Okay, I will say that this episode was quite the mixed bag for me, and while I still came out of it curious and excited for what comes next, I'm also feeling a lot of kind of bad energy about the fact that there are only three episodes left, and all the things they've set up that I can't imagine being satisfactorily paid off. Let's talk about it.
Cons:
There were many scenes/moments/ideas in this episode where I found myself thinking: if there was going to be a season five, or if this was happening in the first third of the season, I would like it just fine. But that ticking clock made it really hard for me to ignore the overall pacing issues of this season. For example, we get time to linger on Bonnie's emotional journey, to work with Tezca on coming to terms with her brainwashed villainy. We have time spent with Shivani and her grief for her daughter, the ways in which she and Liz are diverging on their goals. None of this stuff is bad, and if there were going to be a fifth and final season of this show, I don't think I'd mind as much. But none of this is why I'm here, and it does feel like we're wasting quite a bit of time that could have been spent with our core characters and their relationships.
I think the big one for me in this regard has got to be all the stuff happening with Evil!Liz. Now, as I'll talk about below, I kind of love the idea of Liz going full ruthless, dedicating herself to the science and shutting off her compassion. But there are three episodes of this show left, and Max and Liz are... broken up? Liz and Max have continually made these big unilateral decisions that cause serious problems for their relationship, and again and again it appears that they haven't learned their lesson. Hard to root for a happily ever after for them in just a few short episodes, when I'm sitting here thinking maybe it's for the best that they be apart...
Also, this is more of a "what I wish we could have seen" thing, but I thought Liz being the "bad" version of herself was going to be a lot more subtle and complex. The idea that this version of Liz isn't irredeemably bad, but merely that there's a ruthlessness there, borne out of fear and curiosity, that is no longer being tempered by some of her better instincts. Because of how extreme her choices are, it felt a little stupid to me that Max wouldn't immediately pick up on how awful she was being. The fact that Rosa had to point it out to him, and use the addict analogy to get him to see what was going on, just made it seem like Max doesn't know Liz very well at all.
I know I've mentioned this in like every review of this season, but one sort of overarching problem I have with Alex's absence is that the sense of urgency will ebb and flow in strange ways, as a function of the show's timeline not being clearly delineated. From what I can gather, the events of this episode are happening one day after Michael first found out Alex was missing. That's fine, that all makes sense to me... but it strikes me as odd and kind of stupid that Maria was getting messages from Alex, then they find the sinkhole and those messages abruptly... stop? Maria used her new powers in this episode to figure out about the portal and the alternate dimension, but did Alex just stop trying to reach out to her the second they knew he was in trouble and about the sinkhole? If so, why? And did Michael or Maria or whoever else not ask Alex to reach out to give them further guidance? It's little things like that, where the sense of urgency and the timing feel unclear and off to me, that stops this from being a really good episode in my view.
Also... this is just one last thing on my wish list... I really liked seeing Michael and Kyle team up, and Maria and Rosa's scene was nice, but I really wish the four of them could have teamed up and done more together. That would have been really fun to see. As it was, the scenes actually focused on solving the mystery of Alex, Bonnie, and Dallas's whereabouts felt a little disjointed, and kept getting interrupted by things I didn't care about nearly as much.
Including... Isobel and Tezca. I feel like Isobel has gotten a raw deal this season. I really didn't like the plot line with Anatsa, I've thought the Kybel stuff has been pretty hit or miss, and this whole new revelation about Tezca being her mentor, while potentially interesting, keeps her siphoned off into this little plot cul de sac and gives us less time between her and the other characters that I want to see her interact with. It's distracting the hell out of me that nobody has asked Tezca any questions about Alex... like, they seem to know Clyde was the one who sent Bonnie and Dallas through, and I guess they assume the same is true for Alex? But why not ask Tezca, a person literally in on the plan, if she has any information? Tezca is the one who sent Alex through that sinkhole to begin with. Would be great if they'd address that.
Pros:
Okay. Sorry. I feel like that was a lot of complaining. This episode really was okay, and I like to keep a positive attitude. Overall, I still do enjoy tuning into this show, even though if I'm being brutally honest, this last season's main story beats have been pretty incoherent and poorly paced and just not that fun. I like the characters, though, and for that reason I still eagerly await how it's all going to wrap up for them.
To start, even though I did feel a little antsy when we were spending time with Bonnie and Dallas, I do honestly like these characters and thought they had a good energy together as they tried to figure out where they were, and talked about Bonnie's purpose on Oasis, and her love for Earth. Bonnie works as a good counterpoint to Michael, in that she grew up on Oasis but feels like she's found her home elsewhere on Earth. It's all about feeling empowered to make that choice. And I like that in the end, Bonnie decided to stay in the alternate universe to "help [her] friend find the man he loves." You go, Bonnie! Michael hugging Bonnie and Dallas when he passed through the portal was also really cute.
Okay, and in terms of Liz and Max: like I said above, I think I'd feel really different about this if there was a whole other season left for them to sort out their shit. Like, if this season ended with them broken up and separated and Liz fully down the rabbit hole, I'd have a great time with that. I was legitimately pretty excited when Liz coldly refused to tell Rosa what she needed her blood for, put her down for being an addict, then went and dumped Max as a boyfriend, and Shivani as a science partner, all in one fell swoop. Damn, girl. You're really going through it, aren't you? All of this is so fun, I like that Liz has always had these ruthless tendencies and now she's just fully leaning into them. I think my favorite moment was with Max, when he talked about her experiments on the dead frog being unethical and she shoots back with "so it's only okay when you do it?" That was pretty intense. Liz and Max really do have some good chemistry and the way they both played that high stakes conversation really worked for me. Max saying he always just wanted to be the guy standing behind Liz Ortecho was also really sweet. He admires her and her intellect and innovation so much, even though he knows at this point that she's gone too far.
I've mentioned that the Kybel stuff this season has been a really mixed bag, but broadly speaking I loved them here... the awkward, intense hug full of so much regret and longing, and then Max picking up on the ~vibes~ when Kyle watches Isobel walk away... also, Michael giving sage but vague advice while also giving off the energy of "I don't care about your love life problems when my soulmate is missing." All very fun. I suspect Kybel might not get the time it deserves to flourish in these last few episodes, but I hope we can at least end on hope for them in the future.
And then there's the subplot that I of course I care about the most, the continuing quest to find Alex and Dallas and Bonnie. Rosa and Maria have a great scene together, where Maria takes Rosa's advice in order to channel her new abilities into further answers. I really love where we've come out on Rosa's character, that she has gained some equilibrium and can offer advice to Maria on her journey with her powers. Given that Rosa wasn't in a ton of this season, this is exactly where I'd expect and want to see her, with her life mostly figured out, able to in some ways reassert some of the "older sister/older friend" energy that would have been her role.
Kyle is the MVP of this entire show, to be perfectly honest. What a good dude. I would watch hours of him and Michael working together. I like how Kyle is just being a nice guy, and then Guerin can't help but be impatient/dismissive of him, up to and including him saying how much he hates it when Kyle is right. And Kyle really brings the comedy ("oh my god. Is this some space curse?"), along with the heartfelt, in his speech about Alex reaching back for Michael, how he wants to be with Michael just as badly as Michael wants to be with him. That concept, of Kyle being willing to hold the faith and keep believing even when Michael falters, that's honestly one of the most moving and important things you can do for the people in your life who you love. Sometimes it's hard to stay positive, but if you can take that on for someone else for a while, giving them an opportunity to rest, that's a real gift!
Obviously I love seeing Michael all worried and mopey about Alex... the moment where he's fiddling with his necklace and looking off wistfully into space is particularly touching. His decision at the episode is, to be honest, the Height of Romance! He goes through that portal even though he knows he will be trapped there. He goes through because his priority is getting to Alex. It doesn't even seem to register with him that the mystery of his console has been solved, that if they get more fuel, it could be a way for him to go home to Oasis. The second that Michael knew Alex was in trouble, that became his one priority. I'm honestly looking forward to next week, wondering how Max and Isobel are going to react to Michael's choice... I hope we get to see them process that a bit, and obviously my fingers are crossed that we'll actually see Alex at last!
So that's where I'll stop. I know this review has a lot of complaining in it... honestly, staying positive in this fandom can be kind of hard sometimes because a lot of people seem to approach the episodes just waiting to be pissed off and disappointed, and there's a bit of a feedback loop with that stuff, where my own opinion gets tangled up in the negativity I see elsewhere. This isn't the final season of the show I would have chosen, I can definitely admit that. But I'm still excited and hopeful that our final three episodes will leave me mostly satisfied!
7/10
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