode becomes predictable in the end, but it’s still tense and exciting because it is directed and acted extremely well. Max surviving was a cheer-inducing moment that nicely concludes this story. Nancy and Robin are fun once again as they somehow manage to get the meeting with Victor. Victor’s story is horrifying and was a unique and engaging side story in the middle of the episode. Hopper’s escape was fun, and the Yuri twist at the end of the episode caught me off guard. Yuri’s demeanor is funny and it successfully lowered my guard to make this twist work. The shootout at the Byers’ house was exciting, and pulling off the oner was really impressive. Argyle continues to be a delight in every scene. The Bad: Again, the episode is too long. This has the necessary pieces to be great, but it is hampered by having so many storylines that have dragged out scenes. The experience is diminished by this. I am upset that the Hopper story is being dragged out even more. We know he will reunite with Joyce and there is nothing else that can surprise us along the way. I just want this aimless side story to resolve itself already. The cure to Vecna’s attack being music is a bit too convenient. The Unknown: Where will Jonathan, Will, Mike, and Argyle go now? Will Nancy and Robin be wanted for what they did? How will they get out of that situation? What happens now that Joyce and Murray are captured too? Is Victor’s house the same house that Vecna resides in in the Upside Down? Is Max safe from Vecna now? Why can’t he attack her again? Best Moment: Max escaping from Vecna was thrillingly tense and well put together. Character of the Episode: Max. Conclusion: An exciting and dramatic episode, even if it does feel overly long. Score: 66 Summary: Joyce and Murray go to Alaska. Hopper prepares a plan. El is arrested for what she did to Angela but she is pulled over by Dr. Owens who offers to get her powers back. The gang arrive at Fred’s crime scene where they meet with Nancy. Nancy and Robin investigate Victor Creel and discover that his family was killed by Vecna. Max, Steve, and Dustin break into the school to look at the counselor’s files. Max realizes that she is going to be the next victim. Lucas leaves Jason’s group.
The Good: This episode is really funny. There are lots of great comedy scenes, with a highlight being a Byers family dinner scene with Murray, which is great awkward humour. The rest of the episode utilizes character dynamics very well. We get plenty of great character interactions to keep things interesting, some old ones and some new ones too. From t e new ones, I’ll highlight Nancy and Robin’s story. I think it’s great to have two characters who don’t quite get along having a story together. It’s a unique dynamic. The reveal that Max is the next target was a great moment that raised the stakes significantly. The Bad: The plot development in this episode is classic 80s and fun to watch, but overly reliant on exposition. There also aren’t many surprises here, so the development isn’t that interesting. The Hopper story is progressing too slowly to be interesting. Nothing of note happens here. Jason’s group is boring. They are typical stupid jocks who do unrealistically terrible things. I’m still bothered by El’s story. The predictable result was for her to eventually get her powers back, and everything building up to this feels like a waste of time. More conflict between her and Mike does nothing for me. The Unknown: Will the military follow Dr. Owens to El? What is giving Vecna power? It seems like he has to be “fuelled” by something. How was he around back in 1959? Why was he dormant for so long after that? Will El be able to get her powers back? How will this happen? Did Lucas abandon his new friends to join the others? Best Moment: I’ll go with the funny dinner scene at the start of the episode. Lots of great awkward humour, which has become a staple of “Stranger Things”. Character of the Episode: Max. Conclusion: Another solid episode that hinges a lot on how funny it is. An enjoyable watch. Score: 60 Summary: Hopper has been captured and imprisoned in Russia. Joyce has been contacted by Enzo, a prison guard, who offers her a deal to save Hopper. She goes along with it. Max sees Chrissy’s body and tells Dustin that she suspects Eddie. Dustin goes to Steve and Robin, and the group find Eddie and he tells them what he saw, dubbing the new monster as Vecna. Mike arrives in California and goes on a date with El. Angela interrupts and bullies El until she snaps and smashes her head with a roller skate. Nancy and Fred investigate the murder to get a good story but Fred is attacked and killed by Vecna. Jason goes after Eddie for vengeance.
The Good: There’s some more fun stuff here. The fallout of Chrissy’s death gets the plot moving and we get some solid sequences in this episode. Fred is the next victim and the horror scenes are still effective. I particularly like how the Victor Creel story overlapped Fred’s experience. We haven’t seen much of Jonathan but his scene with Argyle was good comedy. Dustin is as great as ever as he immediately hops on the case. The Bad: While the scenes are all well made, several stories feel like filler at this point. Nancy and Jonathan don’t feel as important as they used to be, Joyce going after Hopper feels like an extended side story, and Steve and Robin feel like extraneous characters even though they are fun to watch together. This episode’s biggest fault is the Angela storyline, which is a cookie-cutter bully story with nothing interesting. There is plenty of dramatic exaggeration in these scenes and they do not work at all. I’m not at all interested in a Will/Mike conflict. It feels like the writers don’t know what to do with Will this season. Hopper’s survival feels really cheap. There was mystery built on how he survived, and the answer we’re given is that he just… survived. It’s absurd. The Unknown: Who was listening to the police reporting about Chrissy? How does Vecna choose his victims? Does he capitalize on past trauma? Would this make Max a possible candidate since she is still processing Billy’s death? What exactly do the Russians want from Hopper? Have they given up by imprisoning him? Will Joyce’s deal with Enzo go off without a hitch? Was it Hopper’s idea? Is there any substance to the Victor Creel story? Best Moment: Wayne’s story about Victor Creel was interesting to listen to. It’s neat to see how an average person would try to rationalize such a horrific sight. Character of the Episode: Nancy. Conclusion: Another decent episode, but this one was more flawed than the last with the same problems. Score: 54 Summary: A flashback shows Eleven murder many of the other child subjects in 1979. In the present, Will and El are adjusting to high school life. El is getting bullied by Angela. Joyce receives a doll in the mail and learns that Hopper is alive. Mike prepares to leave for California to meet El, and on his last day he finishes the school’s D&D campaign with Dustin, and the group’s leader Eddie. Lucas doesn’t attend and instead finds glory when he scores the winning goal for the school basketball team. Chrissy is having strange mental problems and goes to Eddie to get some drugs. At his house, she is brutally murdered by a new monster.
The Good: As always, the first episode of the season has some strong horror scenes. The opening and ending scenes are both unique, well produced, and very engaging. The horror in this series is always great. The show had fun reintroducing everyone and the scenes are mostly solid. Max’s grief stands out as she struggles to overcome her past trauma. I liked the intergroup conflict as Lucas finds himself preferring basketball to D&D, alienating Mike and Dustin. Eddie is a bit too much, but for now I will put him in The Good because he’s so damn fun. He’s funny, unpredictable, likeable, and entertaining. I enjoyed his presence. I liked the creativity that this episode had. Lots of clever editing and directing to make the most of the episode. The Bad: This was too long and that’s mainly because the episode is very slow. Some of the scenes here are frivolous (pretty much everything involving Steve/Robin and Nancy/Jonathan had no momentum or sense of relevance/direction), or overly stretched out (Joyce’s scenes, the needlessly stretched out D&D/basketball game scene). This show has always had extensive melodrama and that doesn’t change here. While the conflict between Lucas/the others is actually logical and has been set up, much of the rest feels overly dramatic and tacked on. El’s bullying for example is really bad to watch. The plot is uninspired and unoriginal, and it feels like it is adding nothing to the story. The Unknown: When did El kill everyone? Why didn’t she remember this? This feels like such a strange addition to the show. How did Hopper send the doll to Joyce? Why? What is this monster that killed Chrissy? How did it get to her? Why did it kill her? Who is next? Will Lucas choose his new friends over his old ones? Is Will gay? Who is that painting for? Best Moment: The ending sequence is superb, disgusting horror. Character of the Episode: Eddie. Conclusion: This was a pretty good season premiere, even if it was overly long and melodramatic at times. Score: 60 Summary: A new threat arrives in Hawkins: Vecna. He kills Chrissy and Eddie is framed for the murder. Dustin, Max, Steve, and Robin start investigating and eventually recruit Nancy when her partner Fred is also killed. They learn more information about Vecna and realize Max is his next victim. They discover that music gives her a way out and they save her using her favourite song. The group discovers a new gate in Hawkins and they hatch a plan to defeat Vecna. Meanwhile, El is bullied in LA and gets arrested after an outburst. She is then taken by Dr. Owens to restore her powers and she revisits her memories. Her memories reveal that Vecna is One, another test subject, and that El banished him to the Upside Down. El regains her powers and assists in the plan to fight Vecna. El manages to defeat Vecna, but Eddie is killed and Max is comatose. Vecna manages to open up an enormous gate in Hawkins despite being defeated. Meanwhile, Joyce learns that Hopper is alive and goes to Russia with Murray to save him. Hopper is in prison and makes a deal with Dmitri to escape, but the plan goes wrong. Joyce and Murray infiltrate the prison and save him.
The Good: Season 4 felt like a return to form for "Stranger Things" with horror and mystery once more taking center stage to make for the most engaging and interesting season since the first. Mystery and horror were what initially made this show so unique, so I was extremely pleased to see it take center stage again, at least in the Hawkins storyline. The deaths were all done in an unsettling and terrifying way to play up the horror, and there was a genuine mystery to uncover surrounding Vecna, his history, and his powers. Because of this, the story in Hawkins was easily the best part of the season, and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing everything unfold. As for the specific characters, Max's story was a definite stand-out. She's been one of the more forgettable new additions to the show, but her arc in this season was excellent. It was a powerful story about how easy it is to get lost in grief, and about the importance of staying open with the people that you are close to. It's an optimistic and beautiful story which allows Sadie Sink some time to shine, and nicely incorporates Lucas, giving him a greater purpose as her love interest to further the themes of the story. This is a big step up since in previous seasons Lucas and Max simply felt like an additional couple because the show had no idea what to do with these characters. This season gave Max and Lucas some great moments to shine. The episode "Dear Billy" was a stand-out for this story as it focused on Max's arc and featured a wonderfully tense scene as Max manages to escape from Vecna with her life in very real danger. Another highlight is the conclusion of Max's story. Max ending up comatose is a sad yet fitting conclusion for the season. Max has learned to value the people around her, and Lucas has stood by her ever since she almost died, but they don't get a happy ending. It's a win for Vecna, which creates a somber feeling of loss to conclude the season. It's a downer ending that sets up nicely for the final season. The other characters in Hawkins are a lot of fun too. Dustin, Steve, Nancy, and Robin are as fun as ever and I thoroughly enjoyed their interactions with each other. This is a good crew of protagonists to experience the mystery through. Nancy is clever and resourceful, Steve has heart and is unabashedly loyal, Dustin is the brains but also offers a lot of witty comedy, and Robin is the new recruit who is a bit of a wild card in terms of what she does and what she figures out. The characters play off of each other well and they are a good unit. But the standout character in my opinion is Eddie. Eddie isn't always there, but he is a breath of fresh air. He's portrayed well and is immediately likeable as a charismatic and unexpectedly well-rounded quirky character with a good character arc. Eddie is a good guy, but he starts the season running away instead of taking any risks, and as the season goes on, he gradually learns from everyone else about the value of being a hero. This leads to a great story in the season finale where Eddie decides that he is going to be a hero, and he gives his life to ensure Vecna's defeat. It's a simple arc, but effective mainly because of how well-written and well-cast Eddie was. The LA story isn't as effective as the one in Hawkins, but it has its moments. Specifically with El as she goes to recover her powers. This was always going to be her story for the season, and it was surprisingly engaging to experience El's suppressed memories, uncovering what exactly happened. I'll talk more about Ballard/Vecna later, and I'll instead focus on what this means for El as a character. The show teased that El's violent streak as we saw with Angela may be a lot more sinister than what we expected, and this story forced El to come to terms with who she really is. The twist is that it turns out that El actually doesn't have to accept that she's a violent brute, but to acknowledge that she is still a good person even if she happens to be violent at times. At heart, El is not a murderer, and it gives her more personal clarity when she realizes that, allowing her to confidently re-emerge with her powers. Another bit of depth to this story comes from El's relationship with Dr. Brenner. Brenner's return is a bit absurd (seriously, HOW is he alive?), but it is good to see the toxic nature of his relationship with El once again, emphasizing El's need to break away from any sort of relationship with him. Brenner's death scene is excellent because he does love El and he gives his life to save her, but El does not give him emotional satisfaction, because Brenner's love was misguided and he never cared about El as a person. Seeing El break free from his manipulations at the end was fitting and emotional. The rest of the LA story isn't much to write about, but I did like the introduction of Argyle, who offers some much-needed comic relief. He is the kind of character that could get tiresome extremely fast, but the show uses him sparingly and gets the most out of him. Now, I'm going to talk about Vecna, arguably the best thing about this fourth season. After three seasons of having monsters as the main villains, it is so refreshing to have an active character take over the role of the big bad. Vecna was fantastic in this role because it was immediately clear that he was more sentient than the Demorgorgon and Mind Flayer, making the character an interesting hook for the season. We spend much of the season gradually learning more and more about Vecna, until in the midseason finale we finally learn everything about him. And I won't lie, Vecna completely exceeded my expectations. The series of reveals about who he is was glorious, and I would be surprised if anybody watching managed to connect every single dot about who he is before that episode. Even with the reveals, what pleased me most was how directly connected Vecna was to El. This connection gives El a personal reason to take him down, given that she was the one who freed him and trapped him in the Upside Down. Furthermore, Vecna is extremely powerful and intimidating because of how unstoppable he is. He carries an enormous threat factor, and there is a palpable sense of danger when he is on screen. That's the sign of a good villain, one who is certainly worth building an entire season around. The decision to bring in Vecna as a villain is certainly one of the best writing decisions in this season, and I am excited to see where this character goes in season 5. The comedy and character interactions are a high point of this season. Almost every character is fun to watch, and there are plenty of laughs to go around in every episode. Whether it's Argyle being woefully uninformed, Dustin being a witty asshole, Robin getting freaked out, or something totally different, the show manages to make you laugh consistently. Comedy is an essential aspect of almost every TV show, and I think that "Stranger Things" nailed it in this season. The characters continue to develop fun relationships. While not every relationship is a winner, I did end up caring about a lot of the new connections in this season. Joyce teaming with Murray was lots of fun, Dustin's relationship with Eddie was a joy, and I liked the new connection between Nancy and Robin. This show always does a good job of making its characters connect with each other, and this fourth season is no exception to that. The presentation this season is better than it has ever been. Even with the excessive length, this season looks better than the previous three with hugely impressive special effects, tremendous editing, and memorable directing choices that gave this season some extra visual flair. I have no doubt that this is the best looking season of "Stranger Things", and every episode offers some sort of impressive looking sequence to watch. The Bad: This season's biggest problem is its length. Not that it's 9 episodes long, but that every episode is at least 60 minutes long, with several being much, much longer than that. The average episode is 75 minutes, and in some extreme cases, the episodes are even longer than that, with the season finale being nearly two and a half hours! This is way too much. TV shows are meant to be hour-long for a reason, because it is tough to craft engaging episode-long stories that can remain interesting for more than one hour. That is the problem that plagued "Stranger Things" this season. It was very rare that an episode in this season was consistently engaging for its entire runtime. Every episode had scenes that either went too long, or felt unnecessary to the show as a whole. This made it tougher to keep engaged with the story being told, and it brought down the quality of the season overall. Had the Duffer Brothers not overindulged into the story, this would have been a stronger season. One reason for this season being so long-winded is because the show is now bloated with characters. Every season introduces new characters, and that becomes a problem when the show is not removing characters at the same time. The result is that there are far too many characters who are being given storylines, leading to an excessive amount of storylines. Several characters felt extraneous this season. Robin feels like the odd character out in Hawkins because she isn't doing very much of note, and her main story is a romance that I'm not interested in. Steve and Nancy are teased heavily as well because the show is forced to give them a story. Meanwhile, the LA story suffers because nobody there is interesting. Jonathan, Will, and Mike all have nothing to do this season, and the characters are all spinning their wheels, making for a storyline that feels somewhat pointless overall. The worst offender is Will, whose whole story is bent on the fact that he may or may not be gay with a crush on Mike. The season spends nine episodes toeing around this, and doesn't even make any progress because it is never confirmed! This was immensely frustrating, and despite Noah Schnapp doing a really good job, he can't save a storyline that spends more time teasing than actively progressing. The worst result from having so many characters is that some storylines feel pointless, and as I mentioned before, that's exactly what happened. The LA story is the biggest example since nothing about it is important outside of El. I was always itching to get back to the main story whenever we spent time with the LA group. Even worse is the Russia storyline. Joyce reuniting with Hopper always should have been resolved in a single episode, but instead we ended up witnessing a season-long side story as Joyce saved Hopper. This story was nowhere near interesting enough to justify how much time was spent on it, and it had absolutely zero relevance to the main plot. Sure, there were some good scenes, but this story desperately needed to be condensed and streamlined because it was limited in storytelling, and uninteresting the entire way through. Much like with the LA storyline, I was always eager to get back to Hawkins whenever we spent time with Joyce, Murray, and Hopper. It's a bit of a shame because I did like Dmitri and Yuri as side characters, but we spent far too much time in this storyline for me to fully appreciate the few good things about it. This show has a bit of a problem with how it develops its plot. I noticed this about halfway through the season. It happens so often where the plot develops because a character intuitively happens to figure out exactly what they need to figure out to move on to the next situation. A lot happens because of coincidence and characters getting lucky, and when it keeps happening back to back, the plot becomes completely uninteresting and even frustrating. Its been a flaw in previous seasons, and it still is not fixed here. Best Episodes: E04 Dear Billy: This episode was powerful, mainly because of Max's excellent storyline as she stared down death. There was great suspense and emotion throughout this episode. E07 The Massacre at Hawkins Lab: One of the show's best ever episodes, mainly due to the superb Vecna reveal, and a surprisingly strong sequence of scenes in Russia. E08 Papa: A strong episode of set-up that was aided by the emotional significance of El finally standing up to Brenner. Worst Episodes: E02 Vecna's Curse: The second episode of the season was plagued by the silly Angela storyline, and the feeling that some of these side stories were pure filler. E05 The Nina Project: "Stranger Things" doesn't do well when it has episodes with limited character scenes and focuses on accelerated plot developments. This was one of those weaker episodes. E09 The Piggyback: This episode had good content, it was just way, way, way too long. It's a shame because the story was really good, I was just utterly exhausted by the time the episode ended. The execution let this down. Character of the Season: Eddie. Conclusion: Season 4 was a mixed season, like every season of "Stranger Things", but I think that it was easily the most enjoyable since the first. This season was ambitious, took risks, and had some really memorable moments. It did have the major flaw of being far too long and poorly paced, but if you can overlook that, almost everything here was really good and this season provided the exact sort of popcorn-flick entertainment that I'm looking for when watching a show like "Stranger Things". This season was never going to be great, or a masterpiece, or anything like that. But it was adequate entertainment and I have no regrets watching it. Summary: Joey is taken to see Monica and Chandler's new house and still struggles to accept them leaving. Phoebe changes her name to Princess Consuela Bananahammock, perplexing Mike. Rachel has an interview for a new job but runs into trouble when her boss is seated right next to her.
The Good: The cast continues to carry the show. The opening scene is so funny because everyone has great chemistry by this point in the series, and they extract a lot of humour. Joey is a bit childish in this episode (see: The Bad), but he has some good moments like not knowing what escrow was, and a few odd lines with the kid were pretty funny. There's another good joke as Joey refuses to help Phoebe with the thing she wants Mike to do in bed. Rachel at the interview was a great premise and it was funny to see her struggle to salvage the interview and ultimately lose both. Ross has a terrific episode as he pops in without enough information and it makes for lots of laughs. Mike is pretty good for once as he plays along with Phoebe's name change to help her realize how stupid she was being. Craig Robinson has a fun cameo in this episode too. The Bad: Joey is too childish and moronic in this episode. The episode takes it way too far, and the final joke of Joey speaking to a teddy bear is completely ridiculous. Joey's been written as an extreme idiot lately and I'm not pleased by this. Phoebe's name change story is fine, but ultimately feels inconsequential and goes to a predictable conclusion. Best Moment: Ross celebrating his success in Central perk, oblivious to Rachel's failure. Character of the Episode: Ross. Conclusion: This was a pretty standard episode with some funny moments. Score: 66 |
Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
March 2024
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