"Better a fallen rocket than never a burst of light."
~ Tom Stoppard, The Invention of Love

Thursday, July 23, 2020

The Book of Rannells: Black Monday: Season 2, Episode 10 – “I Don’t Like Mondays” (2020)

Season finale time! Much like last year, various threads from throughout the season get tied together in unexpected ways, new reveals are made, and we end on a game-changer. I’m reminded a little of The Good Place in how the show thrives on change and defying the status quo – sure, I don’t see Black Monday burning through 300 years’ worth of storyline anytime soon, but the series likes to be dynamic.

Mo has a plan. It’s intricate and precarious, fueled by coke and desperation, and it relies on everyone playing their part in order for it to come together. Given the selfishness and unreliability of all the players involved, that might be a tall order.

Once again, I’m going to avoid too many details so I can keep away from spoilers (this show may require a few post-season spoilery write-ups, like I do at the end of each new season of Who – there’s plenty that I can’t talk about here.) Suffice it to say, it’s what we’ve come to expect from the show, which is the unexpected. It’s not just what the plan entails, but the how of the way they execute it. Sacrifice plays are had, deals are made with devils, and Wayne has an evil plan to stick it to Just for Men. Throw in some slapstick, a few betrayals, and a lot of irreverent humor, and you’ve got yourself a Black Monday finale!

I love everything about Mo’s coked-up brainstorm and the other characters’ reaction to it. There’s a strong scene between Dawn, Blair, and Keith about the blood on all of their respective hands. We get an appearance from Burl Moseley, who played Jim on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (don’t be a lawyer!) – he showed up earlier in the season, but I forgot to mention it, so I’m glad we see him again here.

Andrew Rannells takes Blair right up to the brink. I won’t go into it here because I don’t want to spoil it, but like I said last week, it’s wild to think about the Blair we met in the pilot and compare him to the Blair in this episode. You wanna talk about dynamic, this is a dynamic character. And yet, for all that Blair blames Mo for corrupting him (not that Mo’s hands are clean in all this,) the episode also shows ways that this potential was in Blair the whole time, perhaps waiting to come out. I’m interested to see what happens to everyone next season (there’s gonna be a next season, right?), but I’m most curious to see where Blair goes. This is a really great character for Rannells to play, something very different from a lot of what he’s done. And aside from the Rannells of it all, it’s just a fascinating story to follow. Fingers crossed for more to come!

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