You, Me and the Apocalypse Season 1 Episode 9 Review: Calm Before the Storm
Elena Zhang
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We're on a race to the end of the world, with You, Me and the Apocalypse Season 1 Episode 9 cramming everything it can into one hour.
This episode was packed full of action, with hardly any moments to breathe throughout the relentless chaos. That's not necessarily a bad thing, and it's definitely better than the slow, tedious nature of the earlier season.
But the writers have to remember that the characters are at the heart of what makes this show interesting. The problem of balancing character depth and plot has been endemic throughout the entire series.
For example, I would have loved to spend more time with Celine this episode. She deserved to have more than a few short scenes following the emotional devastation of losing Jude.
Their romance has been such a huge part of the show, and was honestly one of the most interesting storylines the show had to offer. Jude's death was obviously going to be impactful, but Celine only had a few seconds of crying before she moved on to a new, Godly path.
I'm not saying I wanted an entire hour of Celine weeping over Jude. But it would have been nice to explore exactly what she was feeling, because her emotions had to be more complex than simply sadness.
Not only was she dealing with grief, she was also struggling with the fact that she had broken her vows and left the Church.
I was also hoping that she would protest more at the cardinal's report on Jude, and would want to investigate further if she really believed that he didn't commit suicide. I suppose she could do that in the next episode, but there hardly seems like there will be enough time for that.
My prediction is that her new mission from God will be to expose the false messiah, which would be edifying Jude's work as well. On that note, how great was it that God was played by a woman?
We did get to see a few emotional beats with Jamie, Frankie, and Layla, however. They were absolutely adorable during the party at their house. But it was fairly obvious that Jamie's life couldn't remain happy for too long.
I don't have any moms. You got, like, 12 in the last month! How's that fair?
Dave
Having a twin on a television show pretty much guarantees a switcheroo subplot, and indeed, here we have Ariel impersonating Jamie in the final hours of a doomed world. It was heartbreaking to see everyone buy into it, including Jamie's own mother.
I was hoping that Frankie would see right through Ariel, given how she's been shown to have some prescient abilities, but perhaps she is just biding her time.
As far as the McNeil subplot goes, it was disappointing to see Leanne return, as her character really doesn't add much of anything to the show, and I'd much rather spend more time on the characters we actually care about.
It wouldn't be surprising if Scotty dies, because his character is in need of atonement for all his past sins, but I don't think that will be the case. Gaines declaring that Scotty was his husband was very sweet, though. However, it looks like Gaines' tendency for self-preservation will show itself, and he will change his mind about not saving themselves.
Everybody has the right to say goodbye.
Scotty
Given a longer season, the writers would probably have time to work out the kinks and learn to feature both emotional drama and action. But then again, it's for the best that this series is only ten episodes, given that the stories for these characters are fairly exhausted at this point.
It is a travesty that we still haven't learned the backstory about the monkey yet, however.
What did you think of this episode? Who do you think will figure out Ariel's impersonation? Are you excited to see how it all ends? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
Don't forget, you can watch You, Me and the Apocalypse online anytime via TV Fanatic!
