Monday, February 25, 2019

What I’m Watching: Counterpart (Series Finale)

Counterpart: Season 2, Episode 10 “Better Angels”

I’m still so upset that this show was cancelled by Starz with what I assume is little hope of it being picked up by another network or streaming service, but at least the fact that this finale provided some closure makes its demise somewhat more palatable. This final hour was extremely action-packed, with all of the characters we’ve come to know colliding in unexpected ways and, interestingly, most of them making it out unscathed. Having both Howards come face-to-face so long after their first meeting and after ours has gone through so much was particularly poignant, and ours was even so pushed to the brink that he was ready to execute his other for his involvement in the events leading up to Emily’s death. She demonstrated extraordinary bravery and grace under pressure when she walked right into an extremely volatile situation and managed to almost defuse it before the wire got tripped. Clare and Peter getting to a place of friendship is endearing, and arguing about what to rename Spencer was sweet. The most memorable moment of the hour, for me, was watching Roland and his counterpart from their side bartering for token items like a flash drive and saying goodbye to each other for the last time. Their Howard was just as brutal and exacting in his systematic execution of all of the Indigo carriers, and their Emily, with a helpful start from Ian, made sure to dispose of Mira in a way that guaranteed her success. Yanek collapsing after being exposed to the virus and spending time with his grandchildren in our world was a haunting ending, one that leaves the door open for more of this show if it were to be miraculously renewed but just as fittingly closes it satisfactorily. I do think that this show has been the best I’ve seen this season, and I’ll continue to highly recommend it to anyone I know. And please give everyone involved new jobs and roles just as good as the ones they had here.

Series finale: A-
Season grade: A-
Season MVP: Harry Lloyd as Peter
Series grade: A-
Series MVP: J.K. Simmons as Howard
Best Episode: “Twin Cities

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