Saturday, March 28, 2020

What I’m Watching: Dispatches from Elsewhere


Dispatches from Elsewhere: Season 1, Episode 4 “Fredwynn” (B+)

As expected, the deep dive into the show’s fourth main character was extremely intriguing and satisfying. Octavio’s classification of Fredwynn as a “hardcore” who spoils the game of life for everyone wasn’t entirely off-base, and we saw that the big conclusions he came to about their being a script and a prompt book were gathered very quickly and without much extensive research. Learning that he was a self-made millionaire by age twenty-one and that he used to own a porcelain car before he realized that he didn’t like driving added to his irreverence, as did the fact that he barely sleeps because he’d much rather be furiously calculating the many things running through his brain. Going back into his memory palace (something I’ve heard about from a friend who says he accesses his frequently) to review what he missed the first time felt a lot like what Octavio did with Janice and the footage, and Janice was genuinely excited when she was finally able to access her memory palace after considerable encouragement from him. There was a beauty to both her and her younger self being in sync to be able to relay the address to Fredwynn, though her subsequent call to action on Simone’s doorstep did sound a lot like she was being held hostage. After all that, the team managed to get back together, and now, thanks to some moderate conversation and avoiding falling into large holes, they may have finally found the one person who can provide some serious clarification: Clara.

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