I was expecting this show to have a stronger crime/mystery department. It turns out to be a "hang-out show", not too real, not too fiction. "Just casually watch and relax" type of thing where you just like the characters. So if you're going to ask questions like "how does she always end up in places where crime happens", "how does police always leave clues behind", "blabla can't happen in real life", it's clearly not that type of a show. I don't think it tries to be either. If you want a solid crime show with 100% reality tone, you're in the wrong place.
Here's what the creator told:
"The big ingredient I knew I needed for a show is a charismatic figure at the heart of it, because Columbo or Rockford Files, as much as those shows are mysteries, what really brings you back each week is you want to hang out with the main character. They're really 'hang out' shows," Johnson explained. "When I saw Natasha in Russian Doll, I thought here is somebody who has the presence and the charisma on the screen that I would just want to come back and be with her every week and see her win."
As many others, I love Natasha Lyonne from OITNB and Russian Doll, so it's good watching her in Poker Face as well. Having fun so far, each episode feels like reading a good short-story.
That was such an incredibly sad but perfect and correct ending.
I don't understand people who didn't like the ending because their favorite character didn't win. After 4 seasons with these despicable characters did anyone expect the Roy kids to unite and defeat the bad guy with the power of love and friendship? It was never going to end that way.
The three siblings just could never get over their egos. They all proved, through the 4 seasons, that they’re basically useless and the only reason they were ever in the discussion to be CEO is because Logan was their father. They'd rather destroy everything than have only one of the trio take the upper hand. Shiv just could not let her brother have a win, even if it meant her losing as well. Perfectly summed up their whole family dynamic and the show as a whole.
The siblings are so entitled and self-absorbed they never saw Tom coming. They’ve never had to work for a damn thing. I don't like Tom, but it makes sense for someone like Tom, who worked his way from the ground up and earned himself the position he was in.
The scene with the siblings making that awful smoothie and them watching their dad reveal yet another side of himself was so nice among the insanity that came in between.
That penultimate shot with Shiv and Tom in the car was phenomenal. Complete shift in the power dynamic. After marrying him specifically because she thought he was weak enough to keep holding power over.
Kendall not winning every season. That’s rough.
Willa revamping Logan's apartment with a cow print couch.
In the end Conor was the only one to have any kind of a relationship with Logan, the other kids are never shown having moments with him like he did at the recorded dinner.
Greg translating the Swedish in real time is the smartest thing he’s ever done. Four seasons and I cannot for the life of me understand why he would put up with that. His uncle offered him $250mil to get away from the firm.
But the biggest thing for me coming out of this episode is Kendall’s son isn’t really his. It really came out of nowhere and seemed more like a fact than a rumor the way everyone reacted to it.
All in all, Succession stuck to the show’s core till the end. In a way it’s a predictable ending but because it’s television and we expect some twist where a cool character comes out on top we don’t expect the expected. The outcome is pretty much what you’d expect from all the characters knowing their faults
Still a great episode, but for me it might be my least favourite adaptation of the game's material yet. I felt it was very rushed and I never formed the same emotional attachment to Sam and Henry as I did in the game. I felt the tunnel section was done super dirty here, and it felt like they only even included it as a sort of nod to the game. I also really wasn't a fan of how they wrapped up the Kathleen plot. They gave her quite a bit of screen time for someone that just got unalived in an instant, and I felt like all her time on screen up until then didn't really add anything to the story.
Episode 3 was amazing, and I'm very glad we got it and that it was the length it was, but when I see Bill and Frank getting so much time to tell such a small story, I expect bigger stories like Sam and Henry to be treated with at least an equal amount of respect, and sadly that didn't happen. This definitely could have done with being another longer episode with an extra 20 minutes or so.
The plot sounds like the first 2 seasons of The Mandalorian. They probably should not have cast Pascal.
Can't wait, wish I could find out a release date.
Another dense episode. This episode is divided into 4 storylines. The primary tracks Margo and her unrequited love with Russian counterpart Sergei. Their chemistry has always fascinated me. Two loners who share the same dreams, but separated by geopolitical conflicts. Her story here reminded me of Sofia Coppola's seminal Lost in Translation, driven by wordless expressions. Their mild encounters gradually amp up the stake with each time jump until everything is revealed and there's no turning back but to go "all in."
The second storyline is Aleida, who is groomed to be Margo's replacement. Unlike Margo, she has a husband and kid, and her dad. But her life is at NASA, where she spends 18 hours, completely oblivious to problems at home. Margo is her paternal role model figure with whom she feels more intensely connected than anyone, just as Margo was once deeply connected to Wernher Von Braun. In the later 2 year time jump, we see that she has risen to Margo's former role. But her personal cost is not yet revealed. She has undoubtably gone "all in" on NASA.
The third storyline tracks Danny, who has lived under the shadows of his heroic astronaut parents, Gordo and Tracy. Largely neglected by his busy and distracted parents, he longed for their approvals, always closely following their footsteps. His paternal relationship and approval came from Karen, with whom he eventually develops Oedipus complex. Her eventual rejection causes him to turn to alcohol and womanizing, mirroring his dad's. By the end of this episode, he goes "all in."
The last storyline follows Ed. He is the true American hero archetype, with a string of one impressive achievement after another. But his extraordinary highs in space are always followed by the emptiness of his personal life on earth. On this episode, he is again driven by the ambition to be the first, as he believes the feat would solve all of his (and Danny's) problems. It would certainly distract his personal demons for the time being. So he also goes "all in" sitting on his Star Trek-like captain's chair as he smirks "here we go, kid" to his co-pilot Danny.
The mission to Mars is on and there's no turning back.
I really hoped the pacing would pick up a bit after the first two slow episodes, but it got worse this week in my opinion. Every episode has a few moments that make me think 'this could be interesting and get good', but it keeps dragging along. It's slow, confusing and at times straight up boring. There's too much 'noise' that destracts from moving along the case enough to keep my attention. Really hope the second half of the season will be better.
Odd pacing for the finale, and the rapid cuts to black felt overdone after about the eighth time.
Aside from that, it wraps things up nicely for a satisfying conclusion. I could nitpick the episode (especially the one totally unnecessary "thing that happens"), but the season as a whole was phenomenal.
Seasons 3 and 4 felt like they were losing the magic, but still good compared to most shows. Season 5 was quite the rebirth of the series after a bit of a hiatus. They've still got it, and I hope we get a Season 6.
[7.3/10] Definitely on the slower side as episodes go, but after so many outings these season centered on notions of fathers and sons, in lots of different guises, it’s nice to have one that focuses a little more on the relationship between mothers and their children. It’s not much: we pretty much just get Elizabeth, Paige, Claudia, and a little bit from Stan’s new informant, but it’s enough to fill out the other side of the ledger thematically, which I appreciate.
To that end, the biggest development of this episode is Elizabeth confiding in her daughter about her rape (though she tastefully leaves out the part that Philip killed the guy years later -- probably too much for Paige to deal with just yet). It’s an interesting thing to return to for the character. I have to admit, I don’t think back fondly on the show using rape as drama, but I like what they do with it here. It’s meant to show Paige that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.
Elizabeth has a very black and white view of the world, and she’s convinced that if she can just show Paige her own example, her daughter will get that the fear keeping her up at night doesn't have to be permanent. Beyond the self-defense classes, Elizabeth is delivering an “It gets better” message, not seeking solace or even solidarity, just seeking an object lesson in how getting stronger, becoming a fighter, can help push aside the things that once made you feel vulnerable and afraid.
The one mother/child relationship I haven’t mentioned yet, one understandably different from Paige and Elizabeth’s, is the one between Oleg and his mom. Oleg’s mom is quietly panicking when some Directorate K officer come to ransack Oleg’s room, having been (presumably) tipped off to his potential involvement with the CIA. Nothing comes of it, other than him calling off his dad from making a complaint and misdirecting his boss, but it feels like foreshadowing of more serious shit to come for Oleg to have to deal with, and more revelations about his mom to contend with.
Apart from the mother/child motif, we also get some weird but sweet material between Elizabeth and Philip. As I mentioned a few episodes back, I like that we’re getting the odd episode that focuses on their relationship outside of work and the Paige situation again. It’s a bizarre scenario, but there’s something legitimately heartwarming about Elizabeth and Philip both canceling their trips to see their fake boyfriend/girlfriend so that they can be together. There’s nice subtle acting touches from both Russel and Rhys in this episode, but Elizabeth’s little smile when Philip tells her he’s canceling his Topeka flight takes the cake.
It’s a similarly strange but endearing scene when Elizabeth, in her way, reassures Philip about his Topeka girlfriend breaking up with him because he’s not assertive enough. Mission-focused Elizabeth is, naturally, first and foremost concerned with him not messing up their in. But after that’s settled, she tells him how handsome he is, and gives him a little pep talk about him being able to get her back if she wants to. Sure enough, he plays the “I’m married” card and is suddenly interesting and dangerous enough to get back into the would-be mistress’s good graces.
Philip, however, has no interest in being in Claudia’s good graces, despite her return. In one of the more welcome developments, we get her back as the Jennings handler rather than the show introducing a new character. But Philip is very cold and businesslike with her. His disillusionment has reached a peak, or at least a steady plateau, and he’s not going to pretend to have a friendly relationship with her. In fact, he’s gone so far as to doubt whether Gabriel really cared about them or if it was just a job to him.
Elizabeth doesn't feel that way though. Her scene with Claudia is revealing and one of the stronger ones in the episode. Claudia reports about her grandkids not recognizing her, and there’s the unspoken understanding -- or at least only spoken by Paige in prior episodes -- that the people on the job are the closest thing agents like Claudia and Elizabeth have to family. They ask one another how they’re doing, how things are going with kids, how things are going with Elizabeth’s husband. You wouldn’t call it chummy, but there’s a familiarity there, a tacit recognition that this is a maternal relationship too, and it deepens the material.
The other major development in the episode is the discovery that the defector’s wife is cheating on her husband with one of her CIA students. It’s leverage for the Centre which, with Twan’s help, they think they can use to get her and Pasha, and their attendant connection to the CIA, back to Russia. It’s more another link in the chain than any grand development -- just like Stan and Aderholt reeling in their new informant -- but the scenes around it are well done.
Still, this is a quieter, softer episode, that ends on another conversation between mom and daughter. With Elizabeth still smarting from her break-up with Matthew, Elizabeth takes her for a walk to try to keep her from mindlessly flipping through T.V. channels. When it happens, they talk more about Elizabeth, about how she feels about the job, about what she’d do if she weren’t in the service, and in that strange way between parents and children, about how she’s a real person beyond the side a kid sees of them as a parent.
It ties into what Elizabeth tells Claudia earlier in the episode -- that what she really wants for her daughter is for Paige to believe in something. Elizabeth talks about being a doctor in a third world country (after admitting, after Paige’s bold notice of it, that she doesn't necessarily have the best bedside manner), and it speaks to the way Elizabeth has always wanted to do something noble with her life. She thinks this is it, that it makes her proud of her work in a way that Philip never has been.
Time will tell whether Elizabeth’s gentle guidance of Paige toward this same sense of pride and confidence will win out, or if Philip’s equal and opposite concern for her ability to handle all of his, will sink things before Paige is able to begin in earnest. Either way, it’s good to see the connection between Paige and her mom deepened and explored a little bit beyond the usual stress and unveiling of spy-related secrets, instead of personal ones.
[7.7/10] Damn the rules of television, movies, and maybe Western storytelling writ large, which demand that anytime a character declares that they’re getting out of the game, they are destined to die. William was one of The Americans’s very best recurring characters. He represented a sort of vision of an alternate future of Philip -- staying on the job for decades, alone, estranged, and disillusioned. His fate, his unhappiness, is everything that Philip wants to avoid.
It’s ironic, then, that William’s dying words, so far as we know, are an expression of envy for Philip’s life. Dylan Baker gives an outstanding performance, both in the slow deterioration of a man soon to suffer and ignoble end, and in the realm between steadfastness and regret, between life and death, that William is occupying. He means not to give Stan and Aderholt anything of value, seems disinclined to turn on his countrymen. But the thing he does admit is an admiration, a yearning wistfulness, for what the Jennings have. It’s a moment of honesty that puts Philip and Elizabeth at a greater level of risk than arguably anything we’ve seen on this series so far.
But before that, we get an exciting as hell chase. “Persona Non Grata” does a superb job of cutting between William’s resigned attempts to pass on the lassa virus, Philip’s efforts to pick it up, and Stan and the FBI’s efforts to intercept the both of them. Again, the rules of T.V. suggest that it will be William, not Philip, who goes down here, but the show’s editing and score still do a nice job at lifting the tension-levels as the three of them unknowingly converge on one another. And William’s decision to smash the vial into his palm is the biggest “holy shit” moment I’ve had on the show in a while.
This is an episode full of big moments though, having the feel of a season finale in the way that season 3’s final episode didn’t. Chief among them, we discover that neither Irina nor the Centre were lying about Philip having another son (or at least, a son who thinks he’s Philip’s) who fought on the Afghan front. We get to meet the young man in person for the first time, as his connection to Philip gets him out of prison despite his political agitating.
To be frank, this whole deal feels like more of a tease for next season than anything that adds closure to this one. With his maternal grandfather’s help, Philip’s son sets out for America, knowing that his father is a travel agent there, and hoping to track him down. It’s an intriguing possibility, albeit one that feels somewhat disconnected from the rest of the episode. The only tie is a thematic one, in a story where lots of people ruminate on how alone or lonely or rootless they are, when whatever their problem, Philip and Elizabeth have a family, and a life, and most importantly, one another.
That life is threatening to be uprooted though. For a long time now, Philip has been wanting to run, to pull up stakes, and move on from this life. He admits as much in EST (which Elizabeth amusingly and derisively refers to as a “seminar for thinking about yourself”), and talks about how he wants to break away, but can’t because of commitments and promises. Even Elizabeth is feeling a little homesick after her mother’s death, wondering what her old home town is like and wanting to be able to show it to Paige.
Then, all of a sudden, they’re presented with the chance to do just that, at the cost of completely abandoning the life that they’ve made for themselves over the past twenty years. William’s disappearance, and the possibility of what he might spill to the FBI, has Gabriel recommending to the Jennings that they return to Russia, that their tour is done, that they go back to what used to be their home.
It’s one thing to daydream about taking your daughter to see the place you grew up, or even to want with every fiber of your being not to be doing what you’re doing. But it’s another thing entirely to be faced with not only the actual possibility, but also the potential upheaval of your life and the life of you family, with the choice squarely in your lap.
Because however much Philip and Elizabeth may tire of the rigors of the job, or worry about the American culture’s effect on their kids, or sort of yearn for something else, the prospect of actually giving it all up is a tough thing to contemplate. Paige asks Elizabeth how long she waited before allowing visitors when Elizabeth had her, and Elizabeth responds that she didn’t have many friends then. The truth, though, is that a decade and a half later, the Jennings have put down roots in their community, if only through their kids.
That means Paige holding her Pastor’s baby and reflecting on the truth and lies that have brought her to this point. It’s about Elizabeth holding her daughter and warming at the thought that she wants her help. It’s about Paige and Matthew finding (or intuitively understanding) that they’re in similar positions, being able to talk and relate to one another, and having a romance develop out of that. (And, as an aside, Stan’s reaction to the kids’ making out is hilarious and adorable).
Because even when given the chance to leave, people find connections that make them want to stay. It happens when Oleg’s plan is complete, Arkady gets deported after the FBI smokes out this plans, and Tatiana has to stay. And yet, he seems ready to go home, to go back to Russia. I’ll admit, Oleg’s motivation and plans seem a little unclear here, but he seems to want Tatiana, someone he cares about, to stay in America, even if he himself isn’t sure he wants to stick around yet.
All of these things complicate the Jennings staying and the Jennings going. At home, there’s the possibility that they’ve been exposed by William, there’s turnover at the Rezidentura, and their daughter is getting close to the son of the FBI counterintelligence agent closest to finding them. The problem pile up, as Gabriel put it. On the other hand, they have grown comfortable here, built a life here and built it together, started a family here.
As scary as the risks are, however numb to danger as they might have become, that closeness, that sense of whatever the opposite of loneliness is, has made this place and this job better than it is for William or Gabriel or anyone else who’s had to go it alone. The net has tightened, the risk is high, and the reasons to go home are legion, but the pull of the familiar, and the rules of television, say the Jennings won’t be leaving for Russia anytime soon.
Pros
Tyler!
Bunny!
Greta teaching a class and being happy and joyful and kicking ass doing so!
Cons
These last 3-4 eps DEFINITELY feel like they were hastily rewritten after learning the show was cancelled and this ep feels like a weird fever dream of just stitching together a bunch of plots and endings into some kind of Frankenstein series finale that sort of gave closure and some kind of shaky appearance of happiness/contentedness to the characters
I would've liked to see season 3 play out as intended and then whatever a 4th season would've been but I've enjoyed this season/episode more than most people seemed to even if I slowly realized it's a step down from prior seasons then became abrupt and disjointed over the last few episodes. I suppose streamers renewing everything is definitively at an end as they realize they'll be hard-pressed to (/never gonna) get enough people paying $10.99 a month to fund series that cost tens of millions of dollars (to say nothing of the mega-expensive ones costing hundreds of millions).
Please do not be discouraged by the one commenter--for some reason a lot of old TMNT fans have it out against Rise despite Rise being absolutely gorgeous in animation, extremely fun to watch, having great action scenes, a wonderful family dynamic, and a great story direction!
Non-stop, utter chaos - this is The Bear's bread and butter. It was entirely way too chaotic and cranked up, it was hard to watch but that was part of the story. I did not enjoy this episode, but did appreciate the scene between just Carmy and Mikey. Maybe because I didn’t grow up in a loud household but I just find all this yelling so annoying and hard to sit through.
2 episodes in and I don't hate it!
Looking at the trailer it looked more than questionable and I just started watching because of Gina Rodriguez AND Hannah Simone but yeah.... those 2 episodes so far were not terrible. It's a really old-school format but the humor is ok and the characters are better than what the trailer might make them look like at first. I doubt that this will go past a single season but that might be fine actually.
Edit:
First season done and who would've thought this silly little show could be so good. :)
So yeah, don't be turned off by the trailer or anything, if you're in the mood for a new short and entertaining, funny show, give a few episodes of this a go, you might quite enjoy it! I know I did!
Edit2:
The show apparently has been picked up for a 2nd season! Wonder how that will pan out but now that the writer strike is also over it might even make it for a comeback next spring? We'll see.
Another sound season finale…damn shame our 2 didn’t become 1 :pensive:
I don't know how to feel. Mixed feelings on the finale for me. Not great, not terrible. Was it perfect? No. Am I completely satisfied? No. Are there many loose ends that I will never understand? Absolutely. Can you ever please your whole audience? No.
Dorothy got her closure and was finally able to grieve. Her knowing that Leanne brought Jericho back for almost a year helped the sting of finally waking up. So yes, the “reborn” doll technically helped. Leanne got her closure as well. She got the mother figure that she had long yearned for. Dorothy and Sean get a fresh start. They no longer have to live in the house where they experienced so much trauma. Also, Dorothy seems to have fully recovered from her broken back, she was barely able to walk 2 episodes ago, now she's running up and down stairs.
Kind of felt the Leanne and Dorothy changes of heart were too quick from previous episodes. Leeanne's "redemption" wasn't earned - her character development was all over the place this season. She went from being lowkey evil to straight up psycho in the span of one episode. Then after a single stiff conversation with Dorothy she’s willing to sacrifice herself.
I’m glad that they didn’t kill Julien and acknowledged that Leanne brought him back to life. Julian honestly getting the biggest twist? Julian getting the final frame of the show. Julian getting the final line of the show. I didn't see the twist with the cop and Julian coming though, and it definitely leaves a spinoff open.
That being said, I am disappointed that there were no answers to any of the lingering questions throughout the series such as time inconsistencies, the green window, the history of the house, how Dorothy's mother died, etc. Some of these details set the tone for the show but I was hoping that they would play a more essential role in the final episode.
All in all, I was never expecting a huge twist and always thought what we saw was what we were getting at the end. Also, I didn’t need to dig deep and analyze windows. Is the ending really good? It was fine. And honestly I didn’t expect much. Some have over-analyzed every scene thinking everything has a special meaning. And when it doesn’t fit their expectations they get upset and sat it wasn’t worth it, went on too long, etc. But one thing is for sure though - the show went on for too long. Servant really needed to be a limited series
Janine: “You’re looking good.”
Ava: “It would be breaking news if I didn’t!”
“My lies don’t discriminate.”, “In a rare turn of events. I was wrong.”, “Finest one in first one out” - Ava Coleman is one of the funniest characters on television. Of course she applied for the job of chief marketing officer at Legendary Schools.
There were so many great moments in this episode. Everyone was truly at their most frantic and desperate this episode, but they were still on each other’s team and I like that.
“This guy is playing Powerball with our kids!” - I don’t want Janine to get back with Tariq, but I’m happy to see him because he’s so damn funny. I need Ava to hire him as the music teacher.
“Times Roman! The most decisive of the fonts!”
Only Barbara can call someone a jackass with a bright smile.
I don’t think that’s the end of the Legendary storyline.
Not entirely sure this works as a series. While the original was “episodic” or “sketches” each section was still in and out and on to the next time. Here it’s dipping in and out of various times/sketches and going back to them later. It doesn’t give the setting settle in and the act breaks are in weird places which also effects the joke momentum. I think another pass should have been taken on presentation before releasing this. It has funny bits and moments, the cast is overall great in all their varying roles but the bouncing back and forth makes it hard for the audience to connect to those roles. Especially with Nick Kroll and Ike Bairinholtz being the main actors in most segments while also being supporting players in the others it’s a lot of those 2.
Way too many writers trying to emulate a goofiness and sensibility of a bygone era. A giant line of famous faces and aspiring "comedy world people" scurrying to rub elbows with Mel Brooks. Or, at least the idea of Mel Brooks. Is it attempting to be transcendent and/or higher-budget satire? Is it absurdity for the sake of it? I think it's that so much is punching you squarely in your nose that there's no room for an organic laugh to find room between "Yeah, I get it" thoughts and wincing. What is the joke and where is the punchline? It's like watching "The Characters" which was like watching an hours-long cringe-worthy later-season sketch from Saturday Night Live. Then you have so much 4th wall breaking looking for like meta self-awareness? I wonder if the cast just felt dirty in between takes or obligated and trying too hard to keep the mood up.
Really interesting episode.
George had me till the end, his story was pretty convincing at first lol. Everything he said was too good to be true and I almost believed it up until last scene. But how much of it was lies? Leanne does have powers and George is willing to sacrifice the family to bring her back to the cult.
Many questions that I hope will be answered before the series finale.
Can't wait to see Joel trying to hide from Clickers while Ellie runs around him and doesn't alert them, as well as Joel crouching in front of shelfs grabbing supplies
If you have kids and you were not born with 'I know everything and I won't make any mistakes' attitude then this is a series for you. Most of these mistakes are insane if you aren't a parent... If you are, it's everyday life pretty much.
A hilarious and heart-warming look at parenthood through the eyes of a young mother who often finds herself unequipped to deal with the reality of raising a child. It's a shame that this series has been so overlooked, especially when you consider how deftly issues surrounding femininity and self-worth are examined throughout. Highly recommended.
