What I’m Watching: The Offer (Penultimate Episode)

The Offer: Season 1, Episode 9 “It's Who We Are” (B+)

Things took a dramatic turn from the start of this episode, when Ruddy got nervous about dealing with a very different mafia with a far more vicious and all-encompassing influence, to the thunderously-received screening where the success of the movie was cemented. It didn’t seem like Evans was going to come back, and Barry wasn’t interested in hearing what the creative forces behind the movie had to say. Thanks to Ruddy’s intervention, Bob showed up at exactly the right time to make his case and impress Bludhorn, and more importantly the dubious Barry, that Ruddy and Francis knew best and should be respected. It was entertaining to see some of the proposed cover art that definitely did not have the same effect as the one that was ultimately used. It’s difficult to imagine what comes next for Ruddy since this has been such a huge investment with the potential for disaster, and Bettye thinking of her career beyond that makes sense because success just isn’t assured, even if those watching know it is. Hearing Caesar say that it was the best movie he ever saw was a surefire sign of approval, and hearing the signature theme from the movie was an important moment. I don’t know how much is left to be resolved in the finale and if there will be consequences for this screening, but there shouldn’t be too much more to be surmounted ahead of the release of this film that came to define an entire generation and inspire so much more cinema after that.