T E L E V I S I O N / Glue 107 - 108 Review

“I just want to go back to the beginning. All I want to do is go back to the beginning.” I swore to myself that I would write a finale review for a show and stop my track record of never writing finale reviews (looks sadly at Mr. Selfridge & MMFD posts) by writing this one. Though it's incredibly late and my mind is a bit fuzzy on the specifics and details of what took place in the penultimate and final episodes, I still vaguely remember what I felt when I watched it. This won't be as in depth as the other reviews I've done since, like I said, it's been a while since I watched the episodes, but it'll be a overview of my thoughts. Well, let's start with the biggest reveal from these episodes: Who killed Cal? Like I said in the last review, I honestly thought Ian would have had a hand in it, but since he died before the end, that was crossed off. Part of me wants to say I never really suspected Eli would be the killer and part of it is the way the story was told and I tip my hat off to the writer for this. Because we see Eli desperately investigate Cal's pass, there's this automatic assumption that Eli is looking for Cal's killer and to piece the story together as the police and as we the audience are doing. But Eli's definition of Cal's murder is not his physical murder but the murder of the brother he once knew before foster care. That familial drive and aspect to Eli's character was so present from the beginning that it was nice to see it played out in a dangerous matter. I wish, however, since family played such a critical role to Eli's life that we got to see more of it with his father, and his mother. There were lots of talking and threats and too much telling than showing--of course, this could all be for suspense's sake. Despite this, seeing Eli as the killer definitely surprised me to a certain degree though I wish it didn't since all the signs were there! Watching it a second time, I'm sure there will be very subtle hints that form an arrow pointing to him.  Another favorite arc of mine was Ruth. I don't know if it's a regression or progression of character. I'd like to say it's a progression because from the beginning we see her deny her background as a Roma consistently, especially with her physical separation from the camp. By the end, she's living there with her daughter, immersing herself in the environment again. I also loved the development of Ruth and Tina's re-budding friendship. Honestly, I wish there was more of this. Their bonding in the flat pulled my heart strings and wished there was more since 80% of the show consisted of them glaring at each other. A lot could have been developed in terms of backgrounds and characters, but given the length of the show, I guess I can't find much fault with it.  This is total an aside fan thought, but I would have really loved Eli and Ruth to get together over Eli and Tina, but whatever. I'll take them separately since they're both independently great characters involved with a pretty good story.  Ratings: ★★★☆☆