Courtesy of Netflix
It’s the end of the road for Netflix’s Floridian clan of murderers as Bloodline examines the wake of last week’s not-so-shocking murder.
Let’s bitch it out…
The final, supersized episode of Bloodline essentially documents how the Rayburns deal with the shit they got themselves into and go about their lives. Here are your talking points:
- The episode kicks off exactly where ‘Part 12’ left off, with John (Kyle Chandler) sitting in a daze in the shallow water, staring at Danny’s (Ben Mendelsohn) floating body. If there’s one thing that this finale does exceedingly well, it is the long, muted silences that distract our three remaining Rayburns throughout the hour as their brains try to process what has happened.
- Unsurprisingly John calls Kevin (Norbert Leo Butz) for help before he calls Meg (Linda Cardellini). This despite the fact that Kevin is a cocaine snorting idiot and Meg is an (admittedly fragile) lawyer.
- Sally (Sissy Spacek) discovers that both Kevin and Meg knew John was at the hospital = what the fuck is wrong with all of you?!
- Best scene of the episode: Meg is pulled over for swerving because she thinks that she hears knocking coming from the trunk where Danny’s body lies. It’s all very shades of Poe (eeek, but not The Following‘s Poe!). Cardinelli hasn’t really been given much to do throughout this series, but between this and her freak-out on Marco (Enrique Murciano) in the car, I thought she nailed Meg’s guilty conscience.
- There are enough scenes of the Rayburns caught in a downpour in this episode to make The Killing jealous. Don’t these people own umbrellas?! I know they’re upset, but wandering into torrential rains without a care makes people look crazy / guilty.
- John declares that Kevin and Meg must live their lives, so they hatch a plan to make it appear as though Danny was killed by Lowry (unsurprisingly). While tussling up Danny’s Miami apartment (and planting the missing drugs in the closet), they are seen by someone wearing a Rayburn estate t-shirt. I’m guessing this is Carlos (an unconfirmed Eliezer Castro) since he was always lurking around on Danny’s behalf. File that under: Trouble – Next Season.
- When Danny’s body is discovered by fisherman, Sally races to the scene and collapses into John’s arms. This A) is a little too Broadchurch and B) Would have been so much more effective had we been able to see their eyes. Nothing says tangible grief like both of them wearing dark shades.
- I love how John pokes holes in Marco and DEA agent Clay’s (Bill Kelly) theories about the events leading up to Danny’s murder. It’s hard not to be a little bored considering we know that John already knows this, and none of it is particularly fresh. You get the sense that Bloodline is aiming for a Hitchockian finale if which we spend the hour wondering whether our protagonists will get away with murder, but it’s very obvious early on that John and Kevin will recreate a series of events to create a murder timeline, it’s just not that interesting. If anything, this means that John deserves his promotion to Sheriff because he’s so damn good at faking evidence! (Also: he’s apparently rocks at wooing donors/voters)
- In one of many “happy” endings, we see Kevin and Belle (Katie Finneran) bickering and making dinner. Kevin gets by far the best ending: Belle announces her pregnancy and, early in the episode, it is revealed that Kevin will be able to buy the land he wanted a few episodes back for dirt cheap. Everything is coming up Kevin!
- Initially it appears that Meg’s move to NY is similarly amazing. Early on we hear that the partners love her and later we discover that the job also comes with Alec (Steven Pasquale). All in all, she seems to have come off pretty well, but unlike Kevin, who doesn’t appear to have a care in the world, Meg can no longer enjoy her new view. We probably could have done with just a despondent stare instead of a literal announcement, but that’s fine…
- Unable to prevent Danny’s death, retired detective Lennie Potts (Frank Hoyt Taylor) once again torpedoes the family when he reveals to Sally that her children are lying to her. It seems pretty clear that at least part of S2 will be Sally discovering what happened in S1. That seems a little anticlimactic, no?
- In the final scene, we learn that Danny had a son, who arrives to crash dinner at John’s place. Is this really all that surprising considering what we knew of Danny’s activities in Miami before the series began? I’ve been expecting a black sheep to arrive to carry on the legacy for ages!
- Kudos to Chandler, Cardinelli (and to a lesser extent Leo Butz) for selling the shell shocked grief in this episode. Considering the series killed off its best actor last week, ‘Part 13’ could have been a slog, but the remaining Rayburns manage to make it eminently watchable. It’s not quite the white-knuckle experience of other finale episodes, but it proves to be a solid denouement after the big climax nonetheless.
- Just to clarify: this show is no Damages. In other news: I miss Damages.
Best Lines:
- Sally (when John claims he didn’t speak to Danny): “I’m not sure I believe you.”
- Kevin: “We never say that in this family.” Kevin: “What?” John: “I love you.”
And that’s a wrap on S1. What do you think, having seen the entire season unfold? Did all of the flashbacks come together the way you thought they would? Was Mendelsohn the break-out of the series? Were you disappointed by the female characters? Are you annoyed that everyone seemingly got a “happy” ending? What do you hope for from S2 (assuming you actually plan to continue)? Sound off below.
Bloodline is available in its entirety on Netflix. A second series has been ordered.