Summary: Barry is able to leave the house and is found and taken to a hospital by Ryan's father. He has visions of the people he has killed on a beach. Sally struggles with her new job and sees that Natalie has a new show. She lashes out at her but Natalie records it and posts it online. Sally makes an awful apology video and embraces her dark side. Lindsay drops her. Gene starts working on his master class with Annie directing. Hank goes to Bolivia to find Cristobal but is captured by the Bolivians. Fuches is taken to the police by Jim Moss. Jim learns about Barry's involvement and meets with Gene to get more information. Albert hears from Fuches about what Barry has done and prepares to go after him.
The Good: Sally is the star of the show in this one as her story comes full circle. We started the season with her having her own show and on the verge of breaking out with an enormous success. But in the span of three episodes, she went from having everything to having nothing as everything fell apart. Her show was cancelled, she was rerouted to a terrible writing role, and she had to watch as her assistant rose higher than her by pandering to a nonsensical algorithm instead of actually having a vision. Her frustration is completely understandable, but it's what she does with it that makes her lose our support. She takes everything out on Natalie in a vicious elevator scene, and I was stunned to see her be so ruthless, degrading and unsympathetic with someone who has been there for her since the start of the season. Then there's her apology video, which was comically bad yet still in tune with how narcissistic Sally has been since the start of the show. This season has toned her down to get us hopeful that she can get out of her toxic relationship and find success, but we are given a harsh reminder that Sally isn't a particularly good person. Her "apology" and defense of it is a reminder of that. Even Lindsay is disappointed at seeing who Sally really is, and Sally's hateful words as she edges her way into the darkness (literally) is the final straw for Lindsay who leaves her. Sally has absolutely nothing and her career has been burned to the ground. It should be interesting to see where she goes next. The next big storyline to discuss is Fuches'. Fuches is the catalyst for two major players going after Barry: Jim and Albert. Jim is the simpler story. He proves to be much more competent and frightening than everyone else that Fuches sent to kill Barry, so much so that he turns Fuches in and launches into his own investigation. Gene's demeanour around him is a good way to show us how intimidating he is, and there's a nice directing flair to emphasize Jim noticing Gene sweating. Albert is a bit more interesting as he confronts Fuches and gets Fuches to open up about who he is to Barry. Naturally, Fuches dodges questions about himself and fixates on setting another deadly threat in Barry's direction by channeling Chris's death to get Albert hungry for vengeance. Gene has a few scenes and they are solid. His acting master class is decently funny, and I like that Annie is struggling to readjust back into the director job. It's quite funny that she still manages to forget the name of her assistant even with all of this pressure. Hank has one really funny moment when he doesn't do anything about the man preparing to shoot him with a blowgun because he "didn't want to be rude". Barry's story has its problems (see: The Bad), but there are some good ideas at play with it. The sequence of Barry on the beach with everyone he killed was effective, and there was a surprisingly intense conclusion as Ryan's father killed himself while bringing Barry to the hospital. The scene was a bit forced, but it plays into the season's themes of forgiveness. I got a good laugh out of Jim bringing Fuches in to the cops. The Bad: The same flaws re-emerge. With so many individual story threads, it becomes difficult to tell a cohesive and satisfying story in 30 minutes. The rapid intercutting of scenes was as jarring as ever, and I still believe that the decision to have so many short scenes was a mistake for this season. Barry's story is especially hurt by this. He has a fever dream experience of sorts, but the sense of mystique and immersion is ruined because we cut away from him so quickly to go see other characters. As a result, I never got into the feel of this dream-like experience, and much of its impact is lost on me. I was also very confused about Ryan's dad's involvement and the details of what happened here. Why did Sharon leave after sounding so vicious and ready to kill in the last episode? How did Barry survive? How did Ryan's dad find him? None of these questions get answered, and that makes Barry's survival feel convenient and not organic within the story. Hank's story didn't work for me. Even moreso than everyone else, Hank feels disconnected from everything. He's hardly been afforded any time in the last two episodes, and now he's suddenly in Bolivia somehow, and then he is randomly able to find an exact person who knows Cristobal so he can turn Hank in. It's rushed, nonsensical, and doesn't feel like satisfying storytelling. I'm not very interested in Hank's story right now, which is a shame because the character is great. Albert going after Barry is a bit too filled with tropes. He inexplicably turns off the cameras to the investigation room and decides to go on his own to confront Barry without telling anyone. These decisions are inexplicable, even the explanation of Albert not trusting the incompetent LAPD is not enough to gloss over this. The Unknown: What happened to Sharon? Where did she go? Why and how did Barry survive? Will he be found at the hospital by someone? What is Sally's next move? Her career looks like it is screwed. Will she return to Barry? Will Albert and Jim go after Barry on their own? How is this all going to turn out? Will Hank and Akhmal be able to escape from the Bolivians? What happened to Batir? Best Moment: Sally ranting at Lindsay and completing her fall from grace. Character of the Episode: Sally. Conclusion: I really enjoyed seeing the result of Sally's development this season, but other than that this was more of the same. It's funny, enjoyable television, but hurt by too many characters in their own isolated storylines. The show is still very good, but never sniffs great. Hopefully the season finale can bring things together in a satisfying way. Score: 65
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
March 2024
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