The Book of Rannells: Another Period: Season 2, Episode 11 – “Lillian is Dead” (2016)

Here’s the last episode of Another Period Andrew Rannells is in.  While he’s only in a couple of scenes, he does get a bit more to do than last time, and the way the show closes the book on his character is both unexpected and satisfying.  Altogether, this series is quite a worthy entry into The Book of Rannells.

In the season 2 finale, things are blowing up all over the place.  The sisters’ dad and new lady are taken for a ride, and a confrontation with a bitter, sloshed Lillian leads to a knock-down drag-out, making Beatrice question her new convictions.

There isn’t a lot I can say about the plot since, as a season finale, it’s all very spoiler-heavy, but I will say that I enjoy this episode a lot.  There are some great, audacious one-liners, some hilarious bit characters, and some good twists.

As with the rest of the episode, I can’t say too much about Bertram and Hortense without getting into spoiler territory.  I’ll keep my remarks vague for now and get into details at the bottom of this review.  Even though Bertram is a fairly basic, if entertaining, character, I think Rannells does a really good job with the part.  He’s just the perfect mix between buttoned-up and goofy – the humor works on this show because everyone fully commits to the outlandish silliness, and Rannells fits right in.  I really enjoy the ending we get for Bertram.

Wrapping up Another Period…

Recommend?

In General – Yes, so long as you don’t mind seriously-irreverent humor.  Very funny, very smart, and very creative.

Andrew Rannells – I would.  Bertram is a different sort of character for Rannells to play, and he gets a chance to stretch his muscles a little.

Warnings

Language, violence, sexual content, drinking/smoking/drug use, and strong thematic elements (including incest.)

And now, a few spoilery thoughts.  It might sound weird to say, but I like that Bertram is revealed to be just as sexist and reductive as all other guys on the show.  Not that there were no enlightened men in the early 1900s, but there also were – and continue to be – men like Bertram, guys who are about women being independent in theory.  As soon as he puts a ring on it, Bertram is done with Hortense publishing articles and all about her rearing their as-yet-nonexistent children.  It’s true, he explains, that he admired her for being a strong single woman, but the operative word there is “single.”  His attitudes flip on a dime, but his demeanor stays just as affable and charming as before, until Hortense starts to push back.  The way he so casually tosses off, “…But you’re mine now,” is just a little horrifying; it’s instantly clear he means it in the sense of property, not in any sort of heart-eyes way.  Thank goodness Hortense takes a bite of his penis under the guise of blowing him.

The Book of Rannells: Another Period: Season 2, Episode 10 – “The Duel” (2016)

I don’t think this episode is quite as much fun as the one before it.  Now, I’m not gonna say that’s definitely because Andrew Rannells isn’t in it as much, but it’s a factor, both because of how funny he is in this and because of how much I enjoy that goofy plot.  Still a good episode, just not as good.

Lillian suffers a setback on the cusp of her wedding, and Beatrice returns from her retreat determined to save her sister from herself.  Meanwhile, the family matriarch (who’s in the middle of a divorce) goes toe-to-toe with her ex’s new gold-digging lady.

Overall, I do think the humor isn’t quite as sharp here, although there are still some good jokes – during the titular duel, there’s a running commentary wherein the name for each “fencing move” is sillier than the last.  And just generally, the specific plot threads we’re following in this episode don’t really interest me as much as the last one, although the stuff with Beatrice is pretty fun.  That said, it’s far from a bad episode, and the acting is still terrific.  It’s more the difference between “hilarious” and “pretty funny.”

Rannells is only in one scene today, in which a bitter Lillian tries to sabotage Bertram’s romance with Hortense.  He’s a really good fit for this show, just the right amount of over-the-top.  The general air of the show reminds me a bit of The Book of Mormon, that atmosphere of heightened reality, so it’s a good match.  It requires the actors to be completely sincere in their absurdity, outlandish without mugging, and that takes a steady hand.

In addition to the actors I mentioned last time, this episode also features Christina Hendricks (who I’ll always remember as Saffron on Firefly,) Paget Brewster, and a very funny Michael Ian Black.

The Book of Rannells: Another Period: Season 2, Episode 9 – “Lillian’s Wedding” (2016)

I’d previously seen ads for this show on Comedy Central, but I never saw any episodes of it until I started going through Andrew Rannells’s work.  It’s actually quite a bit cooler than I would’ve guessed from the previews, historical jokes mixed with social commentary mixed with sly feminism, all with strong comedic acting.

Sisters Lillian and Beatrice are the Kardashians of turn-of-the-century Newport.  It’s all about money, bling, and sex, each sister going about it in her own way.  While Lillian schemes to marry a geriatric millionaire before he drops dead, Beatrice is forced to do some soul-searching after finding herself on the wrong end of a sex scandal.  Meanwhile, third sister Hortense (not included in the Kardashian comparison above due to her much-maligned homeliness and journalistic pursuits) may have unexpectedly stumbled across love.

It’s very funny, cartoonish at times (there’s a scene of the women’s brother Frederick, evidently having lucked his way into the vice presidency, failing to spell “vice president” at least half a dozen times on a sheet of paper) and always irreverent.  I like the parallels the show draws between the culture of excess/self-absorption/scandal that exists both then and now – for every joke about how different things were in the early 1900s, there’s another that could’ve easily been tweaked from last week’s tabloid headline.

Rannells plays Bertram Fussleforth VII, the grandson of Lillian’s decrepit fiancé and potential thorn in Lillian’s side.  Bertram is very upper-crusty, quite congenial, and constantly keeping Lillian on her toes with comments that could easily be taken as digs or innocent coincidences of word choice.  Bertram is also Hortense’s maybe-beau, an even greater injustice for Lillian – having hitched her wagon to Bertram’s fast-fading grandpa, it seems ludicrous to her that her ugly sister might wind up with the much young/more handsome Bertram.

It’s not too often that Rannells plays a character in a straight romance, so that’s fun to see.  The wooing between Bertram and Hortense is very over-the-top, full of dramatic proclamations tinged with absurd observations.  Bertram is all about Hortense working as a writer and dazzles her with his enlightened views on women, nothing that perhaps women wearing pants shouldn’t be illegal, “as long as her doctor approves.”  I also get a kick out of his interactions with Lillian, especially her increasing aggravation at him amiably calling her “Grandma.”

Recommend?

In General – Definitely.  This is one I’d like to go back and watch from the beginning.

Andrew Rannells – I would.  Rannells is funny here, equal parts blueblood, clueless, romantic, and deadpan goofy.

Warnings

Swearing, sexual content (including incest,) gross-out humor, drinking/drug references, and thematic elements (mostly via the extremely-irreverent jokes.)