[6.8/10] So many of these finales are so overstuffed. There’s just too much going on, and not enough down-to-earth moments amid the bombast to make it all hang together. This is a problem which has afflicted most of the MCU shows to date (with the noteworthy exception of Loki), and I’m already a little tired of it.
At first, I enjoyed the chaos of this one. When Eleanor Bishop’s big ball is going down, you have a tone of, well, balls in the air. Clint and Kate are on the scene. They’ve brought their LARPer friends to back them up. Jack is out of jail. Maya/Echo has turned on her mob affiliates. Kazi is playing sniper. Kingpin is pulling the strings. The Tracksuits are on the scene. Eleanor herself is poking around the place. Yelena is still hunting down Clint. With so many intersecting circles, there’s fun that can be had.
But it turns into one giant clusterfuck. Streamlining these events down to a few key points might have helped make them work. But such as it is, the season finale for Hawkeye is just too much. The constant cuts between various interconnected storylines doesn’t make it hard to follow exactly. “So This Is Christmas?” isn’t exactly Twin Peaks in terms of making it puzzling to know what’s going on. But it does leave the episode feeling disjointed.
It breaks down to a few key one-on-ones. Maya squares off with her boyfriend/betrayer, Kazi, and god help me, I just don’t care. Maya was an interesting character in her introduction, but Kazi’s a big nothing. We’ve barely seen the two of them together, so him choosing the mob over her, or feeling like he can’t escape from it, while she implores him to bail on it with her, doesn’t aeey the weight the show wants it to.
By contrast, past events give the interactions between Clint and Yelen greater meaning. I like what the show’s trying to do here. These are the two people most connected to Natasha, the ones who are both still processing her death in many ways. Having them fight but ultimately commiserate with one another is a good tack. Unfortunately, the dialogue is stock and the back-and-forth between them is rote. The moment isn’t as powerful as it ought to be, and it’s not some failure in conception or in performance from two talented actors. The show just can’t write or stage their heart-to-heart in a way that maximizes the potential of the two people still grieving Black Widow coming together.
LAst and maybe least, I got nothing out of Kate confronting her mother and fighting Kingpin. There's potential in the mom stuff, particularly in Kate’s sense that her mom went too far with all the deceit and urder, and Eleanor’s standard “I made hard choices for us” defense. But it’s too brief and underexplored. Maybe there’s room for more later, but it felt awfully abrupt for arguably the central relationship for Kate.
Likewise, all the Kingpin stuff is underbaked. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Kingpin in the Netflix Daredevil show and it’s a thrill to see D’Onorio in the MCU proper. But Fisk is too underdeveloped in this show to matter beyond the cachet of the character from other stories. The show does its best to tie him into events the audience has already seen, but it feels perfunctory and underfed. Bringing him back just to (presumably) fake kill him off seems dumb. And while it’s compelling to see him shrug off arrows and seem superhuman, his fight with Kate leaves much to be desired.
This is all before a ton of unbelievable crap happens in the finale. Look, this is a superhero story. A certain amount of heightened reality is the cost of doing business. Maybe it’s just the reverse-halo effect of the less-compelling parts of this one’s story casting a shadow over other elements of the production. But Kate falling several stories and not having so much as a scratch, Clint tumbling from the Rockefeller Center tree and being no worse for wear, and a strange friendly owl in the middle of all this, the show exhausted my willing suspension of disbelief.
So what works in this one What’s already worked on the show. Kate and Yelena remain great together, and the combination of their friendly banter and the best-in-the-episode fight ements them as the true highlight of this one. Likewise, the friendship between Kate and Clint has really blossomed over these six episodes. There’s some “yada yada yada”-ing as to how they get there, but watching them construct trick arrows is fun, hearing Clint warn Kate about this life but call her his partner is heartening and seeing the original Hawkeye bring the new one home to meet his family is sweet. I’m not 100% sold on the two of them as a team, but I’m most of the way there.
Hell, there’s even a few surprises. Once it’s revealed that Tony Dalton’s Jack Duquense is essentially a good guy, he’s a hoot. I’m definitely interested in seeing more of him in the MCU, and by god, somebody ought to cast Dalton as Gomez Addams.
Overall, Hawkeye and its finale fall squarely into the “fine but unspectacular” category. There’s enough here, chiefly in Kate’s relationships with Yelena and Clint, to make it worth watching. And there’s enough, in Kate’s complicated relationship with her parents and Clint’s complicated relationship to his superhero past, especially Natasha, to give it some gravitas. But there’s nothing so unique or compelling here to make it a must-watch or indelible part of the MCU. The series isn’t a complete miss, but it’s definitely a bit off the mark.
(All that said, I’m intrigued at the hint that Clint’s wife, Laura, is a current/former Shield agent, and I love love loved the glimpse we got of Rogers: The Musical, particularly the silly commitment to the bit.)
So this episode kinda dropped the ball? It's not as bad as "WandaVision" or "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier", but it's still weird.
Like, Yelena decides to believe Clint because he spent so much time with Natasha and knew her so well? Didn't Yelena already know that? Even if you think it's this empathetic moment, there are no tangible ideologies in conflict here.
So Clint and Kate's arc? Like, he tells her to stay away because he doesn't want to see her get hurt, but then she joins him again, no questions asked.
Kate and her mum's arc felt weird. It's like, Eleanor did all those things because she had to take responsibility for her husband's debt, but Kate just paints her as a villain, with no sympathy. Like, c'mon. Really? She did all this for you, Kate. It's just too complicated for Kate to shrug her off as a villain and call it a day.
Anyway, it's one of the weaker episodes in the series. I wish I liked this more than I did, but it's not as strong as the earlier episodes. I still love Hailee's Kate and Jeremy's Clint, though.
6/10
Finally something actually happened after they dragged the season for absolutely nothing.
After four mediocre episodes in a row with three of them being filler, this episode is decent enough. Those previous episodes serve no actual purpose other than waiting for the plot to trigger itself by that call.
The dialogues in this episode could be better and so could the way the scenes are cut, especially for the first half. People seem too eager to join The Mando in his quest for the sake of moving the story. However the last 5-10 the minutes is quite watchable with enough tense. The brute killing in the last scene seems to suggest they're going with the "evil Empire" cliche, but I wish they could do better than that next episode.
It seems like the story just started to be set in motion and we will be left with more questions as Season 1 ends, which unfortunately seems to be Disney+ business model: just make cute Baby Yoda stuff for moms and Star Wars reference for dads, figure things out later in Season 2.
On positive notes, it's nice that they attempt to do more world-building like shocktroopers having signature tattoo, each Imperial province having their own insignia, and the Imperial warlord trying to convince people that the world is better with colonialism.
I was ok with the poor character development when the TV series departed from the books. I used to like thinking it was a kind of alternate universe from the "real" one.
They struggled on TV to show daenerys as a spoiled and selfish girl instead of the woman who was learning to have patience and wielding power in a so goodhearted way it asked a high price from her in the books.
But nothing could justify her acts on this episode. After their utter and final SURRENDER she says "guess what I'm gonna burn them all". Not even aiming to Central tower. Just make an open air barbecue of the city. The breaker of chains, mother of the slaves, making all peasants BURN. There is no plot excuse. 7 years of character building thrown out the window.
This is not the only problem in this episode. Arya is useless but survives inferno and has a magical horse appearing. Cersei dies in the most disappointing way. Euron just happens to swim to the EXACT LOCATION Jamie is.
Frankly I would not be surprised if D&D choose to end it next week explaining that all of it was a westworld simulation experienced by androids. Because the Deus Ex Machina limit has been breached a long time ago, and they keep forcing it.
What in the actual f*ck.
I'm a reasonable man, I realize I've been crapping on D&D even more than usual this season but I really do have to give them props for doing exactly what they set out to do. They hoped to subvert our expectations and they did just wonderfully in that regards.
We expected all of that buildup over the years to actually amount to something that at the very least passes for a presentable series finale but instead, we got an incoherent, steaming pile of shit. Expectations subverted!
We expected all of that character development to actually result in a beautiful pay-off that respects the journey of self-discovery each and every one of our beloved characters went through to get to where they are now but instead, we got a painful, disrespectful cycle of character regression. Expectations subverted!
We expected the final season of this show to keep us at the edge of our seats with thrilling writing that didn't subvert our expectations for the sake of subverting our expectations via low-quality shock value-seeking writing, but to introduce plot twists that make sense within the overall narrative of the story but instead, we got CW-level predictable, cringe material. Expectations subverted!
I get it. I really do. GRRM let them down by not getting the books ready in time and so they had to improvise away from his influence, but this? This? For a long while, Game of Thrones lived up to the slogan of its parent network, it wasn't just TV, it was something different, something unique and now to have to see it come to this... it's nothing short of disappointing.
On the bright side though, at least this episode didn't suck completely. The acting, score and cinematography were all on point, so I guess it's nice that I didn't walk out of it having appreciated absolutely nothing about it.
So why do I even bother anymore? I honestly could not tell you, though it's probably a mixture of masochism and a faint sliver of hope that they won't flush our collective investment into this series down the drain by the end of it, just one more episode dammit.
Man, they did a great job this season, I enjoyed it so much! I almost wish we had 13 episodes as usual with these shows because it feels like it went by so quick, but well, maybe that's one of the reasons it was so good.
This finale had what I thought were the best fight scenes this show ever had... or at least my personal favourites. Not just the fight sequences but the fact that everyone was involved - Colleen with Davos, then Danny with Mary, then Misty shows up... it felt very well put together. And I love the different coloured fists depending on the person, really gives it a comic-book vibe.
Colleen gaining the fist was something I never expected in a million years. Being a superhero show I'd say you sort of instantly expect Danny to recover the power and use two fists... but they went on a completely different direction focusing on Colleen for a while there and that elevated the story. And then it all came together with her ancestors' story/her destiny, it was impressive and exciting. We need more!
It sucks that there is still no suit for Danny but at this point it almost feels out of place. At least this season we got to see the cowls. What we did get, though, were the two glowing hands in that crazy Japan scene. If season 3 is at least partially about Danny and Ward's travels, I'm all for it.
Other than that, Ward was one of the highlights for me (just like season 1), I like where they ended with Joy, I adore how they're pairing Misty and Colleen... and there is Mary, who made everything even better - even with all that was going on, they managed to introduce and give a whole backstory to this character, hopefully we get to see more of her soon. (Military story kinda fits Punisher...?)
Super excited about the after-credits scene, which I would have totally missed if not made aware of before watching (Netflix, at least on PS4, would have bypassed it). Daredevil coming in November/December?
The man who rode that train was built weak and born to fail. You fixed him. Now forget about it. Teddy 2.0
Dolores wanting to change everything but herself, Maeve wanting to change herself to influence the world.
What we learned in Phase Space
Dolores is programming and testing and Arnold bot
Or maybe, that's not her (or her cr4-dl consciousness). That's Ford. He needs to have her appearance b/c that's what the real Arnold knew about that conversation.
William thinking his daughter was a host sent by Ford. ROFL!!!
Of course, he was testing her to see if she was a real or host version of Emily sent by Ford as part of the game
Climate control is working
More about the Cradle
Cradle—spelled CR4-DL is "the simulation technology that stores and tests all of our storylines" and ensures customers "get the immersive and dynamic experience [they] deserve." So it's the way Delos test-drives its experiences. Bernard describes it as a "backup," and Elsie calls it a "hive mind" where all the host's consciousnesses are "alive.
Japanese Armistice is sticking with Maeve and the gang
William and Emily's relationship has been...difficult
William confused his wife with his daughter when recounting the story about the elephants in Raj World. Does that say something about his family life, a simple slip of the tongue, or is it something else like MIB is a Host?
Maeve's daughter has new parents
Who didn't see Maeve meeting her replacement? Did she think her daughter was all alone? That was typical of Lee to omit that little piece of information. And what is the Ghost Nation's game?
Ghost Nation wanted Maeve to come with them. Since they protect the guests, there was also more to Maeve than simply being a host.
Akecheta is awake & probably sees that Maeve is too!
Teddy 2.0 is Stone Cold
Dolores is going to regret reprogramming Teddy in the coming episodes.
Her reactions were so funny "oh shit what have I done!"
Teddy is aware that Dolores reprogrammed him. I feel that will be important later.
Ford is inside the Cradle
Ford's back, or at least an approximation of his consciousness in the Cradle. We all suspected Ford would return as a Host despite the flat-out denials from Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Nolan & co.. They pretty much telegraphed his return over the season (he's in the system, briefly surfacing in Hosts e.g. young Ford), but Episode 4 all but confirmed it.
Dolores and Maeve storylines ** is not interesting at all. They're currently paper thin and taking their sweet time to go anywhere.**
The Man In Black's daughter who we know nothing about is a far more compelling character.
The Cradle Is Capable Of So Much More Than We Expected
The Cradle, in essence, is a server that stores memories and consciousness for retrieval. Like a file cabinet, the hosts’ “data” is copied and contained within the server, and can be accessed to run theoretical or training simulations on the robots. The main function of the Cradle, though, is to act as a backup for each of the intricately-crafted hosts; a way for Delos to preserve the work that went into detailing their appearances, their preferences, their mannerisms, the very things that make them so human. Think of it as the Cloud that stores your phone pics.
Those pearls, it turns out, are the container for the hosts’ consciousnesses. But the Cradle itself send commands to the parks, not unlike the way the Matrix papers over glitches with deja vu. And the implications of this functionality go way beyond just data storage. It means that the Cradle itself can run simulations or disrupt the flow of time —if it has a programmer (the host) to program a server farm (the Cradle), illustrated by Bernard getting off the train at exactly the spot he needed to be. The Cradle doesn’t appear to create simulations without a host’s consciousness to guide it.
Do we have a host in the Cradle? We sure do, and because Bernard just uploaded his brain pearl into the Cradle, it could mean that everything we’ve seen in season 2 thus far — the multiple timelines, the weird ways that the characters are interacting with him — are just a simulation. This totally mind-bending but plausible theory was put forth by YouTuber HaxDogma, and in a 10-minute video he makes the case that Bernard has hacked his way into the Cradle, and everything is running from his point of view. In other words, it’s as though we’re viewing everything like Neo did at the end of the first Matrix: as a source code that can be manipulated.
Or (and this is even more sinister), perhaps Robert Ford has been in the Cradle all along, pulling the strings, and driving wedges between Dolores and Maeve with her new powers.
And here I thought the last episode was terrific. This was a near-flawless ribbon on the top of so many different arcs. And it's only the season's midway point.
Cotyar goes down a hero by destroying an infected Agatha King (taking "that asshole" Nguyen with him), Errinwright gets double-teamed by Sorrento and Anna and finally locked away, Mao is captured by Jim and forcibly knelt before Avasarala, Prax finally finds his daughter Mei, safe and sound, and Bobbie confronts a hybrid and finally gets over her PTSD of being defeated by one on Ganymede. Even Jim and Naomi made up and got back together after a risky tip of their hand to Fred Johnson paid off. And then a fucking jellyfish swam out of Venus' atmosphere... It's almost too much to process right away.
So much got packed into this hour yet it all flowed perfectly from one plot line to the other, interweaving where it made sense, and pushing the whole narrative forward in a believable way. This is how you make hard scifi.
The SyFy Channel is positively stupid for giving up on this exceptional piece of television. They really should be forced to change their network's name on account of it deliberately creating confusion for viewers.
