I think this is one of those shows that has been hyped to death, because of all the people who loves it and talks about it to their friends. I was one of those people who was told that this was a great show that touched on so many different elements of society, so I was very excited to watch it. What I didn't know was how much it would do those things, and how big of an impact the show ended making on me. This is truly one of the best shows that I have watched in a long time because of its subtle nature and of how down-to-Earth it feels. It never tries to be an all-out comedy, but more to be a show that simply takes a fun premise and makes it into something that could be very funny. The show has such a natural feeling, mixed with the feeling that I got when I watched "Twin Peaks" for the first time, and I fell in love with this show because of the same reason. It's the feeling I get from watching the show, as well as the variety of cooky characters that it presents and takes in so many amazing and weird directions.
Especially this episode, which had such a wacky atmosphere. Throughout the entire episode, I felt like something was very wrong. It came to the point where I actually believed that the entire episode could have been a dream, which could have been an interesting twist, but nothing that I really wished to see. Without spoiling the episode, I will say that my twist never came, so look at that how you want to it. But the writing is the reason why the atmosphere is so real. I love how Stephen Glover wrote the first few scenes and how they felt like something out a trip sequence in any film you can imagine. Or, maybe that's not true, because it was a very different trip scene.
Also with the dialogue, Glover gives such a great spin to it. From the conversation between Earnest and a stripper where they are discussing the shape of another stripper, to a scene featuring Earn and Vanessa sharing a tender moment in their living room. The dialogue was very clever and fun in this episode.
Something that I have never really talked about in this show was the directing. However, I will say that Hiro Murai does a great job of directing this episode. There is an entire sequence with is seen through a Snapchat video, a decision that I thought was very clever and refreshing in a fun way. The episode also has a heavy use of handhold camera, which can really take away from the thing you try to film, but in this episode it really worked, because it had a more gritty feeling to it than some of the other episodes. Murai has been very great at directing all of his episodes in the season, and it's very clear to see that he has given some tips to Glover, because in his episodes, it's very much the same style, with a few different touches.
The plot of the episode seemed a little confusing in the beginning, but as the episode reached its climax, I understood why this was an important episode to have at the end of the season. The outcome of the storyline revealed that there are more layers to Earn's character than I first thought, and I loved the subtle way of the reveal that we got. It was very emotional also, to see what was hiding behind that final gate.
23 out of 27 found this helpful