Blunt Talk wraps its impressive first season with a good episode that’s just an okay finale.
Spoilers for “Let’s Save Central Florida! Let’s Save Midtown!” within.
The impressive debut season of Blunt Talk comes to a close with a perfectly enjoyable episode if not the greatest episode to serve as a season finale. It’s difficult not to feel as though the pacing of the season would have been better served if “Let’s Save Central Florida! Let’s Save Midtown!” traded places with last week’s “I Brought a Petting Goat!” The finale lacks the sense of closure that it needs to feel like a season closer – closure that the last episode provided – so in that way, it feels more like a bizarre epilogue than anything. Still, there was some long term payoff and plenty of antics to enjoy.
We want to hear it.
The primary story here is Walter’s discovery that he’s been suffering from PTSD for thirty years, which leads to his commitment to doing a six-part series about the modern treatments of the disorder… which leads to returning guest Jason Schwartzman’s Zero Impact Family getting bumped from the show for a third time. What we thought was just a recurring gag actually turned out to have big consequences, as Schwartzman’s Mr. Adler took Walter hostage on live television in order to get his story out there.
It was a lot funnier than it might sound at face value, which is a testament to the style of this show. It’s able to walk the line of dark comedy and satire and turn it into something with a whole lot of heart. Schwartzman got to cut lose and make the best of his guest spot, and the flash mob with which he escaped was a great source of laughs and just the right amount of absurdity.
The heroic actions of Walter were the most important takeaway here. Despite suffering from PTSD and being haunted by his past in the war, Walter still took hold of the situation and acted bravely in order to protect his friends and employees. There was no hesitation, no question of Walter’s intent, just out and out bravery (and just a little macho, as Shelly humorously points out). I enjoyed this whole scenario a great deal, but it’s unfortunate that the episode doesn’t delve into the public’s reaction to Walter’s handling of the situation. Given that the season premiered with Walter’s very public shaming, the finale could have rectified its lack of closure by letting us see Walter’s redemption – or perhaps lack thereof — in the media.
Most of the other storylines were dropped in favor of Walter’s, having reached their climax in the last episode anyway, but I was glad to see Jim and Celia further their relationship just a tad further. To its credit, the show doesn’t give them any blatant confessional monologues or long-winded proclamations of love. Instead, it handled Jim’s admission of his feelings with simplicity and Celia simply stated that she felt the same, and the rest of the episode showed us their affection instead of telling us. Their moment holding hands under the desk, as they broadcast live about Walter’s kidnapping, says more about their feelings for one another than any dialogue could manage. It was a great touch and a fitting way to cap off their story for the season.
There were a lot of threads left lingering, however, not the least of which was Teddy’s condition. He appears in the episode for a quick send-off to Martin as he heads off to “find himself” on the Appalachian Trail (who has one of the best lines of the show: “I’m only walking part of the trail, so I might not find my whole self.”), but his clear-headedness is explained away. For a storyline that was not only one of the best of the season but also one that got the most attention, it’s disappointing that there wasn’t more of a resolution here. Coupled with Rosalie’s big reveal from last week and her persistent struggles throughout the course of the season, it was disappointing that she had so little to do in this episode.
While it doesn’t quite manage to be a fulfilling finale, “Let’s Save Central Florida! Let’s Save Midtown” is still a good episode. If it had occurred before last week’s episode instead of serving as the capper of Season 1, it likely would’ve been far more successful. Still, it gives Walter some truly heroic moments that shows he didn’t leave the best parts of himself back on the battlefield, and it gives Jim and Celia a nice send-off until next year. It was great to see the Zero Impact Family payoff in a big way, but it’s unfortunate that we didn’t get to see the ramifications of Walter’s heroism pay off as a parallel to where he began the season with public shaming.
