Loveday Writing

The job of a season finale is to close the season’s story arcs and establish new arcs for the next season (if there is one). I feel this finale did its job very well.

The finale picks up from where we left off with Ray, Roz and Helen trying to convince a crying George to come out of the bathroom. Ray reveals to them that he is leaving the firm to help Mel with her growing business, which boomed after the Socks for Sandals launch a few episodes earlier. Roz suggests to Helen that she buy Ray out, but she doesn’t have the money, and Ray tells her that a big multinational firm, Furstenburg Gray, are interested in buying the firm and keeping Helen and George employed.

Later, Ray and Helen talk in Ray’s office, Ray tells Helen that she doesn’t get much of a say in the firm being bought out as she is not an equity partner and that Furstenburg Gray are coming into the office for a meet-and-greet the next day. When Helen visits Tony and Victor, they congratulate her for going to work for Furstenburg Gray and reveal that Tony is having his funeral that he has been planning ahead for before he dies, as he and Victor paid for the ‘cry before you die’ package.

Meanwhile, Roz is still acting strangely by being blunt with her clients with her ‘funnel of common sense,’ and being her own receptionist at the reception desk with George (and referring to herself in the third person). Ray asks Helen about Roz’s behaviour, Helen thinks Roz is having an existential breakdown, but Ray thinks she’s lonely and wonders what happened to Dean (previously seen in the pilot and the previous season). Ray meets with Dean at a café and witnesses a man nearby take the marshmallow from Dean’s babycino, but doesn’t think anything of it. He later tells Roz he ran into Dean and encourages her to reach out to him. When she meets him, she finds out from Dean that he had a mental breakdown and is in a nearby sanitorium, and that the man who took the marshmallow from his babycino earlier is his carer.

Meanwhile, Helen works with another client, Nerida, a divorcee who makes jewellery out of cutlery, to get a better settlement from her wealthy ex-husband. Helen and George later meet with the Furstenburg Gray people, one of them being Debbie Lim, who tried to take Ray’s place on the networking group in the season premiere. Debbie tells them that Furstenburg Gray want George on the top floor, not working as Helen’s assistant.

Later, Helen manages to get Nerida a decent settlement, and in return Nerida gives her a spoon necklace, which Helen grows to love so much that she buys a pair of cheese knife earrings to match. When Roz sees the spoon necklace, she reveals to Helen that she has to go the Mediation Standards Board, as they have heard of her “new method” and want to know more.

Later, Helen finds out from Ray that Furstenburg played golf with Helen’s old boss and found out about her antics after being fired (which included stealing a microwave and threatening to shove a pen up a clerk’s arse), and no longer wants to hire her. After finding this out and George asking her to find someone else to buy Ray out, Helen asks Roz to talk to Furstenburg for her, pitching herself to Roz (after Roz finds out that the Board banned her ‘funnel of common sense’) as to why she should stay with the firm, Roz eventually agrees to talk to Furstenburg for her. That evening Roz and Helen go out for drinks.

The next day, Helen announces to Ray and George that Roz decided over their drinks night to return to the law and buy Ray out, making Roz and Helen partners. Helen wants Ray’s office and agrees to a coin toss over it, Helen wins Ray’s office after Roz concedes the win.

The episode and season ends with a couple of minor time jumps, showing a penis painting of Ray from “marshmallow man” being hung on the firm’s reception wall, and Roz and Helen having made an ad together, with Helen dressed and styled like Roz. The ends credits show pictures from Tony’s fun funeral.

Overall, I felt that this finale was a strong end to a strong season. The season kicked off with Helen as a new partner at the firm and her skills were showcased throughout, I also appreciated the strong character development amongst the other main characters from Ray experiencing a serious relationship, George trying to spread his wings when working for Roz (even if it was only brief), to Helen becoming more friendly with her clients. I also appreciated the ending of Roz buying Ray out and now becoming partners with Helen, as it provided a natural close to Roz’s mediation story arc, explained her erratic behaviour (the stresses of her job), as well as brought the series full circle with Helen loving her job at the firm so much she doesn’t want to leave, and Roz willing to partner with her which is in contrast to the tension between the two at the start of the series, three years ago. Both characters and the series as a whole have come a long way.

I’m not sure if Ray’s choice to leave the firm means that Marty Sheargold is departing the series, I hope it doesn’t, as I love his character and his (Sheargold’s) chemistry with the rest of the cast, however if his character does depart, he was at least written out in a positive way. I hope that if he isn’t a main character in the fourth season (if there is one), that he is at least recurring.

I hope Fisk is renewed for a fourth season, but if it isn’t, it definitely ended on a high note.

Stray Observations:

Episode title – Roz referring to the Happy Hour she invented for herself and Roz earlier in the season.

-Apparently Roz had a fling with both Furstenburg and Gray.

-Part of Helen’s pitch to Roz involves dancing and magic acts.

-Both Ray and George think that Roz would take advantage of a drunken Fisk.

Best one liners and interactions:

• “Is this about your heart?” “It’s gone, Melly stole it.” (Roz-Ray about his decision to leave the firm)
• “I’m going to have my funeral before I die.” “Dad, I think they call that a party.” (Tony-Helen)
• “Hello, I’m Roz, let’s sort this shit out.” (Roz to her clients)
• “Let’s call you ‘Complainer A’.” “I think you mean ‘Complainant’?” “Do I?” (Roz-Patsy-Roz during their mediation session)
• “No-one tells me what to put in the funnel!” (Roz to Stan on her ‘funnel of common sense’)
• “You don’t do vows for an engagement.” “Of course you do, you’re vowing to turn up to the wedding.” (Roz-Ray on Ray’s engagement vows to Mel)
• “Put on your big girl underpants and get in there!” “It’s just big girl pants, Ray.” “Just put some pants on and get in there!” (Ray-Helen-Ray on the Furstenburg Gray meeting)
• “Do you think he’s stalking me? I mean, I’m not against it.” (Roz to Ray on Dean)
• “Did you not see something was slightly off?” “Well, I guess the babycino was a red flag.” (Roz-Ray on Dean)
• “I think he was going to use the phrase, ‘you complete me’ and he brought his guitar in today.” “Yeah, that’s not happening.” (Helen-George on Ray and his engagement vows)
• “I didn’t steal it, I relocated it to the boot of my car.” (Helen to Ray on stealing the microwave from her former workplace)
• “I never shoved a pen up a clerk’s arse. I threatened to do so if he didn’t stop clicking it, but I never did it.” (Helen to Ray on what her old boss said about her behaviour)
• “Don’t judge Helen, this is a small, incestuous industry.” (Helen to Roz after Helen is told about Roz’s flings with Furstenburg and Gray).
• “He’s not dead, he’s attention seeking.” (Helen to Roz and Ray on Tony’s fun funeral)
• “The Mediation Standards Board have heard of my new method.” “The filter of bullshit” “The funnel of common sense.” (Roz-Helen-Roz)