[6.0/10] This one is a tough episode to grade, because the Mo/Dawn stuff is utterly dire, but the Blair/Keith stuff was pretty good! So we’ll average out to a “fine.”
Good lord, the Mo/Dawn storyline though. This felt like an R-rated version of a plot from Full House. Mo is utterly unlikable and basically a cartoon character when he refuses to admit he has a broken foot because he’s afraid Nomi will think he’s old. The absurd lengths he goes to avoid revealing this are moronic. And the way he’s constantly calling Dawn old or fat to project this onto her is just awful. He’s a total asshole, despite Dawn going out of her way to help him, and it sends me back to season 1 levels of “Why do I want these people to get together?”
But the Blair/Keith half of the episode was much better. I like what they’re doing with Blair here, with all these opportunities for him to be real or otherwise jump off the train that’s barreling down the tracks with him on it. There’s so many chances for him to be a decent human being or at least a less terrible one, and he keeps picking the most self-serving, craven, lowest common denominator possible. The implication is starting to be that rather than an assassin making moves like nearly crushing him with a jumbotron, this is divine justice, but I suspect there’s a more mundane explanation. Either way, I like this character arc for Blair, and I’m curious to see where it goes (and how far).
Plus, this half of the episode is funny to boot! While there’s pathos in acknowledging the trauma Corky’s been through, there’s also a lot of laughs to her father’s absurd funeral plans and Tiff’s efforts to get out of them. Keith’s efforts to stage manage the whole thing are quite funny, as are the raft of gags which pay tribute to Pastor Swafford’s big honking grift. I got a particular kick out of the obviously cobbled together video of the pastor’s “farewell message.”
Overall, half of this episode was a quality Black Monday mix of the transgressively irreverent and sincere, and half of it was a bizarre sitcom plot grafted onto a show that normally does better.
Yeah, this is terrible now, I’m just watching this out of habit. The premise of the first season was excellent; funny, witty and quite an intelligent spoof on Wall Street. It’s just complete nonsense now
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2021-08-26T01:00:02Z
[6.0/10] This one is a tough episode to grade, because the Mo/Dawn stuff is utterly dire, but the Blair/Keith stuff was pretty good! So we’ll average out to a “fine.”
Good lord, the Mo/Dawn storyline though. This felt like an R-rated version of a plot from Full House. Mo is utterly unlikable and basically a cartoon character when he refuses to admit he has a broken foot because he’s afraid Nomi will think he’s old. The absurd lengths he goes to avoid revealing this are moronic. And the way he’s constantly calling Dawn old or fat to project this onto her is just awful. He’s a total asshole, despite Dawn going out of her way to help him, and it sends me back to season 1 levels of “Why do I want these people to get together?”
But the Blair/Keith half of the episode was much better. I like what they’re doing with Blair here, with all these opportunities for him to be real or otherwise jump off the train that’s barreling down the tracks with him on it. There’s so many chances for him to be a decent human being or at least a less terrible one, and he keeps picking the most self-serving, craven, lowest common denominator possible. The implication is starting to be that rather than an assassin making moves like nearly crushing him with a jumbotron, this is divine justice, but I suspect there’s a more mundane explanation. Either way, I like this character arc for Blair, and I’m curious to see where it goes (and how far).
Plus, this half of the episode is funny to boot! While there’s pathos in acknowledging the trauma Corky’s been through, there’s also a lot of laughs to her father’s absurd funeral plans and Tiff’s efforts to get out of them. Keith’s efforts to stage manage the whole thing are quite funny, as are the raft of gags which pay tribute to Pastor Swafford’s big honking grift. I got a particular kick out of the obviously cobbled together video of the pastor’s “farewell message.”
Overall, half of this episode was a quality Black Monday mix of the transgressively irreverent and sincere, and half of it was a bizarre sitcom plot grafted onto a show that normally does better.