The Last Man on Earth Review S2E2 “The Boo”
[WARNING – this review contains spoilers]
Last week Carol was accidently left and stranded by Phil. All she can do is wait for him to return, that and bedazzle the crap out of her shirt. Her bejeweled blouse may have been the star of this episode. Phil attempts to find and reconnect with Carol without phones or walkie-talkies. What’s interesting about this episode is that we get see firsthand how similar Carol is to Phil. The more discouraged and disheartened she gets, the more she reacts in ways we’ve grown to associate with Phil. Carol lets her hygiene go, drinks salsa out of the bottle, and most surprisingly, starts to talk and make friends with inanimate objects. The more pathetic and hopeless she got, the more unsettled my wife became while watching this episode.
Phil, on the other hand, spends the episode constructing ways to communicate with Carol. His early attempts are lame and uninspired. But his final plan to reconnect with Carol is brilliant, and provided the central feel-good moment of “The Boo”.
We also get answers to why Tucson is abandoned and where the crew is located. But they’ve left specific instructions to Carol not to bring Phil. Of course, Phil is the one to find the note and yet again finds himself in a moral dilemma that tests his egotism and humanity. The writers made the smart choice to not drag the dilemma out several episodes but rather resolve it by episode’s end.
So we’re two episodes in and both have been fantastic. I think the key to these episodes’ success is that they focus primarily on Phil and Carol. Their relationship is fascinating to watch. I am convinced that if Phil and Carol were two actual people, their real-life relationship would play out exactly how it is depicted by Will Forte and Kristen Schaal. They are that convincing. I’m glad that Phil’s astronaut brother did not appear in this episode. His scenes only take away precious time from the folks I care about.
And the ending, what an inspired ending it is. It is absolutely brilliant and encapsulates all that I love about The Last Man on Earth. If you wonder why the episode is titled “The Boo”, it will be clear by the end when Carol is reunited with the Tucson group. I want this show to be an hour-long or a Netflix show that has the whole season dropped at once.
Grade: A
Review: S2E1 “Is Anybody Out There?”
This review originally appeared on shrinktank.com
http://www.shrinktank.com/the-last-man-on-earth-review-2-2-the-boo/
