12/13
The penultimate episodes of our three remaining off-season shows are upon us, leaving the fate of only one (The Night Shift) resting in the balance (Deadbeat has been cancelled and OITNB is renewed through season 7). We've got plenty of questions left going into the final stretches, so let's see if we get any answers.
DEADBEAT - 3x12 "Abra-Cadaver" (penultimate episode)
"Danny Poker reveals to Pac that he has invented a device that will automatically deliver ghosts into their light. Pac steals it to win his bet with Clyde that he can complete the unfinished business of 20 ghosts in one day, but his plan is derailed when a magician magics the device from him and demands he complete the magician's final trick."
I feel like this episode needed to have come two or three episodes earlier on in the chronology. Danny Poker was finally involved in a way that directly affected the larger arc, and with his arrogance offered a slew of side-bursting comments that only added to the hilarity of Pac's endeavours and Clyde's dealings with a butcher. The opportunity for expansion on the Pac-and-Clyde business arc which fell off midway through the season was explored here in the form of Danny's automatic-light-delivery device, but, disappointingly, it's going to have come way too late for it to take shape.
VERDICT: A great episode from start to finish, Deadbeat might be firing on all cylinders again. And while the show will flatline next week, this week it showed why it doesn't deserve to. 9/10
THE NIGHT SHIFT - 3x12 "Emergent" (penultimate episode)
"Drugs go missing from the hospital just before news arrives as to whether the hospital's potential buyer will save the ER, and it leads to a number of revelations about some key characters. TC's recklessness puts the Syrian refugee camp at risk, Drew's adoption of Brianna takes another turn and Paul and Shannon break up."
Shows like to take the scenic route before they happily conclude any storylines, and it's often folly to judge a show harshly on its overuse of established genre tropes, but sometimes they just feel forced, especially when there is more that could be done in the future by concluding a storyline surprisingly early. Such is the case with Drew's adoption of Brianna: after taking a detour by chucking him in prison because of TC, they've now had Brianna's biological father show up out of nowhere and demand to be a father to her, where Drew actually succeeding with the adoption could lead to a much more fulfilling arc in season 4 (I'm refraining from using past tenses until after the finale). But on top of that, Shannon, lost in her (forgotten) relationship with Paul, the hospital's potential closure and her own drive to succeed, breaks up with Paul and leaves all the viewers upset. At least Paul (because for all his cuteness, his monetary privilege does show in the way he speaks to others occasionally) made up for it by trying to use his father's wealth to save the hospital.
But of course, the hospital is going into turmoil itself as missing drugs threaten to potentially ruin its chances of saviour by Dr Cummings Senior. The list of suspects isn't large - TC's ex-drug addict sister Annie (vehemently defended by Scott), Kenny (who suddenly seems to have $5k of debts, money he's swindled out of Paul to pay for an unseen figure), and a few nurses no one believes will be the culprit because plotwise they're ever-unimportant. Somehow, they end up in TC's jacket pocket, in Jordan's clutches, as she, Scott and an ex-war vet and Topher's buddy Mac dive into a forest fire to rescue another firefighter.
And on the Syria/Turkey border, TC lets refugees into the camp only for a typhus outbreak to run rampant and the meds they have been waiting for land outside of the Syrian border, with the border guards refusing to let TC out to collect them. At least this is an interesting war-based plotline, even if Syd's non-utilitarian sacrifice to give her own typhus meds to an elderly lady instead held no emotional weight at all.
Viewers 5.52m
Shows like to take the scenic route before they happily conclude any storylines, and it's often folly to judge a show harshly on its overuse of established genre tropes, but sometimes they just feel forced, especially when there is more that could be done in the future by concluding a storyline surprisingly early. Such is the case with Drew's adoption of Brianna: after taking a detour by chucking him in prison because of TC, they've now had Brianna's biological father show up out of nowhere and demand to be a father to her, where Drew actually succeeding with the adoption could lead to a much more fulfilling arc in season 4 (I'm refraining from using past tenses until after the finale). But on top of that, Shannon, lost in her (forgotten) relationship with Paul, the hospital's potential closure and her own drive to succeed, breaks up with Paul and leaves all the viewers upset. At least Paul (because for all his cuteness, his monetary privilege does show in the way he speaks to others occasionally) made up for it by trying to use his father's wealth to save the hospital.
But of course, the hospital is going into turmoil itself as missing drugs threaten to potentially ruin its chances of saviour by Dr Cummings Senior. The list of suspects isn't large - TC's ex-drug addict sister Annie (vehemently defended by Scott), Kenny (who suddenly seems to have $5k of debts, money he's swindled out of Paul to pay for an unseen figure), and a few nurses no one believes will be the culprit because plotwise they're ever-unimportant. Somehow, they end up in TC's jacket pocket, in Jordan's clutches, as she, Scott and an ex-war vet and Topher's buddy Mac dive into a forest fire to rescue another firefighter.
And on the Syria/Turkey border, TC lets refugees into the camp only for a typhus outbreak to run rampant and the meds they have been waiting for land outside of the Syrian border, with the border guards refusing to let TC out to collect them. At least this is an interesting war-based plotline, even if Syd's non-utilitarian sacrifice to give her own typhus meds to an elderly lady instead held no emotional weight at all.
Viewers 5.52m
VERDICT: A busy episode where everything was cleverly interconnected, but overall it was far too frustratingly generic. After a decent middle of the season, the first episode of The Night Shift's season-ending two-parter is failing to heat up anything but the forest. 6/10
ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK - 3x12 "The Animals" (penultimate episode)
* "Caputo attempts to suspend Humphrey for his part in what happened to Suzanne. However Piscatella threatens to have all the COs walk out if he does so and informs Caputo he no longer has any real authority. The different prison families come together to discuss a plan to force Piscatella out and restore order to the prison. Though they initially fail to come to an agreement, Piscatella's unfair treatment of Red unites the inmates. They stand on the tables in a peaceful protest, refusing to move until Piscatella resigns. However, he orders his men to remove them by force. Meanwhile, Suzanne breaks down over her fight with Maureen and Poussey rushes to her aid, but the young CO Bayley quickly reacts and improperly restrains her. While everyone's attention is on calming Suzanne down, no-one notices that Poussey is unable to breathe, and she eventually dies. In the past, Bayley's decision to become a prison guard is explored. Healy wrestles with his decision to send Lolly to Psych A, and decides to return to a mental health facility himself. News of Piper and Alex's reunion spreads around the prison. Pennsatucky unites with Boo. Sophia returns to the prison."
And there it is. The cliffhanger death I knew was coming (yay for full-season same-day releases). So Poussey is dead. I can't help but feel desensitised since I knew it was coming at some point, and the scene itself was written poorly. I mean, Poussey had been dead for all of about ten seconds when Taystee fell sobbing at her body and no one even tried any CPR. However, the puzzling flashbacks to the young guard Bayley's life - and Caputo warning Bayley working in the prison will change him - wrapped up season 4's theme of "breaking point" in a nice little bow, and in the end it was a bold and intelligent move by the writers.
The revolt against Piscatella in the cafeteria which led up to Poussey's accidental death needs mentioning. Blanca, who was first punished by standing on a table a few episodes previously, was the first to stand on a table in revolt against Piscatella. Piper, who tried to help Blanca originally, was the second. I thought that was brilliantly written.
Elsewhere, I'm glad to see Piper and Alex "back on", since their relationship is a huge part of the show that's been missing for quite a long time; Healy turning himself into a psychiatric institute is hopefully the last we'll see of the miserable old fart; Sophia's return brings a slight sinking feeling to my stomach; Pennsatucky finally convinces Boo to leave off her rapist; and Caputo makes the trip to the ex-warden Fig's house that we've all been waiting for, and admits to her that she was right: the job broke him, too.
VERDICT: Sad realisations are abound, from Caputo to Pennsatucky to Bayley, and our upcoming finale, which invariably will be 90 mins instead of the usual 60, will have a lot to deal with, especially after the revelation that the prison is set to receive even more inmates in the near future. But for this episode, everything was dealt with beautifully. Never has the slow destruction of so many characters been so sadistically watchable. 8/10
Final thoughts
A mixed bag. OITNB may have written Poussey's death poorly but its penultimate episode was largely an impressively intriguing and multi-layered hour of TV, although it certainly falls in the Goldilocks zone. Because while Deadbeat is heading for a riproaring finale after a great tempo and premise change, The Night Shift has really got to redeem itself after an unimaginative offering.
Thank you everyone for reading and I'll see you next time!
Thank you everyone for reading and I'll see you next time!
Sam
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