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"Last Meal" – Wrecked S03E05 Review

Wow. "Last Meal" was funny in spots.

Don't get me wrong. The show still isn't a barrel of laughs. It's hard to get too many laughs when everyone is an idiot. But this week there were traces of the characters acting like human beings. Credit to Shaun Diston, who wrote "Caiman" last season and which I was also mildly impressed with. He also played a pirate for a couple of episodes. So he seems to "get" the show.

Let's recap. The episode features one main plot: the survivors have been offered their last meal. Except none of them can decide on what to eat.

This single storyline actually gives writer Diston and the characters a chance to do slow down and explore some of the subplots and characterization. Todd is still trying to get Jess to remember him. Jess is flirting with Pack, which at least gives Asif Ali something to do.

Owen and Florence talk about their relationship for the first time in what seems like forever. Because they haven't talked about it at all this season, and it was 42 weeks before that to the end of the second season.

Karen actually acts more Locke-ish than usual. She cheerfully admits she'll kill the others to get back to her husband and daughters. Which grosses out Steve, who had sex with her without knowing she was married. Which gives Rhys Darby something to do. Not much, and a minute later he goes into this... well, insane insanity routine.

Danny acts all positive and upbeat, which credit to actor Brian Sacca: he actually manages to convey a little bit of subtlety with Danny as a guy who is so glad to have friends he feels the need to act all cheery and upbeat. While still acting kind of nutso with his weird-ass rules for how they should vote, and hard and soft vetoes, and challenges, and matches, and his frustration no one else understands the rules he clearly took some time explaining.

Even Rachel House as the only guest star, playing the maid Martha, gets a few bits of humor. I like her deadpan response when Danny asks if she can do pizza. "Can I top a flat piece of bread with sauce and cheese? Yes, I think I can... "do" pizza." And later when she tells the survivors she's going to make the shitty kind of PB&J sandwiches if they can't decide what to eat. Hey, it's not much. But in a 30-minute episode, I'll take what I can get.

Diston seems to get what makes the show work. Which is exploring the lives of a bunch of people who have nothing in common, and are tossed together under alien circumstances. Again, it's not much. But compared to what we've had so far this season---fart jokes, idiots acting idiotically, and a bunch of dialogue that just pushes the storyline – along--it's a masterpiece of TV writing.

So with the characterization, and the humor that, for the most part, plays into the characterization, and taking a bit of a timeout to explore the characters, "Last Meal" is the season's best episode so far. Damning with faint praise, I know, but let's take what we can get.

But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?

Written by Gislef on Sep 5, 2018

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