The Last Man on Earth Season 4 Episode 17 Review: Barbara Ann
Kaitlynn Smith
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The penultimate episode of The Last Man on Earth Season 4 is disappointing when compared to other recent outings, but it serves an important purpose.
On The Last Man on Earth Season 4 Episode 17, Todd finds something hidden deep within the walls of their home that frightens him and the women while Tandy and Mike take their road trip to find Mike's heat signature.
Unfortunately, Mike is heartbroken when they do not find any people waiting for them at their destination. In the end, though, the audience discovers there are many mysterious people in an underground bunker.
It was enjoyable watching Todd, Melissa, Gail, and Erica sweep the house to find explosives, but I expected more.
Watching Todd struggle to come up with an excuse as to why the room smelled was a delight, but it was one of the few moments that had me laughing out loud.
Erica: What's that smell?
Todd: What smell?
Erica: The overwhelming one currently in the room.
Todd: Oh that...that smell. You know, look Erica I'm not going to lie to you. I farted. This is one of those weird cases where you smelt it but I'm the one who dealt it. You know, it's a real axiom buster.
Because that was the beginning, I was anticipating something hilarious. Unfortunately, it did not deliver.
There were two other laugh out loud moments. The first happened when Carol said she had a fear of being scared. The second came when Gail was able to tell Melissa exactly what kind of cocaine was in the house by tasting it.
That was it. Usually, there is a lot more laughing during this show.
Rather than giggling for 22 minutes, I mostly felt sad.
It was devastating when Mike did not find the answers he was looking for from his heat signature.
No one's waiting for me.
Mike
It was even more upsetting, though, that Mike and Tandy's road trip was not as fun as it could have been.
The two wacky brothers I love so much barely allowed for smiles the entire time.
The intended comedic relief moment, when they are searching for a goat with a penis, went on for far too long. It was annoying and eyeroll enducing with all of the immature penis jokes.
Okay. Let's just find a boy and a girl, and then we got ourselves a goat starter kit and we can go. Alright?
Mike
This show can often get away with immature jokes because they do them in intelligent ways.
Todd's discussion about farts serves as the perfect example as does Tandy's joke about making "Rolos" for Mike.
The goat chasing began with some funny jokes.
After a few minutes, however, the shtick grew tiresome.
It became especially uncomfortable when Tandy was going to show Mike his penis. I am glad they found their male goat before it got to that moment.
Was anyone else having flashbacks to Lost when they saw the large manhole cover opening in the end? I certainly was. It felt like the moment the survivors discovered the hatch on the island.
Whether or not it was an intentional reference, it was immensely enjoyable.
Based on the few clues we have so far, the hatch appears to be an underground bunker. I assume these people hid in there when the virus started spreading.
Ever since I was a kid, I've had a fear of being scared.
Carol
So many people climbed out of that bunker, and it could drastically affect the series if it is renewed by Fox.
It could be the rejuvenation the show needs after four seasons with the same people and repeating storylines.
I do know one thing. The Last Man on Earth Season 5 will probably employ many surprise guest stars as these new characters.
The fun guest stars, many from Saturday Night Live or other comedic shows, have always been one of the best parts of the series.
This episode was clearly written for one purpose: to set up the season finale. This often happens with penultimate episodes, which is why it's hard to fault The Last Man on Earth too much for doing this.
It definitely succeeded in creating excitement for the season finale, even if "Barbara Ann" as a standalone episode of the series fell flat.
Related: The Last Man on Earth Season 4 Episode 16 Review: The Blob
I am looking forward to seeing where they set up their new home and how long it will take them to discover the mysterious bunker people.
Overall, "Barbara Ann" was simply average. It was clearly being used to prepare the audience for the upcoming season finale, which did not make for an overly exciting installment of this otherwise funny show.
Were you underwhelmed by "Barbara Ann" too? What do you think about the people coming out of the hatch?
You can watch The Last Man on Earth online! Then, share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
Kaitlynn Smith was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She retired in May of 2018.
