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Ragdoll ends its first season in a bit of a lackluster fashion.

Aired	12/16/2021
Network	AMC+
Directed By	Niall MacCormick
Written By	Freddy Syborn

Recap

The Lake Rescue – Lake, Thomas, Joy, Finlay, Emily

At first, it seemed Lake was a goner. Between Joy and Thomas having a signal system and Thomas’ torture room being in a hidden part of the basement, with thick walls, the first round of cops who came to find her didn’t discover her. But, luckily for Lake, Joy leaves by the time Emily and Finlay show up, and Emily, taking note of the size of the house and surely seeing a few horror shows, discovers a secret door and rescues Lake.

Now, unfortunately, Thomas gets away, but not before stabbing Finlay after a brief tussle. But, at the very least, Emily can say she saved one potential victim.

The Build Up – Thomas, Lake, Emily, Joy, Nathan

With his home invaded and watched, alongside his wife questioned by the police, it seems Thomas is on his final act. But, not to be outdone, Nathan is still moving about and tries to give Emily a proper goodbye by giving her Joel’s bible. However, when trying to get into her house, he gets zapped and thus decides to break into her place and discovers a sedative bomb was waiting for Emily.

This leads to him visiting Lake, who is in the hospital being checked out, for he knows she’ll call Emily, and that will allow him to set up a meeting. But, alongside noting Nathan was visiting her room, Emily reveals Nathan blackmailing her was why he got out. Emily sets the blackmail aside for right now, as she just cares about getting Nathan.

The problem is that Nathan has gotten a bit unhinged and seems to think that he will be judge, jury, and executioner rather than let the justice system handle things. When confronted by Emily about this, the two end up tussling in his car, with that battle ending with Emily having a gun in her face and Nathan scaring her off so he can pursue the case further.

He is aided by Lake, who, with Joy not being brought to justice but instead playing the victim of a serial killer, decides to help Nathan. Thus he learns where Joy is, and she follows Thomas’ instructions to get Nathan to the television station. Now, as for why he is sent there? Well, because that is where Emily is.

You see, as the face of the case, “Carnage Bae,” Emily was supposed to give a reassuring interview, but with her growing tired of the politics, which included letting Nathan die to potentially end all of this, Emily stops playing the game. She alludes to how powerless she is in her position and publicly outs Nathan and asks the public to help find him.

After that spiel, she is guided by a crew member off stage, behind the curtains, and we learn that the crew member is Thomas, who uses her as bait, as expected.

The End – Nathan, Emily, Lake, Thomas, Joy

This leads to Nathan arriving, seeing Thomas set a trap, him calling Lake for a modicum of backup, and him pursuing Emily, who, with her righteous sense of justice, is more focused on Nathan handcuffing himself to be taken in more than anything. Though you could submit, Thomas holding a man hostage likely played a part. I mean, that random person is why Emily huffs weed killer to keep Thomas from killing him.

But, she doesn’t die – remember, she is rather good at holding her breath, and Thomas notes the weed killer would take 40 minutes to kill Emily. However, Lake shows up and complicates things, and when you add in Emily having enough strength to knock Thomas unconscious, it seemed like Lake and Emily were about to pick up a win. However, as Lake takes off Nathan’s handcuffs in order to put them on Thomas, Thomas escapes.

This leads to how things end: To make a long story short, Joy is not about living on the run and the idea of Thomas thinking that is their next move doesn’t settle right with her. It doesn’t turn her on. So, she somehow makes a man bigger than her flip head over a railing to his death as she walks away, in disguise.

We then are told three-month have passed, and Nathan is in Germany, Emily is developing a drinking problem and Lake? Well, we learn that, after the oft-repeated scene of her swerving on a dirt road, her car flipped, and Naomi, who was in her trunk, died. Also, the captain of the police found the body, which seemingly has been abandoned so long it is decomposing. Now, whether Lake is a suspect, considering the New Jersey plates left behind, who knows? All we know for sure is Joy is still out there, Nathan is in Germany, Emily’s mental health is slipping, and Lake is hoping her secret doesn’t get out.

Things To Note | Question(s) Left Unanswered

Question(s) Left Unanswered

So, after the time jump, where is Joy?
Did Nathan just guess which line to cut, or does he have training in dismantling bombs?
So, why was Naomi in the trunk?
Did PR matter so much that Nathan was given the ability to leave the country and travel halfway across Europe?
It still isn’t clear what relationship, more so in the past than the present, Nathan and Emily had considering he knew where she stored her spare key and her security code. Never mind her talking about, if he loves her, he wouldn’t do certain things.

What Could Happen Next

If this gets renewed for a second season, a part of me hopes this would be handled as an anthology and focus on a different case in the UK. That or they do a prequel season focused on Mark Hooper. As for a direct sequel? Well, it did seem Joy was ready to no longer be the wife behind the man, so maybe she may take on her ex-husband’s work? Which could mean taking out Nathan or setting a new spree in motion.

Review

Highlights

Emily’s Downfall

Okay, so Emily doesn’t experience an outright downfall, but you can see this job is increasingly weighing on her. She decides to start calling out the Blue Wall on-air and notes to Lake she has begun to drink to get through her day. Why? We can only assume it is because she doesn’t have a friend or confidant in Nathan, and her relationship with her family isn’t the best. Thus creating the perfect storm for someone who keeps getting told she’ll go far but isn’t sure she’ll want to if it means toeing the line to climb the ladder.

Low Points

How Things End For Thomas

So you’re telling me, a man who could kill a mayor, a judge, a high profile reporter, and more in police custody, or their own homes, was killed by a woman with a fetish for criminals? That she, assumingly due to Thomas being imbalanced, flipped him over a rail, and that’s the end of one of the most notable serial killers in the world of Ragdoll? You have to be f***ing kidding me.

Not to downplay Joy’s madness or abilities, but, story-wise, that is so anti-climatic.

On The Fence

We’re Given Some Idea What Happened To Naomi

Is it clear why Naomi was in Lake’s trunk? No. Do we know how she got in there? No. But, at the very least, we know Lake got into a car accident, and she died in that trunk. Now, is there a huge slew of information left to ask? Absolutely. For example, with Lake’s Captain finding out, can this be traced back to her? Yes, she wiped her prints, but what about the blood, the hair, and the license plate? Never mind, Naomi likely wasn’t an unknown figure, so she can’t just disappear without a trace, and Lake, her known girlfriend or a recent ex, not be considered a person of interest.

Things After The Time Jump

Outside of Lake’s situation with Naomi, the time jump doesn’t present anything notably enticing to make you hope this gets a second season. Does Emily possibly develop a drinking problem raise interest? A little bit. But considering all she has gone through thus far, it isn’t necessarily something to get excited about. Then with Nathan, our update with him is that he is playing pool in Germany and still seems to be on the verge of a breakdown. Okay, is that supposed to make us clamor for more?

And granted, Lake does spot Joy, in the getup she killed Thomas, and she seemingly will pursue her on her own. But there are no promises with that, and considering that case is wrapping up, will anyone really be willing to reopen it because Lake has a personal vendetta? Especially with how much public perception seems to be on upper management’s mind?

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Ragdoll: Season 1/ Episode 6 – Recap/ Review (with Spoilers)