First thing's first - killing Max was unnecessary. It made this final episode a hard watch for me because I viewed his death as a huge loss for Jane/Alana, almost like losing a family member. There's an emotional imbalance between her and John going into their final confrontation and it rubbed me the wrong way.
Now that I got that out of my system, let's get into the actual episode. 'A Breakup' was solid, very much in keeping with the spirit of the show. There's more action this time around which is always a plus for me. Some of my favorite characters from previous episodes return, we learn the truth about Hot Neighbor, we finally meet John's mother, and John & Jane are finally (and hilariously) honest with each other. It's good. But is it great?
I had my doubts when I first started watching the show. The pacing felt slow for me. There were many drawn-out scenes where our Protagonists talk... for a really really long time. Now, I don't mind slow paced things with good scripts. Sometimes the banter was endearing. But other times it was frustrating. The upside is that it never felt unnatural. And as I watched, it clicked for me that Mr & Mrs Smith may not be what most people expect. The plot doesn't carry much weight here. It's not a blood-pumping action extravaganza. It is a story about two special people in special circumstances who fall in love.
This really is the show's biggest strength in my opinion. I enjoyed watching these two bounce off of each other way more than I thought I would. Once it was over and I took a step back to judge it as a whole, I realized that Maya Erskine was the star of the show for me. The best way I can explain it is - Donald Glover is one insanely cool guy and you can see him infusing his character with that inherent coolness. Whereas Maya, to me, seemed cool without even trying. There's an effortlessness and a naturalness in her performance that took me completely by surprise. After hearing her voice performance in Blue Eye Samurai, I was excited to put a face to the name and I can confirm that yes, she's just as awesome on screen.
This show is not a masterpiece by any means, but it is a refreshing take on the idea we first saw in the 2005 film. If there's one thing I'm taking with me from this viewing is my new-found admiration for Maya Erskine. I sincerely cannot wait to see what she does next. And unlike The Rings Of Power, which crushed my Tolkien loving heart, I wouldn't mind a second season of Mr & Mrs Smith at all.
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