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What happens when you put an insecure psychopath on LSD? Well, we get an idea after Forty drugs Joe.
| Directed By | Harry Jierjian |
| Written By | Kara Lee Corthron, Justin W. Lo |
| Aired (Netflix) | 12/26/2019 |
This content contains pertinent spoilers.
Episode Breakdown (Recap)
What To Do About You?: Delilah, Joe
Joe already has a list of people killed who run through his head that makes him question if he can be a better person. Said list includes people like Ron and Benji, who he can try to justify the killings of, but then there is Beck and Peach, who make that a bit more complicated. With Delilah, who is just a girl he slept with a few times, who is taking care of her sister, and hasn’t done anything to him, he death is hard to make into something necessary. Especially considering Joe released Will and that has yet to bite him in the behind.
So, taking note of the success with Will, Joe plans to use a little less than 24 hours to say his goodbyes and using a time-release pair of handcuffs, he’ll let Delilah walk out of his storage unit.
The Long Goodbye: Joe, Love, Ellie, Forty, Dottie
To begin this goodbye, Joe writes a letter to Love. Someone who admits Milo was a rebound but tries to adhere to her family’s whole thing about not doing second chances. However, with counseling from her friends, she decides to ditch that family tradition.
Which makes the fact Forty kidnaps Joe to complete his script a blessing for her and hell for Joe. Though, at first, it doesn’t give Love the results she wanted. You see, Dottie decides she wants to have some mother/daughter reconciliation time due to her spiritual advisor saying she should. The problem with that is, Dottie doesn’t seem like she really wants to do the work as much as create the appearance she and Love are cordial.
And as they drink, and cause a scene, Forty is using huge men to trap Joe in a room and having Ellie assist in writing. As you can imagine, having Ellie there is a mixed bag for Joe. On the one hand, he does feel connected to her and knowing where she helps him mentally. Yet, on the other hand, she criticizes Forty’s writing and that sends him jumping out of a window – into a dumpster.
Now, this would be fine for Joe if the big Russian dude didn’t have all he needed to hightail it to Mexico. So off he goes to a bar where Forty is spiraling and decides to, because he is such an ass, drug Joe with LSD. Thus leading to visions of his mother, Candace, who Forty is still in contact with, a conversation with Love that sounds like a rejection to her and Joe nearly killing Forty.
At least until he realizes he and Forty are connected in killing someone they loved. For Joe, it was Beck and for Forty, it was Sofia. And with this in mind, alongside the roleplaying and other discoveries while on LSD, the script is finished.
What Have I Done?!: Joe, Delilah, Love
For 11 approximately hours, Joe’s body was processing LSD, and during it, multiple times, he saw his hands red with what he thought was blood. However, with Ellie alive, Forty alive, and no means of transportation, the idea that he killed anyone seemed farfetched. That is until he gets to the storage unit and Delilah is clearly murdered.
Making it so, this final goodbye Love asked for, as she recommits to Joe, may end up them both, and Forty, saying goodbye to LA so Joe can finally get to Mexico.
Main Things to Remember (Plot Synopsis)
- Delilah is dead, and Joe assumes he did that while on LSD.
- We have yet to learn why Ellie is with Delilah, beyond their mother being someone who at least is verbally cruel.
- Forty still talks to Candace.
- Joe has serious Mommy issues.
- Forty’s script that adapts Beck’s book is done thanks to him admitting he killed his au pair, Ellie’s criticism, and the possibility of Kathryn Bigelow directing the feature.
Review
Highlights
The Exploration of Joe’s Mommy Issues
What makes a man like Joe is something many wonder. Is it their parents, the people in their environment, abuse, or just a chemical imbalance? Little by little we have been given reasons from Moody’s abuse, Joe’s dad, and his mother’s actions. Yet, despite what we’ve seen, that goes as far as Joe murdering people, we see him snap back like a rubber band.
Leaving you to wonder, while we’re all the sum of who we know, what’s we’ve been through, and what society has pushed us to use from our experiences, can Joe be saved? Is it worth even thinking that’s capable without therapy of some kind? Heck, unless they are intense like Gabe, could the treatment even work?
Understanding Why Forty Connects To Joe
Why is it a spoiled dude, who grazes about, take an interest in someone who genuinely reads books, likely only cares about his sister, and him out of obligation, and often seems indifferent? Because there is an unseen connection. It’s like said earlier, damage attracts damaged, and it seems with both killing their exes out of rage, Joe and Forty have a formerly unspoken connection. One that makes Joe feel seen in ways he previously hasn’t and for Forty, the male relationship he couldn’t obtain from his father nor Henderson.
Because, think about it, in terms of women, between his mother, sister, and whatever girl he is dating, Forty can get a sense of love, affection, and validation from them. Men, on the other hand? Be it Milo, perhaps James, and his own father, there is a rejection of who he is. Either in terms of what he pursues, his style, or the relationships he finds important. And while there is some form of friendship with Calvin, he is seemingly gay, and Forty doesn’t put him on a pedestal. Probably since he doesn’t see himself in Calvin nor does he aspire to be like him.
Joe, on the other hand, who can woo his father, mother, and sister, impresses most people he interacts with and has this certain charm, despite often being condescending, that’s something to aspire to. So, of course, Forty latches onto him. He is that father figure, big brother, what have you, that provides the love that Forty’s father refuses to give and so whether it is using Love, kidnapping, or by opening up, he is doing whatever it takes to maintain what might be the second most important relationship to him. IF not the first since he knows Love is secured.
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