What I’m Watching: The End of the F***ing World

The End of the F***ing World: Season 1, Episode 7 (B+)

Alyssa definitely switched into a whole new mode of dependence that we haven’t seen from her at all as soon as she arrived at her father’s home. I was worried that her being enamored with him would prompt James to revive his killer instinct, but instead it seems to have done the opposite, as he couldn’t even kill the dog that her father ran over at the end of the episode. James throwing knives with Alyssa’s dad was about the most normal thing that they did together, and his description of him as not quite an adult was very spot-on. Things went downhill very fast when he got confronted at the bar by the mother of his other child, whose existence was enough to burst the bubble completely for Alyssa, and his immediate running-over of the dog irreversibly sealed the deal. James’ father was in continued denial about what his son could be capable of, and Alyssa’s mother just wanted to blame James for corrupting her little girl. Eunice did not appreciate Teri’s joke about dragging the investigation out for a few days so that James could turn eighteen, and the roles have really reversed in that dynamic. Eunice has become completely sympathetic to the plight of Alyssa and James, giving them more credit than their rebellious retreat deserves, and Teri’s eagerness to send them to prison made Eunice not want to be around her, even when she suggested they share a hotel room. Now that Alyssa and James’ faces are out there on the news for all to see, I’m very curious to see what happens in the season finale.