The end of the road West
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Yeah, it would have been nice if it were a little longer. But there was something endearingly bittersweet about the episode, and I think all the characters got roughly what they deserved, considering everything that had happened before. And yes, I know Th' Dudes "Be Mine Tonite" was more than obvious as a closing tune, but it was just right, y'know? And it's been a while since I've actually listened to that song properly, as opposed to hearing it somewhere and not paying attention to it. That bridge is pretty special (or "choice", as Van would say)
It's interesting that a season that began with a police car being torched ended with such a focus on resolution for the characters. A number of intuitions expressed here about the characters were made concrete. Like, someone actually said to Loretta that she was Cheryl.
Yeah, and Bailey finally called Van on his mother obsession, although her remedy was probably a tad more drastic than I would've expected...
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And it's been a while since I've actually listened to that song properly, as opposed to hearing it somewhere and not paying attention to it. That bridge is pretty special (or "choice", as Van would say)
You're right. That song did come alive for me in that context.
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'Be Mine Tonight' was also Cheryl's song in Series 1, episode 4 - where she and Wolf danced at Billy's wake.
It's soaring and uplifting and seems to belong firmly to the world of the Wests.
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It's soaring and uplifting and seems to belong firmly to the world of the Wests.
It needs saying that the show's use of New Zealand music has been one of its triumphs.
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Loved it. All.
nobler in the mind
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It needs saying that the show's use of New Zealand music has been one of its triumphs.
Absolutely, and at no time did it feel self-conscious or forced. Even the songs or bands I don't particularly like (e.g. OpShop) worked well in context. I was always impressed with how electic the show's playlist was, too- but then again, even Westies can't live by bread alone.
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Really? I must've missed that- what did he say? It's a shame, because he was arguably the most charismatic presence of the show, and I've liked him in everything else I've seen him in.
Yeah, and the Twibe certainly weren't happy that Wolf didn't show up and launch OF's answer to Dynasty's notorious Moldavian Massacre. (The rest is silence? Yes and no.)
But here's a question: After Wolf comprehensively shat on his whole family (not least Van) why the hell would he show his face? Tonally and dramatically there was no reason for him to be there.
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Thinking about the ep this morning, I realized that for me it was along the lines of that last Soprano's ep, where everything you saw had the possibility of turning into something - in the Soprano's case - violent, but in the West's, y'know, whatever....funny, outrageous or totally out-of-left-field. And it was like that right to the end. Sheryl standing on the patio. Was someone going to come along and tap her on the shoulder? Was she going to jump? It had a dramatic tension, based on the previous.
Bravo!
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As an aside, did anyone else expect we would finally get to meet Mrs Falani in this episode? I have to say, Falani's constant fear that his wife would find out what he gets up to was one of the funniest running gags in the show.
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As an aside, did anyone else expect we would finally get to meet Mrs Falani in this episode? I have to say, Falani's constant fear that his wife would find out what he gets up to was one of the funniest running gags in the show.
Ah, but that gag only works when we don't meet the wife. Mrs Falani is Arthur Daley's 'Er Indoors.
OTOH, I did meet Dave Fane's wife recently. She was very nice.
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I'm feeling much better about it this morning than I was last night. I'm even almost on board with the Pascalle/Judd thing. Almost.
However. Jethro really needed some comeuppance. Or just something. What happened to the plan that was going to make them all rich, just two or three episodes ago?
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Ah, but that gag only works when we don't meet the wife. Mrs Falani is Arthur Daley's 'Er Indoors.
Oh yes, I suppose you're right, and that sort of gag is something of a comedic staple, but it was done very well, and would've been a pretty shocking reveal for the final episode. Mind, given her reputation, she only could've been a disappointment. Fane's performance throughout the show was great, the guy has timing to spare.
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Fane's performance throughout the show was great, the guy has timing to spare.
Yes, to the extent that it's hard to imagine anyone else playing the character.
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Mrs Falani is Arthur Daley's 'Er Indoors.
Or Rumpole's She Who Must Be Obeyed
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At last Van gets a girl that Jethro hasn't shagged. That's a kind of comeuppance.
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Mind, given her reputation, she only could've been a disappointment.
I thought it would have been nice if Mrs Falani had turned out to be a soft-spoken, long-suffering angel with a supernatural bullshit tolerance rather than the Samoan attitude adjuster wielding termagant we'd been lead to expect. :)
Or Rumpole's She Who Must Be Obeyed
Not really. The thing about Hilda Rumpole is that it rapidly becomes obvious that Horace is actually a bit of a dick to her. Yes, she wishes he'd apply himself a little more to a career worthy of his talents, but she obviously adores him while not putting up with any more of his nonsense than she absolutely must.
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I'm feeling strangely reflective due to last night's events. OF echoed a number of transitions in my own life in an eerie way.
It was always going to be a bit of a sad day, to finally sell off the last vestige of my early thirties boganhood, a vehicle full of memories of good times spent with mates, very much in the manner of Van & Munter. But life moves on, responsibilities accrue, priorities shift.
I took it to the spot I mentioned earlier, gazed through nostalgic eyes citywards, but also felt the loneliness of absent mates, made keener by absent family (they're in Australia), and reflected on choices of the last 10 years, and where they had taken me.
During this, two teenage boys rocked up on bikes, white and brown, took their own spot, and their own OF homage, most likely oblivious of the symbolism to me. I was greatly cheered, and left them to their bonding.
But more cheering was the sale itself, the young bogan who fronted up with his mate and girlfriend, for the most seamless trade I've ever conducted. He was ecstatic, it was a very sharp deal he had not expected to win. I saw myself in his eyes, when I first tasted forced induction. The car was right for him, and not for me. Owning it was too complicated, it had to be let go, on many levels, physically, economically, psychologically.
Hands shaken, many a "choice bro", "wicked as", "sweet eh", and he departed into the night. A minute later he returned. "Um, dude, the key is still in your pocket". I couldn't help but smile, and made a show of slowly tipping it into his hand against great resistance. Was it my imagination, or did the key stick to my hand right until it fell?
"You're not giving me a curse, are you?" he joked. I couldn't answer.
He and MR2 roared off into the night, with a toot and a loud PSHH, toward the city lights, like a freed animal.
Mates rallied me from the far corners of the globe, having tracked the sale, for an online pick-me-up, a virtual party, which went far into the night. Thoughts turned away from ebbing life to new life, to the children, to next week's intense round of reunions in the West Island.
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It needs saying that the show's use of New Zealand music has been one of its triumphs.
Hear hear. I jumped up and down a couple of seasons ago when Reb Fountain (an adopted NZer) came on. Sometimes I've had cause to go find what music was being played and listen to some more by the artist.
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Thoughts turned away from ebbing life to new life, to the children, to next week's intense round of reunions in the West Island.
Aw, sweet. Have a good time over there.
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@ Ben.
Nice post. :)
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ah Ben you warmed my heart this morning , thanks for a very real post.
Go well in the new life -
>Aw, sweet. Have a good time over there.
Cheers.
@Jackie: You might have even heard the PSHH. I'm also in Avondale.
@Richard: Thank you.
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I've come to the discussion rather late, but I've thought a bit about the Pascalle/Judd story arc. Wayne rescues Pascalle from a future with Nicky G just like he rescued Cheryl from a future with Wolf: the naive, idealistic Pascalle is like a younger and less emotionally-scarred Cheryl. I can see why she would appeal to Judd.
And Judd, who's been the embodiment of moral rectitude, finally does something unforgivable. Accustomed as we are to all manner of dodgy hookups among the West clan (can you even COUNT the characters who've bedded 2 or more of the West family?!), Wayne's liason with Pascalle is shocking because it's him. And also because the whole series has seemed like the story of the Cheryl-and-Wayne romance, and we don't like the hero, uh, changing horses, right at the end of the race. We don't get the neat-and-tidy romantic fadeout we were expecting; we don't get The Wests Version 2, with Wayne and Cheryl playing happy families and everyone being law-abiding. Perhaps if we had got that ending it would have seemed forced, and false?
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Craig Ranapia, in reply to
Well, James Griffin has his take here:
Wayne is no saint and OF was not a series for saints. Think about it for a second. He's a rescuer - he falls for the Princess in the tower. (Remember the story of the gang girl from way back? Cheryl herself, trying to escape the bad bastard Wolf. Why do you think he's a sucker for all Van's romantic rescue plans? Jeez, even tolerating Grandpa can be seen in this light.) So there's Pascalle - trying to keep the ship afloat after Mum implodes - she is so his territory.
Then you factor in the stuff that Wayne and Cheryl were going through - the hurt he felt when she abandoned him after Tama's death; the fact they never actually resolved any of that stuff. And then Cheryl starts breaking the rules that formed a big part of what made him admire her in the first place? Hell, in that situation I would go with Pascalle over Cheryl any day of the week.
This is OF, it doesn't follow storybook, fairytale rules. Our characters follow their heart, even if that takes them in unexpected, unpopular directions. It's a bit like life, in that respect.
And that is kinda what we were thinking.
Also a rather prosaic take for why Wolf was nowhere to be seen...
Grant Bowler really loved OF - to the extent that he made a lot of career sacrifices to keep appearing as Wolf - flying back from all over the world to do his bit. In return, the production would tie itself in knots to work around his burgeoning career overseas, to find ways of keeping Wolf alive. In Series 2, I think it was, we even went to the extent of issuing a separate Wolf script, incorporating a whole bunch of Wolf scenes from episodes that hadn't actually been written yet, just so he could fly in, shoot them all and then get back to the US as quickly as possible.
For a while, by doing stuff like this, we found a way that suited both parties. But by the time Grant came back down here to shoot Series 5 Ep.17, it had become so hard to manage this that it really wasn't working on either side of the equation. Back then we knew it wasn't ever going to happen, getting Grant back in for Series 6, so we planned accordingly.
And to all those who pined for Wolf to walk in at the end, to punch Judd in the face and with a "g'day love" to reclaim his woman - think about what you're really asking for. Cheryl started her journey to get away from the life Wolf created for her family, so to go back to him at the very end would have been to trash everything she has tried to do over six seasons. Alone, facing an uncertain future, is surely better than turning your back on everything you've fought for, right?
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Recommend reading that whole article. Thanks, Craig.
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