Rectify 4x08 "All I'm Sayin'" - Episode Discussion
Posted Dec 15, 2016, 4:54 AM UTC
3691
It was a beautiful finale.
I was thinking it might be the kind of finale in which, like sometimes in life, nothing gets resolved and you're still just left with the aftermath of a bad situation.
I'm so glad they went for the bittersweet. The characters may not have gotten a happy ending, but they got relief and a new beginning.
I have told so many people this show is a masterpiece. How much I truly loved this show really hit me when Tawny walked into the tire store with the monkey bread. Remember her monkey bread from the very first episode? Be still my heart. All these characters have been through so much and have come so far.
I don't think there were any wasted scenes nor head-scratching ones in this episode. It was all so touching and beautiful.
I wish Ray Mckinnon was on Twitter. I'd love to thank him for this show.
35
I wholly disagree. The ending was SUPERSWEET and everything got resolved. Everyone found themselves, or was on their way to do that, has love in their life and is a part of reconnected family. The struggle with the case is now over. Everything in this series really got RECTIFIED. It truly was a happy ending.
2
I think you're both right. It was happy in the context of how bleak the show was on average, but compared to a "normal" show it was extremely bittersweet. People didn't so much get happy endings as they got peace from their conflicts.
1
Not a happy ending, but not hopeful misery either. This show is criminally underrated, and is very much a masterpiece.
1
Fantastic finale. Each scene was perfect. I loved that, though there wasn't a conclusion, we got closure with each character no matter how minor.
22
I really liked that the family included Melvin.
19
Except for dinner apparently.
13
He got lost on the trash bag mission but will be featured in a Melvin-centric spin off "stop painting my pool"
11
I cried, absolutely perfect conclusion.
17
Me too, cried at everything!
3
[deleted]
-1
Why? There's more than an hour to go.
7
Teddy had the best story this season. Amantha the worst.
17
He went from being my least favorite character to the most interesting.
13
Not sure how many of y'all are from the south. I've spent most of my life in Texas and many of my family are from Tennessee. Teddy's character is truly wonderful. The way they captured a southern guy was nearly perfect.
9
His character had the best growth. I also love his funny moments when he broke into the house. Yes it's wrong and a bit creepy but the tone was refreshing juxtaposed to how sombre the series was.
1
GRIZZLY BEAR?!
2
When Teddy looked over at Tawny and handed her the phone I teared up.
I started smiling uncontrollably when I heard, "Hello, Daniel" and then, "Hello, Tawny"
They didn't need a big scene to bring closure to that relationship. They just needed one last beautiful moment to warm your heart.
That is what Rectify was, a collection of genuinely beautiful moments...even in the midst of gut wrenching pain, this show was a work of beauty.
13
Absolutely amazing.
I really liked the last scene, for me it kind of symbolizes Daniel's rebirth after all he's been through. In some way, Rectify has always been a bit spiritual without getting too religious, an aspect I also truly admired.
12
I saw it as him finally having "hope" that he has a chance of future happiness.
4
Daniel's fantasy lying on his bed in the halfway house was a great contrast to his fantasy about going to New York while in prison. Makes you realize he can do anything now. Especially when include the "box with windows" comments about the apartment. Lots of extended metaphors in the finale.
3
So that was a beautiful, if lumpy, finale. I'm glad they didn't resolve the case full stop, and I even feel like they went too far in offering an answer--the show heavily implies that Chris Nelms killed Hannah, and the boys (Daniel possibly included, so he's not 100% absolved) gang raped her prior. But, in any case, it's hard for anyone to come off of that thinking Daniel murdered Hannah Dean anymore. Which, given that this season's been all about letting go, maybe needed to happen. Maybe you can't have all this talk about forgiving yourself if it's still a 50/50 coin toss on Daniel's innocence. Maybe for anyone to move forward, the meter has to move a little, at least.
The stuff that didn't work: primarily the last Trey Willis scene. Played completely over-the-top and hysterical, and I've never understood Trey's motivations. I always figured they'd be cleared up at the end, but he just seems completely random when it comes to dropping clues about the truth. I know he's trying to protect his own skin, but why not give up Chris Nelms earlier, since they've well moved on and there's nothing Chris could threaten him with? Also, since Chloe didn't really work throughout the season, having her be the final scene, playing up her importance as the be-all end-all literal dream girl for Daniel was both maudlin and rang incredibly false. But, the scene was beautifully shot and scored, and the concept of it was great (Daniel is finally allowing himself to hope in a concrete way), and while it wouldn't have made much sense for it to have been Tawny, I think tonally it would've felt more in place, given that she was the first one to give Daniel hope, not merely the most recent (and also because she's a real person, unlike Chloe). Some bits of silly humor here and there (Daniel and his boss) that didn't really fit.
what did work: pretty much everything else. Everyone got a goodbye of sorts, even in the context of them all being able to still see each other. The send-offs were well woven into the context of the show, and the music was sublime. I think I've acclimated to the new, in-your-face music and when going through the more heightened emotional moments, it really works. Callbacks to the first (and still best, imo) season were beautiful, from Kerwin to monkey bread to Amantha and Janet hours before Daniel's release. The best series finales show you that life goes on, and that's what Rectify accomplished, powerfully, in both literal and thematic ways, all over Paulie and beyond.
12
I actually got the impression that Trey killed Hannah. He's certainly involved but he may have not raped her as he did volunteer his DNA without request. There's also the "Trey went back" thing and also Trey did have a pink hair tie in a locked ammo box that was never brought up again. After his mini-breakdown I figured he had some sort of unrequited obsession with Hannah and that's what led him to kill her.
I also saw Chloe being in the final scene was fine. That scene wasn't about her but rather Daniel being able to hope for a better future. If they left him alone in nature that scene has been done before and if they put him with Kerwin or even Tawney then it's just him still unable to let the past go. Chloe was lit in a way that it was fairly difficult to see if it was even the same actress so I believe that was intentional. She represents hope so the hazy silhouette of Chloe was a choice to illustrate that hope for the future is more general.
17
I agree that the show would like to leave it very open ended. Trey is proven to be an unreliable narrator so it's hard to know when he's telling the truth and when he's lying. It's clear there are two distinct stories that the show telegraphs:
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George, Trey, and Chris all rape Hannah. Trey goes back and kills her. Chris has a lot to lose because of his future. Trey makes sure they all stay on the same team.
-
Trey has consensual/non consensual sex with Hannah. George and Chris clearly rape her. Chris goes backs and murders Hannah.
6
Good analysis. I believe #2, FWIW.
2
This is as clear a summation of the murky clues so far as I've seen. I like both these interpretations; I think I'd go with #1
1
I could see clearly that it was Chloe. :)
3
Refresh my memory: what was the "Trey went back" thing?
1
Bobby reconstructed what life was, for his mama and him, in the aftermath of Hanna's death, with George Melton going to their house everyday, playing with him, grieving with his mother, before deciding that he just couldn't do it anymore, because it wasn't right, just before leaving with three words... "Trey went back".
2
When Bobby Dean talked to Teddy he mentioned that when George stopped hanging out with Bobby the last thing he said was "Trey went back" implying Trey went back to Hannah after they left after the gang rape.
1
Oh that's right! I remember now!
1
the boys (Daniel possibly included, so he's not 100% absolved) gang raped her prior.
What the fuck? How in the world do you think Daniel may have participated in the rape? (Sorry--just finished the finale and I'm a little emotional.) But seriously, I don't know what In the show (which I've watched twice) would lead you to that conclusion and I'm genuinely curious.
9
I'm with you, NO way that's the case.
3
So I'll admit I'm a little hazy on the details of every version of the story told by trey / chris / george / daniel, but I recall trey implicating daniel repeatedly, and let's not forget that the show ends without a definitive answer about whether or not daniel murdered hannah (yes, I know all signs point to no). His DNA was found in her, so he did have sex with her, it's just a matter of how far gone she was when daniel did it versus the other boys. Anyway, I'm not saying daniel raped her. I'm saying nothing's been ruled out 100% yet.
1
His DNA was found in her, so he did have sex with her,
Not Daniel's DNA. They revealed that was George Melton's DNA.
Also, in the episode where Trey and Daniel go to Florida (it's in the 2nd season, I think), Trey says that he could see Daniel "up there" as in not nearby/participating when they were with Hannah. (Personally I don't trust a thing Trey says but I think when he is speaking to someone who was there that night, that's when he has the highest chance of telling something like the truth.)
Daniel and Hannah were high on mushrooms and she wanted to have sex but he couldn't get an erection. That was what started the whole sequence of events. She laughed, he ran off, and then Trey, Chris, and George found her. In the finale, Trey says that Chris and George raped her--Trey had sex with her but they had sex regularly so he didn't feel like he raped her, if you believe that--and then George told Bobby Dean "Trey went back" which I think means he actually killed her.
But Daniel didn't have anything to do with it except possibly that he saw the 3 boys with Hannah and didn't understand she was in danger and did this odd thing where he covered her with wildflowers and sat with her dead body rather than alerting authorities.
3
I think they tried to give an answer which I didn't mind. But I also applaud them for seeking Hanna's real killer and not simply trying to prove / conclude that Daniel was innocent/guilty. Which ultimately keeps things in perspective that they are still prioritizing the victim and her family. Reopening the case to an outside probe is totally fair in my book. A bit ideal from the government's side but there's nothing wrong with people finally doing the right thing. Just because the show had some really dark and depressing moments doesn't mean we should also rob the show of optimistic and hopeful moments.
1
Absolutely fucking perfect series finale, not a single scene was wasted. I really feel like Rectify will be a why the hell wasn't anyone watching it show, but the arc is amazing. It did not need to be stretched out anymore seasons.
10
I cried.. deeply moving and satisfying ending to a brilliant series.
8
I really liked the ending. I knew the finale is going to be bittersweet. I'm just kinda bummed Amantha didn't end up (or didn't go back to) with Jon. I liked those two a lot.
8
But it was also very inappropriate, even unethical. I think there was also the element that, once the case wasn't between them (after Daniel accepted the plea), they didn't have much of a foundation for a relationship. I think Amantha's character arc is that she ultimately is this small town girl who is well-suited to be a manager at Thrifty Town and go hunting with a guy she knew in high school. The show is about the characters loving and accepting what is. That's who she is. (But I liked them together too.)
6
Yeah I would've liked that too, but I do like Billy though.
2
I preferred that they didn't. Because it keeps Jon's intentions pure, for seeking justice, imploring rights and wrongs, with or without Amantha by his side.
2
Perfect.
6
I loved every aspect of the finale, everything that mattered the most tied up perfectly.
It's amazing really, how when this show started, whether Daniel killed Hanna or not was one of the most important things to me. But over the course of this season, it really has changed my mind. I was rooting for Daniel so much this season, that by the finale it really didn't matter that much. Season 4 has been so much about the characters kind of healing themselves and moving on that it just completely outweighed that mystery.
I found this season really inspiring to me as well, I can't really put my finger on it. But after every episode I felt motivated to sort my own life out. Rectify will be one of those shows that I won't forget.
6
When it ended, I was not happy. I wanted more. But as I thought more about it, what Pickle told Daniel at dinner came back to me. The end is Daniel finally being able to hope for something better than what he has had for the last 20 years, and that's not nothing (to quote Daniel, himself).
5
I really think one of the show-stealing scenes was Janet and Judy Dean sitting in Hanna's room, sharing their mutual pain and all they've lost as mothers. Judy isn't a huge character but she has a really powerful arc if you recall how angry she was in the first episode.
5
That was an amazing scene. Janet was so gentle with her. I loved how she told her the room might be fine just as it is. She somehow knew that her voice saying that would be enough to drown out all the other voices in Judy Dean's head telling her it was foolish to preserve that room. Really, this woman and her family had hurt Janet so much, but Janet forgave her when she didn't have to and showed her a small kindness that would make a huge impact on Judy's life.
3
It was a beautiful scene indeed. In some way they have both lost their child and understand each other's pain better then most.
1
Damn.
4
In a lot of ways, it didn't seem like the same show to me. In the past it has presented all sides of people's emotions - happy, sad, guilty, ashamed, resentful, bitter, melancholy, depressed, full of wonder, reflective - but this episode was unnaturally focused on everyone being happy. And it wasn't the quiet happiness that the show excels in - it was a big ridiculous stereotypical scene of the whole happy family at dinner, laughing, smiling, telling jokes. That is not the Holden family by any stretch. I understand they would be happy and even feel relieved and like a new chapter is starting for them, but they wouldn't turn into a Normal Rockwell painting overnight. The rest of the episode was also so syrupy sweet I thought I might be watching a Hallmark movie. I wasn't buying the ending with Daniel and Chloe, either. They had like 5 times as much vaseline on the camera lens as Star Trek ever did in the 60's, and moving slow motion through the field, to meet and ... touch foreheads? Who does that? I'm not even sure I buy Daniel going with her. I did catch that they were trying to build up the "oh sure, we can be safe and follow the rules but is that living?" philosophy, but it just felt really forced. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad they rewarded us with the kinds of things we wanted to see in the finale, but in doing so in such a forceful way, it felt like they violated the established tone of the series to do it. Even though I didn't care as much for the ending, would still say it was one of if not the best shows on TV during it's run.
4
The ending was Daniel's dream. Hence the dreamlike quality and "vaseline".
3
That's how I understood this scene too. He was laying there kind of daydreaming wasn't he? Daring to hope...?
3
That's an interesting take. I might have to watch that part again. My take was they were trying to copy the finale of "Six Feet Under" by jumping forward in time to Daniel's future - after he gets his name cleared, and then he is free to be with Chloe. Thanks for the reply.
2
I guess I should elaborate more! I took it as a dream in part because it's intercut with him lying in his bed. It reads like a dream (or a daydream) indicating Daniel has finally found room to be hopeful again. He finally sees himself as truly alive and capable of imagining a future in which he is happy.
5
D'Oh! I totally missed the part where he was still laying in his bed. I like it a lot more as a symbol of Daniel feeling hope than as an actual event!
1
It was a daydream. It happens while he's still in bed at the halfway house.
2
View the final scene alongside the scene of Daniel and Kerwin taking their pretend trip to New York. Kerwin and Chloe serve the same function in Daniel's life. They are a resistance to Daniel's tendency to close himself off to the world. They are the beauty in his world. And, as the Goat Man says, "it's the beauty that hurts, not the ugly."
3
Spot on how I interpreted it.
In the flashback with Kerwin:
Kerwin: "Do you ever dream to be somewhere else?" Daniel: "No." Kerwin: "Why not?" Daniel: "It's fruitless."
The scene on the bed was his realizing that his situation has changed and he is now in a part of his life where he can dream to be somewhere else. His eyes are open and I think that's intended and serves a double meaning.
1
I am very disappointed. Nothing much happened, nothing was resolved. The entire episode just drifted along, much like the majority of this season.
Did the writers change from seasons 1-3?
I love this show, but the last 3 eps is one of the most underwhelming finishes to any series I've ever watched.
Seriously, I was just bored.. And all the phone calls were nauseating. And lol at every single character being in front of a TV on the same channel at the same time.... C'mon
3†
The fact that they were all in front of the TV I thought was a great scene, this is a very small town and everyone some how was caught up with this crime, back then and now, and all those they showed watching it had some connection to someone involved. So I didn't see it as a stretch at all to what may happen in real life.
6
Cmon man! it was a perfect ending. If you didn't like it then thats on you!
4
I don't have much to say other than, I loved season 1-3. Season 4 just floated along with no drama. I'm very confused as to why so many people are praising it
8
I agree with you. This was not the strongest season and certainly not a perfect finale. For example just the scene alone with the therapist where Daniel literally recaps scenes from earlier seasons, as if the audience forgot the best parts of Kerwin.
3
Yea. Almost none of this season had the emotional punch and drama that made rectify great... Like, remember when Daniel choked out teddy and shoved coffee up his ass? The closest thing to a moment that shocking in season 4 was when Daniel raised his voice and leans onto a chair in one of the meetings at the recovery house.
Teddy shooting himself while drunk had that potential... But they quickly fizzled out the drama and turned it into a 'welp, that was silly.. Off to emergency!' kind of moment
2
What kind of drama were you hoping for? If a lot of bad things happened to Daniel this season, how would we believe him when he talked about hope in the series finale?
2
I felt the same way. Sad because I was a huge fan of the first season, since then, the show just kept losing me season after season. I wanted to like it, but nothing much happens. Ends up boring me.
2
I loved the series and the finale was consistent with the rest of it but it still bugs me to no end that Daniel and most of the other characters had almost no contact in the final season. I don't need convincing on why the finale was still excellent or why things being left unresolved is ok, I get it and I loved it, but I still think it's lame that Daniel was completely isolated from everyone else and Paulie. I'm probably wrong but it seems like this season was either already written or written as it was conceived with little to no changes made when it was determined to be the final season. Of course the usual solutions feel inauthentic like Daniel getting acquitted and going back to Paulie or flashing forward to Daniel coming back to Paulie after everything is settled but couldn't the family go to Daniel in Nashville? I guess that may not of felt right either but neither does saying goodbyes to these complicated relationships via short phone calls.
3
They could have visited him but they were closing the store. He was banished. They could have done half-half where they do a 6 months later where Daniel is proven innocent and can return, yada yada yada, but the way they finished it left it open for everyone's own interpretations. Personally I hope Daniel never returns to the town that took 19 years of his life on a whim.
3
I'm fine with not going back to Paulie (although Daniel did mention visiting someday) but they could have visited him the day after the store closed. We're not talking about complicated writing to get them there but I understand that it could have been a little cheesy and Rectify definitely doesn't do cheesy.
1
Also the season ends the evening the store closes, when the family is having dinner and Daniel calls. So not really time to have gone to visit him, and even though the phone calls were short I think it was to show the beginning of what's to come, they weren't goodbyes, they were hellos. Teddy and Tawney hadn't spoken with Daniel at all, so those few words were to show him they care, not saying goodbye. But that's how I'd like to interpret it.
2
when Amantha said it won't Rectify anything that's happened
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8mYLi3PGOc
:)
Yep, that was perfect!
Hey, that's the name of the show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etQnumOL9KM
I instantly thought of that scene when she said that.
Dagget: "They'll never let Daniel go, Ms. Holden. Because he's the hero Paulie deserves, but not the one it needs right now. And so they'll hunt him. Because he can take it. Because he's not our hero. He's a silent guardian, a watchful protector. A dark knight."
roll credits
So glad this is the top comment. Exactly what I thought when she said it too hahaha