Wallfacer

The mission to send Will's probe into space is actioned, and Saul is offered a huge responsibility.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it, but boy was this a disappointing end to the series, I know it is what it is, but this lacked tension, lacked excitement, after so much promise and build up, it just limped over the finish line.

I quite liked the ambiguity of it, it's so complex and layered, that it was never going to be all nicely tied up like some whodunnit, it was always going to be a mystery unanswered, but they didn't answer anything at all, this felt like a middle episode, not a finale.

I'll try and explain my disappointment, compared to much of what I've seen in recent times, it was very good, compared to mid series episodes, it just wasn't in the same league, it felt like they took their eye off the game just for a moment.

Still no news of a second series, I hope there is a second series, because this deserves a quality conclusion, please don't let this excellent series end with this.

Good, but should have been great.

6/10.

I've never read the source material, but I was intrigued when I learned that this adaptation would be Benioff and Weiss' follow up to "Game of Thrones". I enjoyed it, though even in this apparently simplified version, I can see why it hasn't quite caught on quite like "G. O. T" did.

A group of friends, who were training as physicists but have subsequently diversified into different fields are drawn into the response of humanity to an invasion by an alien race, one that is announced, but won't take place for 400 years. The aliens currently have vastly superior technology and are capable of monitoring Earths response, even down to private conversations. There are also a covert group of humans eager to welcome the San-Ti to Earth and are carrying out their instructions in preparation.

I understand that there are many changes made from the source novel, both to change the Chinese characters into more of a worldwide structure and to simplify some of the science and theories that's utilised. It's still got quite a high concept though. Alien invasions are not a new story, but preparing to fight one in four centuries is, and the other ideas, like that the enemy knows anything that's spoken about, making planning almost impossible, are new too. It's not exactly an action-packed series, though there are a few murders and one very memorable set piece around the middle of the story, and I wonder if that might have been a contributing factor to the show not quite becoming a phenomenon. The idea that this one small friend group could be quite so integral to the defence of the world is a bit of a stretch, but also it's another conceit that makes the show accessible, the interactions between the characters provides an emotional centre to what is a show ultimately about rationalism.

It's actually quite a British production at heart. Both in the central characters and in especially in the (slightly odd) guest stars that feature in the video game segments; Mark Gatiss, Reece Shearsmith, Phil Wang, Naoko Mori and the actor Kevin Eldon. As always, Benedict Wong is the MVP and brilliantly steals every scene he's in.

It's a shame that it's not done well enough to allow Benioff and Weiss to make all the seasons they had planned, but a return to conclude the story (if that is indeed what's happening) is welcome news, I'll certainly be back.

The unfortunate last episode of a series that started with a bang and ended with a whimper. From mega cool video games, dehydrated bodies going back to life with a jump in the pool, and morally ambiguous Chinese scientists to a bunch of lovelorn ethnically correct failures.

The San-Ti are omnipotent and yet they send a pathetic white male sniper to kill Saul. Clearly, the guy was going to fail, because the show established that all white males are disposable, inept, or just plain bad. So why not send infallible Tatiana? She's a girl, she can do anything better. Or use the female Sophone, she is a supergirl and can kill people in various sophisticated ways. But no... they try with a stupid car accident and a sniper, kind of primitive and bound to fail.

The "Let's save Saul" plot took almost the whole episode, compounded by the trite clichè of the "reluctant hero". They give Saul a job he doesn't want and refuses, even if everybody knows he will end up doing it. Mega waste of time.

Will's brain is lost in space (or is it?) causing deep sorrow to Jin, who after having ignored him for all her life was now hoping for a resurrection.

Given that the target audience for this is young males (most SF fans are males, anyway) there is also a useless scene with nano-girl boss Auggie standing on her moral high ground and pouting about giving clean water to the poor in South America. Thumbs up Auggie!

I enjoyed only the final scene, with Clarence my favorite character, but I still wonder why the San-Ti didn't plan a better operation to wipe out everybody from planet Earth. Not that I would help them, but watching a show like this makes me feel hopeless about the future of the human race.

I've been a little late to this show, so I'm very surprised that Netflix hasn't renewed the show yet. I honestly wouldn't even know what it would look like, though, as it seems like there's a lot of time that has to pass before we even get the glimpse of an alien, so will they make it an anthology or will they simply go the route of the books. Seeing how they got a lot of crap for not doing that last time, that's probably the safe option, and I would definitely be open to watching it, because this finale definitely left me wanting more.

As far as finales go, it's not that this episode actually served as a great finale to the show. I felt like there were a lot of missed opportunities, and it also felt like there was supposed to be another episode before this, given that a lot of the characters that we've grown to know over the course of the show didn't even appear. Eiza González has one scene in this episode and the circumstances of that scene doesn't really make a lot of sense. There were also certain elements that didn't feel resolved by the end, and with no news of a possible sequel being announced, it feels weird that they'd just leave a lot of things dangling like they did here. But overall, it was a pretty good episode. It finally brings Saul into the mix and gives him an episode that is largely focused on him, finally bringing it full circle with giving the entire group equal time to shine and giving them a unique part to play in this weird puzzle. There are also some great scenes of tension throughout the episode, especially the scenes that are involving the Staircase Project, with it eventually going in a very unique and surprising direction that I can't wait for them to explore later on. This show has been quite a ride and it's nice to see Benioff and Weiss back at it with material that they can really sink their teeth into and adapt, and hopefully they'll continue with the next two novels.

"Wallfacer" may not be a great finale; it leaves a lot of things hanging and feels like it's working off of a non-existing previous episode. However, it does a lot of things right and ultimately leaves the show off on a satisfying note, although I'd like for there to be some clarity about the show's future.

Show makes you think about the impact of relationships, outcomes, consequences, and decisions. I thoroughly enjoyed the show considering the inter-galactic, political implications while still managing to make it connect on a human level. I wish they further explored the financial impact on the world these scenarios would bring. The score and the music choices are fitting and wonderful. The sorry progression evolves aggressively leaving the viewer wondering which path and which motive each faction has to achieve what they consider, "success". Plenty of questions still left unanswered. Overall, I can't wait to watch more and I will now be reading the books. Awesome.