What I’m Watching: The Detour (Season Finale)

The Detour: Season 3, Episode 10 “The Escape” (B+)

For a show that has felt relatively directionless in a very purposeful way, it was great to see a finale that provided a surprising degree of closure and then turned the plot in a whole new direction that I don’t think anyone saw coming. Knowing that there was a plan in place the entire time is reassuring, and adds layers to this comedy series that often felt like it was including events for no reason at all. The Japanese cowboys were pretty entertaining, and I immediately recognized the first one to appear’s quotes from “Toy Story.” It was amusing to see Nate get so into it before Robin realized that it was all fake, and they sure enjoyed themselves for a bit, drinking the butter-like alcohol naked in the hot tub and continuing to have sex when their kids came to talk to them. Opting to turn themselves in would have gone well if the three militia generals weren’t so trigger-happy, and a whole lot of people got arrested as a result. The montage of all the interviews they’ve been through over the past two years was cool to watch since it’s felt so endless, and we got a pretty cool reveal out of all of it: that Edie was actually Robin’s sister and just wanted to feel connected to her family after chasing her criminal father for so many years. And it was a nice way for Robin to get revenge on the sister she knew about for turning her into the authorities. To cap it all off, we learned why Delilah was always acting so strange thanks to clips of all the steps she was taking to create a new life and run away, determined not to be found. That caught me by surprise, and I’d love to see a season four where the Parkers and their newfound family member try to track down the daughter who might be even more cunning than her mother and grandfather.

Season grade: B+
Season MVP: Laura Benanti as Edie