And now, all the little details begin to fall in place for the big shebang.
All in all, this episode was pretty good. It’s not as exceptional as Cape Queer, but it has its moments and has them to their fullest. The scene of Andy leaving Kyle at the gas station was a very sweet one that makes you remember what exactly Andy is in this for: to protect the ones he loves. Abandoning her begs the question of what exactly the draw of this life is for Andy. Does he just enjoy the hunt and the purpose that it gives him, or is this more of a saddened sense of duty? Alex Vincent’s expressiveness in this and previous episodes suggests the latter while retaining the possibility of the former.
This scene also brings up something I haven’t discussed as much as I should have: the soundtrack. The original compositions by Joseph LoDuca are when the show’s music is at its best, as is the selection of songs licensed for the show. They’re so good; in fact, they’ve made it into my regular rotation (so, if you know which song plays as Devon decides to go to Chucky’s childhood home, please do let me know because it’s incredibly catchy). On a technical level, there were some audio concerns for me. There are a few distracting bits of poorly done ADR that took my attention away from otherwise good scenes; Tilly’s dubbing over Blaise Crocker’s young Tiff looked especially weird and out of sync.
The conversation between Devon and Jake is as heartbreaking as it could be. I hate to see their puppy love fizzle in the wake of tragedy, with both seeking answers in all the wrong places, but Arthur and Arnarson’s emotional acting really makes you feel for them both.
There’s only a few “so, what was that about?” moments in the show, but by far, the strangest one is Logan’s reaction to Tiffany’s arrival at the wake. For a recent widower, he sure didn’t seem to care about a stranger forcing a kiss on him in front of his son. The interaction is unnecessary and clunky to set up the blowout confrontation between Logan and Junior, which is the highlight of this episode. Junior’s arc of misery and finding himself in the same place Jake was at the beginning of the season was a very clever parallel. Feeling isolated and without friends or family to rely on, Junior’s choice makes for a compelling glean into the character. We see him look to Chucky for guidance for any semblance of control over a life that hasn’t entirely been his own, and as a result, falls prey to him in a way that Jake didn’t.
Whereas episode 5 was irritating for me with its inclusion of the ending song, I could bear with Junior singing “We Got the Beat” after taking out Logan. Especially since it was established earlier in the season he would sing it during high-stress situations, which was a nice callback. It was a bit on the nose, but what can you do with most near literal murder anthems?
Final episode, here we come.
PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS: Once again, Teo Briones knocks it out of the park when he portrays Junior finally hitting the mental breaking point with his father. His palpable rising anger is great as he uses Chucky to vent his emotions, first by hiding behind him and then wielding him as a weapon. The completion of his heel-turn from an insecure bully to a full-on raging killer was done smoothly.
VISUAL HIGHLIGHTS: Devon Sawa gets my recognition a second time for having one of the coolest deaths in the series. I’ve been wondering how they got that shot focused on Chucky’s head as Junior goes medieval on Logan using his improvised doll-mace since the episode aired. Fiona Dourif’s facial acting also gives one of the season’s best shots as she laughs maniacally, only lit by the crackling of Devon’s taser.
QUOTE OF THE EPISODE:
“…I know you.”
“Aren’t you a little young to have seen ‘Bound’?”
RATING: 8.5 (Highly Strategic Swedish Meatball/Doll Deliveries)/10. Once again, only a few minor technical gripes and moments take away points from this episode. We get to see the intersection of both major plotlines in the show, and it all comes together smoothly and without contrivance. It manages to yield one memorable moment for the series and does its job tidying all the loose ends in preparation for the final showdown.