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I concur that this was a pretty solid series finale. The climax and the ending were generally satisfying. The rest of this season had questionable pacing, but at least they did a good job with this last hour. It made sense to kick things off by sending off all the non-passengers, though you would think taking a child to Angelina's location was a tad risky. With Angelina, I wouldn't be surprised if she had rigged the Stone's house with explosives or something. I guess no one in her flock had the job of cleaning up the house? Anyway, it was fun seeing Olive piece together the "clues" one last time. The government went from super surveillance of the 828 passengers to not having a clue as they all wandered around freely, including driving around visiting truck stops. Eagan wrecking Angelina's car was hilarious, but again, I think Angelina would have just shot him when he left. I think Zimmer should have gotten stuck in one of those volcanoes that were popping up. She certainly deserved it after her cruel treatment of the passengers. At least Angelina got her comeuppance. It was hard to listen to her to whining about herself yet again. I didn't buy that she had felt badly for killing Grace at all. The airplane returning as "Noah's Ark" was an entertaining climax. The judgement on the plane was a tad horrific. It was a bit annoying to see Saanvi being treated like she was morally on the level of Eagan or Angelina. I had mixed feelings about Eagan but sacrificing his life for Adrian was sort of a nice moment. I liked the happy ending, including the return of passengers who had died over the last few seasons. I didn't even catch Fiona or the comatose patients leaving the plane so maybe they could have featured them for a few more seconds at the end. I'm glad they cut out that Captain Daly scene. He was bad but he was allowed to spend time in the light for years? From behind, it was obvious Child Cal was a body double and the CGI wasn't very convincing, but I guess there was nothing they could have done about that. Too bad they didn't have the foresight to film a dream sequence of everyone returning back in Season 1 so they can use the footage in the future. I never believed the showrunner had 6 seasons planned as he claimed. I suppose Season 5 could have been the 8 months with everyone stuck in the detention facility (which they mostly skipped over between episode 16 and 17), and Season 6 could have started with that final month where Cal took everyone's Callings, (which they skipped over between episode 17 and 18) and they could have ended the same way. The Writers on this show would have had no problem dragging both of those out into 10-20 episode seasons. It was nice to see Ben unite with Grace, Saanvi with Alex, and the various passengers with their families. It was nice they brought past actors back. I think this series might be better binged from beginning to end, so a viewer could actually remember them (since I didn't). I didn't feel much chemistry between Michaela and Zeke, and definitely not Jared and Drea, but that was a clever resolution in some ways. At least some of those boring Ghost Zeke scenes paid off, since he had mentioned he was driving a taxi the night 828 was supposed to land. If this had been endgame, I think they shouldn't have bothered with forcing a triangle with Jared and Michaela again this season. They also should have built up Jared and Drea properly so we would actually care. They could have done that in the first half of Season 4 easily, since they were working together. The showrunner sure loved his annoying triangles. In light of this finale, choosing to have Ben and Saanvi sleep together was just unfathomable. I guess the only "unhappy" ending was Olive and TJ. I liked Violet when she dated Cal briefly, but having TJ be all flirty with her right away was a bit off-putting. I can see the pregnant lady seeking out the janitor. It is sort of neat how the passengers now have foresight about what could happen and could live their life with some of that knowledge. As someone said above, it would be difficult for Ben and Michaela to know their mom would die soon but maybe that was originally related to the stress of the plane disappearance. I'm glad they got this final season. This show was a hot mess, but the characters were generally likeable and it is rare we actually get to a see a resolution for long-running series. Abrupt cancellations of shows are the rule rather than the exception (and if shows are pre-warned, sometimes, they have a single episode to wrap it up, or an ambiguous finale that may or may not continue the story). And as subpar as this show was from the beginning, I think it maintained its lukewarm quality pretty consistently throughout. I still don't believe most of the random plot points on this show fit together in the end, but I don't think I would have the energy to rewatch this exhausting series again to check. I'm a little tempted to rewatch the pilot again, as some suggested above. I never expected them to answer any of the "big" questions - like why 828 was chosen to decide the fate of humanity, or why Angelina was "favored" and got blue glowing powers, or why some passengers were stuck in a Calling for 5 years, or why Captain Daly and Fiona went into the light and then came back, or heck, why the Callings did what it did 99% of the time. I woke up this morning and the clock said 815 not 828, so I guess we know which show still wins.

They skipped through 9 months over the last two episodes, but we got to watch this never-ending camping trip in real time. Thank goodness Cal didn't need to combine with Psycholina. I had forgotten all about that piece of driftwood. It seems like everyone else did too, until the convoluted Dragon King of Storms = Storm King Mountain light bulb moment Saanvi got. Oh yes, and coma patient reminding everyone of that horrible Noah's Ark plot from a few seasons ago. It's hard to appreciate the call-backs when I don't remember the mumbo jumbo from previous seasons. I'm surprised Angelina didn't kill Eagan on the spot. Why, because the plot needs him next episode? I have actually grown to like most of these characters, but most of the heart-to-heart conversations left me cold. Ben and Saanvi had to sleep together because??? They really wanted to force the actress to deliver that horrible "You may not be my endgame but I will always have mad love for you" line? The whole Drea/Jared/Michaela triangle was just cringe to watch. So all along Jared only pursued Michaela for loyalty. Riiiiight. Yet they couldn't give some dialogue to Olive and TJ? I was annoyed Eagan overheard the conversation between Saanvi and Olive about the driftwood (because of course he did... was that scene newly filmed, or was that from an old clip?), but he and Adrian would have gone to the blue beacon of zombie passengers walking, anyway. This was a rather weak penultimate episode. It didn't feel like the first half of a 2-hour movie that I couldn't stop. But I think I will finish it off tonight and see if the next episode will bring a satisfying close. I'm not holding my breath. I would really to see Danny and Lourdes in the finale for old time sake.

Really, someone could jump in at any point in this half-season so far, and not miss anything. They're still in the detention center. The death date is still happening. The solved Callings just wrap up a temporary problem which can be forgotten by the next episode. Angelina is still evil, crazy and at large. Captain Daly and Fiona came back, but neither said a word, so their return was a moot point.

Yeah, every episode has had certain key people missing. They explained away Olive's absence in a one-liner in this one. I too suspect it's something to do with budget cuts, or the writers don't know how to balance so many characters. But some people had way too much unnecessary screentime in this one. Didn't Michaela already deal with the guilt over her friend several seasons ago? By this point, Zeke flashbacks don't add anything. I'm glad Astrid survived. I wanted to see her reaction to finding out she was being poisoned. I'd rather have seen that. Heck, I'd rather have seen TJ and the co-captain's visit to the cricket park, or the flight attendant's Callings adventure. So for half this season, they moved at a glacial pace. But last episode was preceded by a 10 month jump and this one by another 1 month jump. They were "solving" Callings this past month through Cal, but made no difference. Saanvi was torn away for 10 months where she basically did nothing, and now a Calling has brought her back. Is this running around in circles or what? Just what I wanted to watch. Wedding of the Bride of Frankenstein. At the end of the day, I think the mythology is just window dressing for soap opera relationship stuff. Ben and Saanvi were a great team, but they have to get them to sleep together. 3 episodes 'til the end, and that is soooo important to include. Saanvi and that lab tech guy would have been way more satisfying.

8 whole months went by and nothing happened. Pretty much sums up this show. I did like Ben working with that plumber/electrician dad guy. Drea is awesome, but it's 3 episodes left so why saddle us with this horrible last-minute triangle with the pregnancy. With this development, I'm guessing all the 828 passengers need to get back on the plane again to save the world, so everyone will have tearful goodbyes, but it will be "bittersweet" because Jared and Drea will start their new family and name the baby Michaela. Blech. I really hope I'm wrong. Angelina is despicable. Not that it needs to be said anymore. I liked that passenger with anxiety, and I don't get why she needs to die if she leaves. Randall and the other dumbasses hopefully left discreetly without drawing attention. Surely, there would be some protesting the human rights abuses of leaving the passengers to starve inside the facility. The reunion with everyone was nice, though. TJ disappeared again. Is their budget really that tight? Did they even need Autumn Cox's help to figure out this Calling? Don't like how the peacock is saying Cal has to work with Psycholina. No doubt they will both need to bring their factions together as a metaphor for good and evil and bad storytelling.

Can't believe I'm past halfway through this half-season. 4 episodes left, and they still scraped another new variation of following Callings from the bottom of the barrel, this time with Cal getting all of them. Why would Cal be getting EVERYONE's callings at once, when the previous schedule was one passenger getting a Calling once a week conveniently whenever an episode airs? Mick and Jared are already sleeping together? Talk about non-slow burn. They killed Zeke off for this? Why pair Michaela and Zeke together at all? Who knew taking care of a stroke patient was so easy and relaxing. Did they bring all his meds too? Not sure which was more unrealistic... the opening fissure or Eden's amazing crisis management skills. Vance was running out of the facility like it was about to lock at any moment, and meanwhile, Redbeard thinks he can still get out? Someone just push him into the fissure, please. You'd think they would have enacted "isolation policy" after the plague of locusts and boils. Finally, we get to see CJ and Olive with a scene together again. Hopefully, he won't disappear again with just 4 episodes left. The Callings are starting to give easy clues. Just the logo of a company, straight up? Vance and Cal's dialogue were a tad cringey. Meanwhile, Eagan believes in Angelina now, eh? Too bad the fugitive passengers were so easy for Angelina to win over. The whole Blue Hand trick does it. At this point, how is following the Callings supposed to save the world or halt the death date or whatever? The Callings just solves problems in the last possible moment, sometimes problems caused by the Callings themselves. Speaking of the episode title, this whole series is like a furball. Just when you thought it was cancelled, it's back in your throat again.

It took me a few days to get myself to watch this episode. This episode really was quite infuriating. Of course, Ben was portrayed to be morally wrong to inject Angelina and because of him, everyone lost their Callings, and Angelina escaped. Bad bad Ben. The witch wasn't even in captivity for a single episode and she's already free, along with the annoying Eagan. He wanted the sapphire so much he was willing to hang out with Angelina 24/7? Really? The Callings are basically evil if it insists on letting Angelina do whatever evil she wants. Why the heck would the other fugitive passengers have welcomed Angelina with open arms? Why the heck would she even want to join them? Poor Grandpa Stone. That was great of the detention center to have a gap for visitors to pass notes to passengers. And once again, the passengers like Eagan, TJ and Ben could walk around freely, not even dodging cameras and all that. That boss lady needs to get her comeuppance. Being a jerk to all the passengers but making a deal with the woman responsible for killing hundreds of people with the fissure? Michaela leaving to "take care" of her father made no sense. So much for her huge decision in the mid-season premiere to go back to the detention center to co-pilot the lifeboat or whatever. Why did the Writers feel the need to add that extra stupid drama with Drea being in love with Jared? Concentrate on telling a coherent and satisfying final arc that wouldn't make us want to short circuit the TV, maybe? Why did TJ take an entire episode to tell Ben and Saanvi about what Olive "discovered"? You didn't need to an Egyptologist to relay the message. It was just a super clunky way to involve Eagan so he could help Angelina escape. So we've reached the halfway point which also seems to be the point where a season becomes even more frustrating to watch.

Another Angelina wins episode. So the pilot was also brought back, only to be killed, just like Fiona. Without telling us a single thing. So satisfying. In summary, four episodes in, we have found out nothing. Not that we should be surprised. I thought it was weird that the guard said nothing when Ben came bursting into Saanvi's lab. Angelina just happened to have a magazine and that guard just happened to be on the cover? At least Cal and Olive connected the dots about Angelina using the child to kill Fiona, and Saanvi figured out how Angelina got to Daly. I don't think I could have watched them be oblivious for longer than an episode. That top guard was out of control. Why would he have powers to shoot to kill someone who wasn't even a threat? Why couldn't he have gotten the plagues and boils instead? Seeing the origins of Zeke looking for Michaela wasn't that interesting to watch. Glad the baby came out okay, but why weren't the guards looking for Michaela, who was clearly not in her cell? They're going to let her raise her baby in the detention center? I thought the people in charge were heartless, separating parents and children without a thought. One episode was enough for tonight.

It was so infuriating to watch Angelina get the upper-hand again. I wish Olive asked Eden if she moved the picture of the Olive Trees. I was excited to have Fiona talking to Cal and Olive, but now it looks like she returned only to die. I hate it when shows do that. Cal's new powers are relatively entertaining to watch, though, with the surgery helpline. Maybe Saanvi should have gone into the washroom or the lab instead of in a public corridor where anyone could walk in. Why didn't Saanvi get Olive and Cal to contact her ex-girlfriend for some secret medical care? Saanvi should have told that lady in charge that she would get the boils next. Let's see how fast Saanvi would have gotten clearance to Captain Daly. Egan annoys me but seeing him exhibit some human decency was sort of nice. Jared is putting on the moves way too fast. I don't have a problem with the pairing but this isn't how to do it. Overall, I am finding this season reasonably watchable. Surprisingly, this show actually hasn't gotten much worse since Season 1. It hasn't gotten better, and the plot is basically a bunch of random stuff that strings the audience along, with zero rewatch value. But... it's still engaging enough to keep going, so I give them some props for that.

I'm surprised we got another episode with Ghost Zeke. We never got that with Grace last season during Ben's hermit phase. I guess with this show, the Callings of the Week format just never gets old. I did like the dad and I was happy that they saved his son. Either the detention center is super high security or it's not. There is just one camera to avoid and the guards are so few in number that all it takes is one distraction from Vance (who is clearly also a ninja with security cameras) and Ben and Saanvi can creep around undetected? Like there isn't another camera in the pilot's room? Why are they even keeping him there when there are other top secret facilities? Michaela needs to tell us her hair routine in solitary. So much volume and bounce. Ben and Michaela were in solitary for one day (since Psycholina said her hand glowed yesterday), and they're out? And Michaela gets a day-pass? I didn't mind seeing her going out to solve a Calling, but at least set it up more believably. Or NOT have the dumb escape attempt last episode, which was totally pointless and a waste of an episode in the FINAL arc of the series. Stop pairing the psycho Angelina with cute young children please. Especially when you decide that her fissure killed hundreds of people. I don't see any chemistry between Ben and Saanvi but I do like them working together, so I hope they don't ruin that with forced romance. Here's hoping one of those bugs stung the annoying lady in charge of the detention center.

I just wasn't that motivated to watch, but felt I should while everyone else is still here. "Please just tell me how this ends? I can't fall further into the abyss." Was that supposed to have double meaning? Because that pretty much describes how I feel about this show. I have no faith that the ending will be anywhere near satisfying, and this mid-season "premiere" certainly didn't inspire any confidence. 8 months of being in the detention center where they could do nothing, but they haaaaaaaaaave to go back because that is where their captain-ship is most effective. Huh? Granted, they can't do much if they are on the run from the jerk authorities nor the psycho bounty hunters anyway. Maybe Ben could have mentioned that to Olive and Cal so they wouldn't stare at him in shame for "leaving" them. Did they want him to die too? It was nice seeing Bethany again, and I like her significant other. I'm glad nothing happened to either of them. Ditto for Zeke's mom. Especially with Ben and Michaela walking around with no disguise whatsoever. I simply cannot believe that the government still trusts Vance, Saanvi, Jared or Michaela's friend cop to work for them. Saanvi was clearly covering for Michaela, and who else could have untagged Ben and Michaela but Vance? Eden already thinks of Ben as her dad? She's not asking for psycho step-kidnapper? The dialogue in this episode just wasn't good. It was nice to see Zeke but his lines were platitude after platitude.

I noticed the last few days, there have been a number of sponsored videos (ads) from Asian American Youtubers promoting this show. Not sure why they waited this long, and I wish they could've promoted it without having it be an "ad" since that put turn some people off. I just hope it brings the show to more people's attentions.

That's a great idea. If only A&E were truly interested in mythology and fairy tales. I agree, but I always think back to Jasmine and Aladdin and how being recurring could be just as much as a curse. At least Hercules was like himself. Megara could have been a random character. Makes me wonder if anyone re-watched Hercules before that arc. Well, all they needed was a "wouldn't it be cool" if Hades and the Wicked Witch rode a bike together on a date.

Unintended consequences... Showrunner of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" (Amy Sherman-Palladino) believes "Rings of Power" was why her show was cancelled.

I was going to watch just two episodes per night, but I ended up watching the final four to find out what was going to happen next. This finale was well done. It started strong with the funny dream sequence that brought a lot of the story threads together. As I said in a previous post, it was a bit too obvious that Jin was the fourth scroll, and it was a bit too drawn out before he realized it. However, the lead-up and the climax to the game was entertaining to watch and provided good payoff. It was cool to see Jin team up with his anime obsessed friend. It was also nice payoff to see the mom and the dad working together to "save" the Monkey King (I can't believe Wei-Chen didn't go back to see if he could find his father in the rubble) and reconciling in the process. Overall, I enjoyed watching the series. The story threads and character arc (eg. Jin) were a bit messy and random, though. There were parallels between various characters and the themes of identity, and confidence, and standing up to prejudice, and being true to oneself, etc., but I'm not sure if it fully worked. Jin kind of sold out to be on the soccer team and to be accepted by the guys/get the girl. But I guess he made up for it by helping Wei-Chen and going back to his cos-play roots in the end? The show didn't really follow the book arc of a Chinese American boy accepting his cultural identity paralleling the Monkey King accepting his own heritage. It didn't seem like Jin was rejecting his ethnic roots. I didn't like how it ended up with a cliffhanger, but hopefully that means they are hoping/planning for a Season 2. The acting was good, the actors had good chemistry (especially Jin and Wei-Chen) and there was a fun quirkiness in the show in between the less inspired fitting-in-with-the-popular-crowd-in-high-school drama. I wouldn't mind spending a few more seasons with these characters.

Commentary on racial prejudice seemed randomly dispersed throughout the series. The principal pairing Jin and Wei-Chen together in the first episode highlighted this, and then it seemed forgotten, but it was back in this episode in two different subplots. I did find the principal's patronizing cultural assumptions amusing. Ke Huy Quan's performance was good, but it still didn't feel like a completely organic fit. The references to what happened to the actor for real sort of took me out of the story. But at the same time, this was an interesting way to incorporate one of the 3 subplots of the graphic novel (the one with the exaggerated racial stereotypes).

This episode was pretty good. There was a bit more momentum. The fighting at the bowling alley interrupting the birthday party was fun. Did the dad move out? At least we finally got a conversation between Jin and his dad. I'm assuming that "blessed" green powder birthday present will have some payoff? It was almost like Jin and Wei-Chen were the couple in this episode. The scenes at the jewelry shop were entertaining. The two actresses have great chemistry and Stephanie Hsu had good comedic timing and delivery. The Ke Huy Quan scene at the end felt a bit out of place, but that was an interesting dilemma for his character. From the trailer, I thought he would be a teacher at the high school, or something.

I'm still not sure what I think about this show, and what it is trying to say or do. While I do find it a mostly engaging diversion, it feels a little random. It helps a lot that it is well-acted. It is a tad frustrating to watch Jin constantly ditching Wei-Chen and Wei-Chen on the nebulous quest for the fourth scroll. I thought their argument at the end was well done, though. The conflict between the parents does follow from their subplots in the previous episodes. It seems a little obvious that the fourth scroll is probably Jin since he is the "unification" of the two feuding families. So Wei-Chen learned Jin's magic trick and switched the pendant and the flashlight toy at the end? I thought Wei-Chen had swallowed the pendant for a moment there. The Mad Monk was kind of annoying, and not in a good way. The "struggles" of Jin's crush seems a tad superficial. Not sure where it is going with the ending featuring the actor from the "What can go wong?" sitcom. Again, kind of random and almost feels like stunt casting, but I'm looking forward to seeing more of him soon.

Well, this show is certainly not shying away from being quirky. It took me a little while to get into the flashbacks but they grew on me. The campiness kind of worked. I guess this explains why the Bull Demon is mounting a rebellion. They really changed the Monkey King origin story quite a bit though. We didn't see him with an identity crisis like he did in the graphic novel. It seemed almost the opposite, with him being accepted so easily. It was nice the Monkey King had a change of heart towards his son, but it was a bit abrupt. If they had more episodes to work with, this might have been developed more gradually.

Yeah, I was confused too. I didn't like this episode as much. Sport team hazing rituals annoy me. Are we supposed to be happy that Jin is finding acceptance with the team? Though it was nice to see more of Michelle Yeoh. I like the mom, but the subplot was a little bit of a hit and miss. It was frustrating how Wei-Chen ended up losing that staff. Surely, he could have just used his super strength and any long object to help TP the statue. I guess I was most disappointed by how Jin found out about Wei-Chen's real identity. It felt anti-climatic that he just remembered the fight with Pigsy, Wei-Chen explained his origins, and that was it.

I was hoping more people would watch and discuss this show. Anyway, I thought this was a good premiere episode, establishing the premise and introducing relatively likeable and complex characters. I liked the mix of drama, adventure and humor. I did think the CGI world at the beginning was a little underwhelming to look at. Everything looked too red. There was room for growth in Jin. I liked the mom, though the dad seemed thinly drawn. The dinner felt so stiff and formal. I liked Wei-Chen as well and it was interesting how Jin commented on his confidence. I'm interested in seeing how their friendship develops. The way the trailer was cut with scenes from this episode and probably audio from future episodes, I thought Jin was going to find out about Wei-Chen in the hallway fight scene, but he didn't. I also thought Jin was starting at a new school, but it seems like he has always gone to this school. I don't understand his relationship with the various kids. I guess he was just acquaintances with most of them? They didn't really address his shoplifting that jean jacket.

I didn't realize until I finished that this episode had a shorter runtime. I'm still not used to uneven episode lengths in streaming shows. This second episode was still solid, though a bit less focused. I was surprised we spent so much time with the father in this one, since I didn't expect him to be a major character. It humanized him, though we still haven't seen a one-on-one scene with Jin and his dad. Their relationship seemed so distant in the previous episode. Maybe they could have said he had to travel a lot for business, or something. The father could have asked the retiring boss to put in a new word with the new boss, or he could still have promoted him in the last month, couldn't he? I suppose this could just be the father still not being able to speak up for himself. The boss was rather dismissive even after the Bon Jovi bonding. I'm not sure why they needed to have Wei-Chen steal his father's staff, if the consequence is that his father's army cannot protect themselves from invasion. It was unclear why Guanyin was helping him. I thought she saw him putting the staff in his ear, so why did she ask where it was? How was Wei-Chen living on his own and buying clothes, etc. before Guanyin got the apartment? From the trailer, I thought maybe this would be a flashback but it wasn't. It was disappointing to see Jin sell out and take the blond kid up on his offer to talk to the coach. I think the coach would have given him the last spot on the team anyway, despite the weight room mishap. I think they could have given Jin a better reason for taking the "easy" way to get on the team. It was nice seeing Jin apologize to that friend who was mad at him. I suppose the vandalism only happened last week, and schools often don't have a huge budget.

If he is describing 410 as if that was something impressive to behold, he is definitely overselling.

I guess we should have seen this coming, but I was really hoping there would be another season. Even though the show has had three seasons, I feel the show retained a freshness and still had interesting stories to tell. They might as well not call it the CW anymore. It's been awhile since I was this disappointed in a show being cancelled.

Cast "teases" Season 2, so may contain "spoilers". https://deadline.com/2023/05/rings-of-power-season-2-spoilers-1235358822/ Nothing terribly exciting, though.