in light of the controversy over his own sexual misdeeds.
Except the experiment just didn’t work. For fans of the show such as myself, hitting play on the episode and immediately being barraged with an intercutting ensemble number on how much LA traffic sucks was a bit of a whirlwind , as was watching the next several scenes that find the remaining Pfeffermans reacting to the death of their Moppa without any song and dance to underscore their emotions.
Inevitably, part of this disconnect comes from the lack of seeing Maura on screen. Even in death, she is still the link that connects the world of’s finale, as her shiva brings together nearly every character for a speed dating-esque series of one-on-one conversations that tell us “oh, so that’s what happened to so-and-so.” But without her physical presence on screen, everything still feels either unresolved or, worse, hastily patched together.
But one lackluster episode/season shouldn’t serve as a synecdoche for the whole series, and one actor’s behavior shouldn’t discolor the excellent work that an entire cast and crew performed.’s finale may still sting, but it stings a lot less knowing behind-the-scenes justice was served, and the show will be remembered as landing on the right side of the ongoing struggle against a culture of sexual abuse.based in New York.