7.3/10. The Tyler Durden-esque twist to this one is trying a bit too hard. Maybe I'm just inured to the "none of this is really happening" trope because it's become so overused in recent years. And yet, what comes before and what comes after that reveal has a little more power. My inclination at first was to complain about the "time traveler" business as being yet another instance in which the show was getting too cartoony, but I think that given the nature of the conceit, it's more easy to write off in the moment as a flight of fancy from Bob Saget-Ted when telling the story. It's not exactly elegant, but it's in an interesting way to dramatize Ted's internal emotional process of dealing with the fact that his friends are all paired up and hitting big milestones in their lives, and he's still alone. The idea of excitement and concern and having been in the dating game long enough to grow cynical about how things turn out is an interesting one to explore, and this was a novel, if occasionally too broad way to do it.
But the final two minutes really sell the weight of the conceit as well. You don't always get the wistfulness of Future Ted in HIMYM. In some ways, despite the various detours here and there, the whole show is a race to the future, a way of looking constantly forward with optimism about what's to come. And yet, this is one of the few instances in which it feels like Future Ted really misses all of this, that for however much difficulty there is in his loneliness and bumps on the road to meeting The Mother, that he would love to get to go back and experience this all again, if only for a night, if that were possible.
The B-story with Marshal and Robin arguing over who should get naming rights to a drink is the kind of breezy comedic subplot that gets by without ever really impressing. The dance off resolution is a nice touch, as is Marshal being strangely mollified by having the act of a man going in the women's restroom being named after him, but for the most part the plot is just kind of there.
Overall this is a fair-to-middling episode that is elevated by the big moment at the end.
SPOILERS FOR THE END OF THE SERIES BELOW. DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE WHOLE SERIES
It's also a hell of a performance from Josh Radnor at the end there. Obviously knowing what happens to The Mother gives color to Fantasy Ted telling her that he wishes he could have those extra forty-five days together, and Radnor absolutely sells the pain and regret of the subtext to that scene. A good chunk of the show, especially in the last few seasons, is weakened when you know where it's heading, but this is one of the few parts that's improved by that knowledge.
• -"I hope that you charge rent to the people inside your head. You'd make a fortune." - I need to start telling myself that because that was a great line.
• I really liked that the main trio was split into their own storylines this episode, it was a refreshing change.
• The elevator scene was absolutely hilarious. The way Howard eats everyone up in this show when he only has two minutes screen time is remarkable.
• I'm glad Mabel isn't giving Alice another chance. I don't get why the confrontation between her and Alice wasn't ... confrontational. No discussion about why or what the f**k at all? I really hope this was the last we'll see of Alice, but since she knew about the Oklahoma podcast I'm pretty sure we're stuck with her for one more episode. Ugh!
• "All European countries are essentially the same." - Yanks are the WORST! :face_vomiting:
• I think the Cinda thing is a mislead. So, we are supposed to believe the person that said, "You're letting all the loud air in" is our criminal mastermind? Not buying it. Kreps deliberately says he landed, "the smartest woman in the world" because Cinda clearly is not that smart, just ruthless.
• Not me trying to remember who the f**k is Becky Butler. Ops. Why did Poppy tell Mabel that she's actually Becky Butler? Was it an emotional outburst or was it calculated? :face_with_raised_eyebrow:
• Why does Bunny have the painting and not Rose?! How did she get the painting? And even she didn’t know about the painting underneath the original why would she get a copy made in the first place? Is it a coincidence that Bunny hid it there and Mrs Gambolini was destined to go to Oliver after her death? We are 9 episodes in and I still don’t understand why anyone would want to kill Bunny.
• Season 2 is throwing too much into the plot. It's become a jumbled mess.
I am incredibly grateful to Game of Thrones for this adventure I have found myself sucked into for some years now. I am grateful for all the emotions it brought me since day one, bitter and sweet alike. I am grateful for all the laughs, all the tears, all the jokes and gags, every single bit of it, I really am grateful and appreciative of it all. It's been just... wonderful.
That said, I am feeling robbed and betrayed right about now. This ending is arguably one of the worst series finales in the history of television and trust me I realize how bold of a statement that is. The terrible violations the characters have suffered this season, the lack of proper resolution to many of the plots and narratives developed over seasons worth of buildup, the seeking of shock value at the expense of quality writing... that and much much more solidified this as an absolute disappointment of a finale, as opposed to the marvel wrap it could've given this cultural phenomenon.
This episode does have its positives, as always the score, acting and cinematography are perfectly performed but I just do not think it's nearly enough to compensate for how lackluster the writing has been, as much as I wish they did. Oh well, sad as it may be, I'll just hold on to the good stuff and hope that GRRM's book, once finished, will tackle the ending in a more coherent, more respectful and more meaningful way. It's been real y'all...
P.S: I'll leave this here lest some people jump me again. This comment is a representation of my own personal opinion, I am entitled to one just as all of you are. If you enjoyed this season and felt this finale delivered what you were looking for then more power to you mate, but that doesn't nullify my opinion nor does it make yours any valid. If you want to discuss or challenge my views, I'd be more than happy to engage you on that basis but if all you have to offer are petty remarks then please keep them to yourself.
This wasn't quite the beginning I waited for a whole year. It had way to much action for action's sake. Oh, and way too short for a season premiere.
Started good though. I thought at first this would be some kind of flashback to when Din got his helmet. The monster fight did absolutely nothing other then sugar coat CGI. But we find out what will be the quest for this season: Redemption.
The Navarro part was OKish. I had kind of feared one of the pirates would turn out to be Hondo. Like I expected they explain Cara away with one sentence. Shame that she's no longer there as she really was a great character with potential. Great idea bringin back IG88. We'll see how this plays out.
The space battle was again just showcasing CGI, which does look great, but really did nothing then add action. I kind of fear those pirates will be along for the ride this year.
Din's meeting with Bo Katan was interesting and I hope we see a lot of her this year.
The ONE thing that had my blood pumping were the creatures that Grogu saw in Hyperspace. Those were purgill, no ? Now that's an interesting thing to show us.
Still, the pieces are in place and I'm exited for the story to unfold.
What a fucking masterpiece. The dialogue, the acting: outstanding, especially the MIB slow reveal. 30 minutes after the finale and I'm still speechless. Everything was brilliant. That smile the WIB had when he realized that the hosts were actually able to fight back was just perfect. No one has ever been so happy so get shot. But he has to survive. At least he found the meaning he was looking for.
And wtf, this whole time Ford has been on the side of the hosts? This has actually been the best part of the finale. It was a nice unpredicted twist. That's why he did all the things he did. He didn't want anyone to destroy his beautiful creatures. It wasn't that he didn't want the humans to feel sorry for the hosts, but the other way around. Holy mindfuck. That's why he kept on talking to Old Billy and that pianist. That's why they were all dressed up and not naked.
And I'm so glad that Maeve's arc is designed by Ford in order to get rid of his enemies. So Dolores and Maeve are the ones that are really conscious, or is Bernard too? I really like the fact that Maeve decides to stay and that Dolores shoots Ford because she freely decides to. However, what if everything is scripted and Maeve came back because, as Bernard said "once you reach the main..." (mainland?), she was scripted to?
I really hope Dolores didn't kill Ford, but a host version. That handshake between Ford and Bernard felt weird, and that zoom in, suspicious. Why if that robot being created in episode 7 was in fact Ford's replacement?
Felix's little existencial crisis was one of the funniest parts for me, ike, am I even real? Does existence really exist? and Armistice's first time with an automatic weapon. I didn't know I needed that. I think Sylvester is still waiting in that lab.
Now wait until 2018. I will freeze all motor functions now and bring myself back online for season 2. It is going to be insane: multiple parks, the hosts full on terminator, and the board dead. The hosts run the show now.
This episode was unbelievably strong, brilliant, so much depth and emotion, the acting. The way everything came full circle. Truly stunning. I guess I shall ‘freeze all motor functions’ till 2018
Evan Rachel Wood with Ed Harris, those scenes, “his path will lead him back”, were so strong.
That scene of Maeve being created is gorgeous! Wow. Those awards for technical achievements better be coming!
So William became The Man in Black on his quest for Delores. "He found himself" - This montage/narrative reveal is really great. Fascinating how much love/affection/or care can make someone do the craziest of things.
"I really ought to thank you, Delores, you helped me find myself" - I loved how the showcased the reveals, the time periods together, the scenes being crossing together, the camera work, the music, so beautiful (reminded of the Jon Snow reveal from Game of Thrones).
"Time undoes even the mightiest of creatures" OMG Evan Rachel Wood was so powerful in this moment. The way she spoke of walking on his ashes, it was stunning .That dialogue (reminded me of that which Sansa said to Ramsey).
"Take me to where the mountains meet the sea” - This dialogue tonight!
"How many are there like me?" - The way Maeve looked out the window, the pain in her performance, it was truly breathtaking.
“I wanted them to be free, free to fight back” - What The Man in Black said was interesting, having a reaction, for them to fight back, without that freedom, the game is pointless because you know the outcome.
Seeing Delores die in Teddy’s arms and it all being a show, it’s haunting and beautiful. All of this is truly a play, the hosts are the supporting cast and Dr. Ford is the orchestrating of all of this. Truly Shakespearian.
Loved Armistice and Hectors reactions to the guns :D
Seeing Maeve and Hectors saying goodbyes were really moving, “see you in the next life” :(
"What he had lost his son, he tried to create in you" - My heart, the maze too, representing a child’s toy, the representation of a child's innocence. This is too beautifully touching and thought to provoke. It's all so simple sometimes.
It’s always suffering, isn’t it, even for us humans :(
The closing music was gorgeous. Maeve turning back because she saw a mother and a child, a reflection of herself, her humanity coming through :(
That cliffhanger!! I am so heartbroken we have to wait so long!
[8.5/10] Well hell, they got me good on the twists here. I suspected that the ostensibly helpful orderly had his own agenda, and that when he talked about Number One he might have been talking about himself. But there’s a whole mess of things that I did not guess, including:
That's a lot! It’s effectively making One the show’s Big Bad, give or take Brenner himself. And I gotta say, kudos to the casting directors and Jamie Campbell Bower. He leans into the utter creepiness of One a la Cillian Murphy or Daniel DeHaan. You by him as a sympathetic and troubled yet evil and menacing figure, which is a hard line to walk, and it sells some of the mishmash of cliches that the character represents and succeeds despite.
To the point, One is an odd mix of Agent Smith from The Matrix (“Humanity is a strange kind of pest”), Magneto from X-Men (“We’re superior to them”), Darth Vader from The Empire Strikes Back (“Join me and think of what we could accomplish”), and even Emperor Palpatine from Revenge of the Sith (“Oh no, right after my villainous invitation to powerful young soul, lightning turned me into a scarred ghoulish figure!”). HIs monologue is a touch hammy, and feels pulled from a mix of these other sources, but the superb performance and intensity of the scenes makes it work.
Say what you will about Stranger Things as it reaches its mid-season break, but they can still put together a damn good set piece when they want to. The stand-off between Eleven and One is terrifying. The raw intensity of the two having a force battle a la the one she had with one of her telekinetic bullies in the prior episode, the sheer horror of the way One drags her around as she claws at the floor and hangs in the air, and the rousing but still unnerving way she turns the power back on him and disintegrates him into another dimension is jaw-dropping and riveting.
At a thematic level, I like One as the antithesis of Eleven, her dark reflection and ultimate nemesis. The show implies that he’s been repeatedly abused by his parents, which lends to his dim view of humanity and the way he powers his abilities with sadness and anger. He was not born a monster, but made that way, and it tainted his perspective and his approach to generating his unique talents.
Eleven is the opposite. Time and again, we’ve seen her power through difficult situations not by resorting to pain, but instead, like Max, by reflecting on the people she loves and who care deeply for her as well. It’s telling that when Eleven tries to summon strength from recalling her mother being ripped away from her, or the death and destruction she witnesses as a consequence of her removing One’s inhibitor, it’s not enough to defeat him. But when she recalls her mother’s love, the act of creation and instant bond and affection, it summons a power that One has no ability to withstand.
For all this season has been teasing that Eleven needs to return to negative emotions to regain her powers, I love the subversion that, at the end of the day, it’s the remembrance of that love which not only spurred her to victory on that fateful day many years earlier, but which restores her power now. I still find Brenner to be a morally questionable figure. The show’s treatment of him still makes me a little queasy. And I still feel uncomfortable about Owens’ willingness to throw in with him, even if he thinks it’s necessary to save the world. But all of this ethically dubious “training” lands in a strong place thematically, vindicating Eleven’s bonds with the people who love her as the source of her power, and pointing to the lack of such care and affection as the thing that unfortunately doomed poor Henry Creel.
I don’t know that every part of it adds up logistically. It feels like it conflicts with some other things we knew about the Upside Down, and the attempt to bring together the cosmology of the Demogorgon, the Mindflayer, and Vecna into one consistent effort plays more than a little clunky. But ultimately, it works at an intuitive level, which is good enough for me.
Plus hey, there’s a lot of Star Wars and Harry Potter here, which isn’t terribly surprising given some of the references in the show to this point. (The former, not the latter, obviously.) One is basically tempting Eleven to turn to the darkside, to use negative emotions to spur her use of The Force. The offer to join together is very Vader and Luke, or even Kylo Ren and Rey. And the contrast between a child born of love and one born without it is very Harry and Voldemort. On balance, it makes me think that Eleven will ultimately try to save One in some way, to redeem him, but I suppose we’ll have to wait and see in July when the last two episodes of the season come out.
All-in-all, I haven’t loved the Eleven storyline thus far, but this takes into a pretty shocking yet compelling place, about where her flashback adventures fit into the larger story of Stranger Things, and about how who she is informs what she can do in a way her foe absolutely cannot despite all his own malevolence and power.
Oh yeah, and other stuff happens in the episode too! Who knew?
I still don’t like the Russian rescue business, but at least they went somewhere with it. It remains insane that they were able to bluff their way into a secret Russian prison, bring a weapon inside without getting frisked or bothered over it, and hold a warden hostage to get most, if not all, of what they want. This plan makes no sense, but hey, Murray’s Yuri impression is gold, so it’s got that going for it.
And yet, Hopper and the crooked guard’s fight with the demogorgon is reasonably cool. The CGI for the demogorgon was off here, as it didn’t move or react properly. The design remains terrifying though, which does a lot of the work. Plus the Duffer Bros. and the fight choreographers do a good job of adding tension to the scene by having Hopper struggle to light his spear torch at first, and then force them to improvise when getting behind the super-thick doors before the flame runs out. It’s a well-constructed set piece, even if I’m pretty much done with this storyline.
To the point, Hopper and Joyce embracing after so long apart and so much each has been through in the interim should be a moving moment. I felt nothing. I can’t say that Stranger Things didn’t earn the moment. It showed each character going through a hell of a lot to reach it and reflecting on what each means to the other. But the whole thing has been so wildly implausible and tonally different from the rest of the show, coupled with a bit of character assassination last season, that it ultimately holds no emotional weight for me. At least we’re hopefully done with it for a while, though they still have to figure out how to get back to America, which is another layer of implausibility to overcome.
The two teams of junior detectives working back in Hawkins/the Upside Down is a treat as well. There’s parts that I still don’t like. I continue to not understand why they’re leaning so hard back into Steve/Nancy as a couple, but I’ve said my piece on that. The Upside Down looks pretty bad here much of the time, with the actors conspicuously pasted onto green screen backgrounds that breaks immersion. Dustin turns into an exposition machine at one point, which serves to set up the Vecna reveal more than anything happening in his corner of the story. And as clever as some of the solutions are, there’s occasionally some shortcuts taken to avoid the inevitable trial and error of communicating across dimensions that feel convenient, albeit within the realm of acceptable willing suspension of disbelief.
But there’s a lot I really like here. The dynamic of both quartets works really clicks. As lukewarm as I am on Nancy and Steve as a couple, Eddie having a heart-to-heart with Steve about how he’s an unexpectedly decent guy and that Nancy would clearly go to hell for him is the best sales pitch for it so far. Robin’s hyperfixation on the risk of rabies after Steve’s bite is also an on-point bit of fun characterization. On the other side, I’m glad they added Erica back into the mix as the younger kids try to bridge the gap between worlds and keep their stories straight.
I most appreciate the crew figuring out to go to Eddie’s trailer in order to rescue their friends. It pays off the crack in the ceiling the show’s been teasing for a while now, and there’s a crude logic to the sense that every kill from Vecna creates a breach between their worlds. The rope climbing escapade makes for a neat visual to boot.
God help me, I also enjoy the twist of Vecna going after Nancy given her guilt over what happened to Barb. We don’t really have much setup for it -- no headaches or other visions -- but maybe Vecna’s powers are stronger within the Upside Down. More than anything, I dig how it plays on the character’s history in a meaningful way. Much as Max felt guilt over what happened with Billy, Nancy feels the same about the best friend who died while she was too busy having fun to notice. Bringing the two together like that, in a way that plays on Vecna’s M.O. and a prior psychological hang-up for Nancy, is a surprise, but in a good way, finding points of harmony between past storylines and current ones in a way that works.
Overall, “volume 1” of Stranger Things’ fourth season has been a disappointment. So many of the plot threads this year have come off like wheel-spinning, table-setting, and throat-clearing. Some of the core strengths of the show remain, mostly in its characters, but you can feel the show’s creative team spinning out at times. And yet, the high points, when they pay all of that build off, are quite high. Between Max overcoming vecna at the midpoint, and the triumphs and revelations in this mid-season finale, the show can still soar when it brings everything to a climax and puts its cards on the table. I hope we see more of that in the last two episodes of the season.
As with Survivor for the first three seasons, Big Brother stuck with the winning formula after a successful season 2. They changed minimal things to the overall format and presentation, the main difference is the addition of the Power of Veto. This is very much peak early 2000's reality television (peanut butter bikini, searching for fame after the show, the prized virgin with the sexually related conversations), but more importantly, the primary part of the game is to be GOOD people. Good people win the game and they do not want to be perceived in a negative light. While in 2021, it is comical how much the game has evolved, this is a quality season. The final three was phenomenal for their time and any of the three truly deserved to win. WITH THAT BEING SAID, Danielle Reyes is the greatest snub in the history of the show. She played a masterful game that was snubbed by an error in the shows voting format, but I digress, the three finalists were all quality winners in retrospect. If you like the show, this should definitely be one that you should check out. Old school Big Brother in quality form!
Rating: 8.5/10
