It’s the last episode
and I want answers….
Which isn’t going to
happen
Instead we have Phil
in prison being questioned by James and he’s dancing around all kinds of
answers: Phil makes a big slightly epic speech about there being rules to the
universe and one of those big ones is that living things are born, live and die
in that order. This is how things are, this is how things should be. And it is
Phil’s job to enforce those laws
He doesn’t answer
when James asks if he’s enforcing them for god but I am doubling down on my
belief they’re angels. It’s all very ominous
He does say he is
like Phil - he has Phil’s body and memories - but also admits to possession
pretty much.
James then gets a
call from Beau telling him that Paddy has been shot - James realises there’s
another like Phil and Vic out there and he goes to Beau to help him
Beau is actually kind
of sad about Paddy which I still think doesn’t have enough reinforcement -
there’s still little reason for Beau to value this man. But it does give James
and Beau chance to talk - revealing that Beau was there when the dead crawled
from their graves (he visits the graveyard to think about his father - who
isn’t buried there. But Paddy, a male ancestor, was). I think they cross the
boundary though - because Paddy’s body turns to dust which all spookily blows
away: Beau remembers Vic’s body doing the same thing after Phil messed with it.
James is more distracted by a bullet left behind in the dust - a bullet like
the ones the police use
Without a body to
dispose of James can leave Beau and go check in with the others telling them
Paddy’s dead and someone else is out to kill them - and they need a place of
safety (Kate takes a brief time out to check in with Owen and say that she
can’t be with him for reasons). The only place they can think of is Norgard -
using Nichola Hysen’s security. Especially since the ever shrinking boundary is
centred there.
There’s not a lot of
trust but Kate is convinced enough for her and the others to join William while
James goes off. Inside Nichola explains Elishia’s research: chemicals + sounds
+ stem cells = magic, basically. With a heavy emphasis on memories being what
makes them people rather than copies, clones etc etc. And they think they can
fix the Boundary - but it will also kind of involve bringing Elishia back again
- or so they hope.
While everyone’s out
and about, Sarah frees Phill and they have their own in depth discussion - he
is doubting her resolve. He also doesn’t understand why she’s looking after Nia
since the baby gives her nothing and it’s an entirely one way relationship.
Sarah can’t exactly explain it, just saying it’s love and what you do because
love is pretty hard to understand. She’s also torn up about killing Paddy - and
killing him in front of Beau, likely traumatising him. I think we see Phill
isn’t entirely a stranger to parental responsibility since he actually says
that Beau has him now. There’s a definite sense of a connection there.
We get more ominous
talk about how they’re basically stuck in these bodies until they die as well -
as is right and proper - and some conflict over whether that’s punishment or
reward. Phill is growing to like his humanity
Following research
they realise the dead have fled to Norgard and Sarah leaves her baby with the
awesome midwife. While James has put 2 and 2 together and realised that Sarah
is his other killer
It’s less 2 and 2 to
make 4 and more 2 and 2 to make 766567 but run with it, it’s a short show. He
calls her and is full of rage and grief and horror that this monster has
possessed his dead wife and now has their baby...while Sarah tearfully tries to
convince him she’s still Sarah (and a killing angel person).
James naturally
checks on his baby first before running to the rescue
At Norgard, Hysen’s
security is non existent. We’ve seen this before when William first left. So
Phil and Sarah have no problem breaking in (especially since Phil is in a
relationship with Ellen, Beau’s mother, who works there) and Kate, Kirstie and
Charlie all run to the cemetery where Nichola and William are already
practicing some science woo-woo - in the process Charlie is shot but not
killed.
Time for the grand
confrontation in the cemetery at night with lots of fighting and James and
Chris arrive and we have the ultimate show down. Sarah has her best friend Kate
cornered and points a gun at her. James stands in the way and won’t move… Sarah
can’t bring herself to kill James… but then Phill appears and grabs James, they
wrestle and are pulled out the way
Sarah’s shot at Kate
is clear… but she shoots Phill instead. Who then shoots her.
Which is… awfully
neat and convenient? And means we won’t get answers and just leaves us with the
epilogue
Firstly: Elishia (and
no-one else) came back from the dead despite Nichola’s woo-woo
So James and Kate kind
of are still into each other but decide not to go there because there’s just SO
MUCH between them. He admits he was at the cemetery that night and it was
probably his thoughts that brought her back. This is their working theory now,
in addition to woo-woo you need someone present thinking intensely about you as
well. So we had Beau and Paddy as well
Kirstie had Chris…
he’s reopening the file into her murder out of his own guilt. When she died he
planted evidence that got the wrong man convicted - he was 10 years old and his
big brother paid him to do it. He’s felt massive guilt since then and thought
about her every day proving it by basically reciting her gravestone. His
thoughts brought her back. Kirstie starts with a “this doesn’t make up for this”
but in the end there’s definite understanding and some peace there
As for Charlie… who
knows. He’s never really had that much of a story that was that involved.
Sarah has left a
letter for James assuring him that she truly did love him and Nia and yes she
was an evil murdering possessing angel (I’m paraphrasing) but she was also
Sarah - with her memories and feelings). James covers her death by telling
awesome midwife that Sarah ran off with Phill - and I feel for said Midwife
because she was so supportive and now feels she totally failed them. Raise a
glass for awesome midwife, true star of the show!
The letter is super
sappy
Plot hooks for next
season, if there is one (I don’t know what the timing is between seasons in
Australia. I assume it’s whenever they beat the snakes and spiders away from
the cameras): Paddy is alive! And claimed by Nichola Hysen who has rolled her
Random-Moral-Compass-Generator and come up with Evil today.
The Fitzgerald’s have
given Beau’s family a boat load of money because of the old will.
Kate decides to tell
Owen everything… and he ominous calls someone
And we close with
William lurking in the cemetery and then ominous music
I actually really
liked this season of Glitch, certainly more than the first season
because it had a lot more structure and goals to it. But it had a fundamental
flaw: it’s really really short. Six episodes. There’s no time here so much got
undeveloped
Charlie was a
completely pointless, superfluous character who barely fit with anyone else.
Beau was an aside and they never really took the time to link him with the
others or develop a real relationship with Beau. I have no idea what the point
of Owen was. Phil could definitely have been developed more. Chris could have
been developed more. Elishia, William and Norgard needed more. Kirstie and her
attacker needed more. More of Phil and Sarah adapting their human and
supernatural selves. There wasn’t enough room for a tenth of what they tried to
pack in
There was also a
whole lot of narrative convenience, not because the writers are lazy but
because there wasn’t the space. Like the Fitzgerald’s just decide to pay Beau’s
family - that’s it? That easy? Racism, prejudices and historical injustices
don’t wrap up that easy. Or James making some pretty huge logical leaps at
times… which turn out to be right (like identifying Phil and Sarah as the big
bads). Phil and Sarah conveniently killing each other. Nichola Hysen going from
hostile to co-operative in the space of a blink. No time for development leads
to a lot of unexplained, overly convenient and under-developed stories
It doesn’t help the
marginalised characters either. We have Beau and his family - but I don’t even
know Beau’s mother and grandmother’s names (and I’m only inferring that
relationship) and while Sarah showed plenty of humanity, Phil basically
appeared as evil and alien and didn’t really go much beyond that. Beau himself
served little purpose except to be Paddy’s guide to the modern world despite
his frequent racist language and risk of getting into a feud with the
Fitzgerald’s. There was never adequate explanation for why Beau tolerated Paddy
and while the show explored some of the abuse Aboriginal Australian’s suffered
and suffer it also had a very hand wavy ending
Elishia was
apparently bisexual or a lesbian when alive but she’s a) dead again and b)
seems to be have resurrected not giving a damn about her female partner to
focus entirely on William. Charlie in addition to be under-deverloped, shows no
indication of being attracted to men at all this season - but he did kiss
Kirstie completely randomly. Really, neither are great
