S04.E08: All I'm Sayin'

[pfk505]

This was crushingly sad.. I don't have the same issues with the finale that the majority seem to have, I found it moving and powerful. The final scene had me in tears - it's more than just a daydream, it is the very portrait of hope, which is the theme throughout. An absolute masterpiece to cap off one of the best shows of all time.

[raven]

So many good thoughts and comments from everyone on the finale!

Though I would have liked a Daniel/Amantha scene, I think about the last time we saw them together (with Jon) before Daniel left Nashville, and that was a pretty great last scene.    I really feel for Amantha, having fought for so long and then feeling directionless.  I don't know if she would stay in Paulie forever, but she is someone who needs a purpose I think, and managing the store gives her that now - not a grand purpose like freeing Daniel, but a reason to get up every day, to be responsible for others in a much smaller way.  I liked that for her and I like the new guy (Billy?  I guess not so much that I remember his name) - someone she gets along with, who maybe challenges her a bit.   She and Jon shared so much but had a very intense relationship, I can totally appreciate her just relaxing into life right now, it must be such a relief.   I like that the finale left her life an unanswered question.  I can see several futures for her.   Loved, loved Janet saying Amantha was her hero.  After feeling like the back-seat child for 20 years, that would have been amazing for her.

I really enjoyed the tire store closing scene.  Little things, like Amantha asking and getting the key to the vending machine; Jared going right for the monkey bread; Melvin staying to help.  Tawney felt a little superfluous but Ted was happy to see her and I like him, so OK. 

So glad we saw Kerwin again even though it was heartbreaking.    That memory of his friend will help sustain Daniel in his low moments, as well as what I see as Daniel's appreciation for having the chances that Kerwin will never have.

I think keeping Daniel apart from the family in the finale was a way of emphasizing his otherness, for lack of a better word - a loved part of the family, yet always separate.   They were apart for too long, though he'll always be a part of them, he will never fit right back.   I think of the juxtaposition of Daniel with his halfway house family meal and then the Holden/Talbot family dinner - the level of comfort and understanding each group has which cannot be duplicated in the opposite situation.   Daniel would like to visit and would be welcome at the Holden/Talbot table, but that feeling of family that you have from years of shared experiences would be missing, years of sibling rivalry, parental scolding and appreciation, years of memories.  Maybe it would come eventually, but it's something he has now with the men of the HH - not exact, but close enough experiences to form that familial feeling.   Plus they are people who encourage and challenge him to open up differently than his biological family.   He can never get those years back but he can have something different, something good.   He has hope, which is why I ended up liking the final scene; I took it as a wish on his part.   I was surprised to see Chloe but I guess if she hadn't been there and it was Daniel alone we would have been debating if it was a death scene or something else. 

Edited December 18, 2016 by raven

[DenPratt]

So sorry to ask this if it was obvious:

• How was Trey exonerated for the "killing" (suicide) of George?

Was it done off screen, is his innocence unclear at the time of the finale, or did I miss something? 

[MaryPatShelby]

On ‎12‎/‎14‎/‎2016 at 10:21 PM, kieyra said:

The commercials after every single scene are brutal. This is the only show I'd sit through "live" viewing for.

When I do a full series rewatch on either Netflix or DVD, I will be SO happy not to have commercials.

I thought it was a nice touch that Tawney was there for the closing of the store and the packing up.  We don't know how long she and Teddy were married, but between them dating and being married she has probably been a part of that family for a long time and had no real family of her own.  It seemed right that she was still accepted as a part of the family despite the divorce, and I fan-fic that she continues to be a part of it for a long time to come.  I loved the scene in the tire store.

[AuntiePam]

30 minutes ago, DenPratt said:

So sorry to ask this if it was obvious:

• How was Trey exonerated for the "killing" (suicide) of George?

Was it done off screen, is his innocence unclear at the time of the finale, or did I miss something? 

I missed this too, or forgot.  The last I remember, in season three, deputies are at the scene where Trey found George's body.  They have a metal detector.  They're looking for a bullet or shell casing but can't find anything.  Daggett says the river is too high.  Trey urges them to try again when the water level drops. 

Didn't Trey toss George's gun into the river?  I don't know how finding the gun or the bullet would exonerate Trey. 

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

Rectify Makes Us Sad, But It Comforts Us Too

Sarah D. Bunting isn't a crackpot; she just isn't sure the final season of this uniquely great show added to its legend.

[Syren]

I will check that episode out, Mighty Peanut. I've delved into a few cases over the past few years and it always makes me furious and beyond sad to see how easy it is to take someone's freedom, their lives, with no evidence at all sometimes. It's truly horrifying how often the system fails people.

[loki567]

One big complaint, did anybody notice that the soundtrack was overbearing this season? In fact, I think I remember having a similar issue during season three. It really overwhelmed a lot of scenes and I had to struggle to hear a lot of dialogue. Which is a big shame because early on, there was no better show on television that understood the value of silence and people having to struggle to fill it than Rectify. A lot of times this season the music was "telling" me how I was suppose to feel. It was extremely unnecessary. 

[SusanSunflower]

yes, many noticed ...

I discovered just yesterday that I had my "smart TV" (Vizio) audio menu selection wrong.  I put in a DVD that I had watched before and the sound was similar to Rectify -- the background music too loud and voices muddied ... apparently at some point my setting became "surround sound" which -- when turned off -- improved things back to normal.  (My screen view choice had also become "baseball game" which when corrected back to normal improved things as well, which was what had sent me to the menu in the first place, which led to google which led to finding out that "surround sound" was the problem) 

I had wondered if my hearing was going ... but some TV (like news) were clear as a bell and prior DVDs had been fine -- which reassured me that my hearing wasn't deteriorating ....  hope this helps someone else.  (The DVD was "Room with a View" which I had watched many times and so noticed the terrible sound and oddly muddy picture quality) . 

[MarysWetBar]

On 18/12/2016 at 2:07 PM, raven said:

So many good thoughts and comments from everyone on the finale!

Though I would have liked a Daniel/Amantha scene, I think about the last time we saw them together (with Jon) before Daniel left Nashville, and that was a pretty great last scene.    I really feel for Amantha, having fought for so long and then feeling directionless.  I don't know if she would stay in Paulie forever, but she is someone who needs a purpose I think, and managing the store gives her that now - not a grand purpose like freeing Daniel, but a reason to get up every day, to be responsible for others in a much smaller way.  I liked that for her and I like the new guy (Billy?  I guess not so much that I remember his name) - someone she gets along with, who maybe challenges her a bit.   She and Jon shared so much but had a very intense relationship, I can totally appreciate her just relaxing into life right now, it must be such a relief.   I like that the finale left her life an unanswered question.  I can see several futures for her.   Loved, loved Janet saying Amantha was her hero.  After feeling like the back-seat child for 20 years, that would have been amazing for her.

I really enjoyed the tire store closing scene.  Little things, like Amantha asking and getting the key to the vending machine; Jared going right for the monkey bread; Melvin staying to help.  Tawney felt a little superfluous but Ted was happy to see her and I like him, so OK. 

So glad we saw Kerwin again even though it was heartbreaking.    That memory of his friend will help sustain Daniel in his low moments, as well as what I see as Daniel's appreciation for having the chances that Kerwin will never have.

I think keeping Daniel apart from the family in the finale was a way of emphasizing his otherness, for lack of a better word - a loved part of the family, yet always separate.   They were apart for too long, though he'll always be a part of them, he will never fit right back.   I think of the juxtaposition of Daniel with his halfway house family meal and then the Holden/Talbot family dinner - the level of comfort and understanding each group has which cannot be duplicated in the opposite situation.   Daniel would like to visit and would be welcome at the Holden/Talbot table, but that feeling of family that you have from years of shared experiences would be missing, years of sibling rivalry, parental scolding and appreciation, years of memories.  Maybe it would come eventually, but it's something he has now with the men of the HH - not exact, but close enough experiences to form that familial feeling.   Plus they are people who encourage and challenge him to open up differently than his biological family.   He can never get those years back but he can have something different, something good.   He has hope, which is why I ended up liking the final scene; I took it as a wish on his part.   I was surprised to see Chloe but I guess if she hadn't been there and it was Daniel alone we would have been debating if it was a death scene or something else. 

I saw them being seperate in the same way you did. He was always seperated from them and existing/ waiting to die alone. They could love him and miss who he used to be but he didn't fit in with the "second incarnation" of the family unit.  It was referenced with the rib joint scene, where Janet thought it was Daniel's favourite meal, when instead it was Teddy's. Also referenced in scenes where Amantha and Teddy would recall growing up together in the home. 

His family will never understand what he had been through, and his friends from New Canaan are actually better supports to him at this stage of his reintegration into society.

[Ilovecomputers]

Referring to the last episode, I must have missed something.  A lot of posters are saying that Daniel was daydreaming about what his life could be and then he's shown walking in the field, etc.  For some reason, I thought that was real.  In other words, it was set in the future after he was completely cleared and free to go wherever he wanted. 

[Anela]

On 1/6/2017 at 1:50 PM, Ilovecomputers said:

Referring to the last episode, I must have missed something.  A lot of posters are saying that Daniel was daydreaming about what his life could be and then he's shown walking in the field, etc.  For some reason, I thought that was real.  In other words, it was set in the future after he was completely cleared and free to go wherever he wanted. 

I thought it was real, too. 

[ketose]

On 12/16/2016 at 2:18 PM, tennisgurl said:

I keep trying to figure out how I feel about this ending, and I think I like it that way. I never thought we were going to get closure on what will happen with Daniel and his family, or find out who really killed Hannah, and I think thats kind of the point. There are no easy answers in life, and no happily ever after, in that life keeps going, and the only ending is the big ending. The best thing you can hope for (especially after everything that these characters have been through) is cautious optimism. As for the death of Hannah, its like Amantha said. Even if they do find out what really happened and exonerate Daniel, it wont rectify what happened, it can only try to clean up with whole mess as best as possible. That being said, I did want to see Daniel get officially exonerated. But it seems like now everyone knows that he probably didn't do it, I can deal with that. 

I do think it was a mistake to move Daniel from his family, but it did lead to the other family members getting more of their own plots and getting to interact with each other. And, in reality, I wouldn't mind Daniel leaving his hometown at all by the end of the show, even if he wasn't kicked out of Georgia. Even now that people seem to know he really didn't do it, there is WAY too much baggage there. 

I might have mixed feeling on some aspects of this season, but I loved it all the same. Just a lovely story about average small town people and the complicated lives they lead, about the ideas of justice and redemption, and finding the beauty in the everyday. Its been a great time, and I cant wait to see what everyone involved will do next. 

In a way, I think the viewer's frustration with the ending mirrors the reality of the characters. No one can get everything they want. Janet wanted Daniel back, but the Daniel she gets is a damaged man, not a thoughtful teenager. Amantha may somehow be above managing a store and dating a guy from town, but she likes having a life outside of fighting for Daniel. Even Jared sees what living in the past did for his family and he's trying to take a different path.

I think the biggest event of the series was what Daniel did to Teddy in the tire store. It accelerated Teddy and Tawney's breakup, it ruined Daniel's relationship with Ted Sr. and put a strain on Big Ted and Janet's marriage. That also mirrored the worst attack on Daniel in prison.

A lot of Rectify is about not letting go of the past. If we can believe Trey, Daniel got Hanna some drugs, she let George and others have sex with her, but struggled against Chris, who was apparently some kind of psycho. When Trey found out Hanna was dead, he did his best to see who was reliable and who wasn't. During the interrogation, he knew they wanted Daniel to be guilty, so Trey testified that way. If Trey told the truth then, his life wouldn't be over now. If he didn't try to frame Daniel for George's death, he wouldn't be under suspicion.

The pace of Rectify is such that it could go on for 20 seasons and some viewers would hang on every word. The ending of the series was all possibilities. If we flashed forward 10 years and Tawney was some missionary, Teddy was the new state Senator, Janet and Ted ran an antique store, Amantha was a lawyer and Daniel was a famous writer telling the story of how he was fully exonerated, it would push the show right into the middle of the Hallmark Channel.

[Noirprncess]

It seems I might be in the minority.  But Season 4 was the best for me because you FINALLY got to see Daniel grow and learn to be more than a perpetual "strange" man which is the label some from a small town get for being different.  He seemed like a quiet, thoughtful, well-read person who didn't wear his feelings on his sleeves.  

So, I enjoyed this finale.  It didn't neatly tie things up in a bow and it left lots of room for each character to grow.  

[purist]

Late to the party, but I loved the finale. Cried a few times; adored Janet telling Amantha, 'You're my hero, young lady'; loved the 'family' scenes in Nashville and Paulie; found the phone conversation between Tawney and Daniel perfect.

One moment no one has commented on is Trey's final scene, where he's all 'Oh, poor meeeeee, look how shit my life is now', and the camera pulls back to show the 'For Sale' sign at his house. I hated that pathetic whiner so much, and was delighted to see him end up with nothing after what he did to Daniel.

Also, what WAS the book Chloe left for Daniel? Did we ever find out?

On 18/12/2016 at 9:57 AM, Syren said:

McKinnon's writing was just sublime. I was a fan of his when he played the preacher on Deadwood but who knew how talented he really was when he switched to behind the camera. I cannot wait for what he gives us next.

Also: I never realised it was THAT Ray McKinnon. Huge fan of Deadwood and huge fan of his heartbreaking performance on that show. Talented man!

ETA: Also, also: that scene where Chris was watching Person's media conference and his teenage daughter asked him about it – such a very short scene, but so powerful having a girl Hanna's age in it.

Edited May 16, 2017 by purist

[Guest]

I kind of wonder if maybe they've shown a scar on one of Chris' hands in some scene, which would corroborate Trey's story and suggest Chris was the killer.  I guess it doesn't matter.  It makes more sense to me it was shithead Trey than someone with the motivation and smarts to become a doctor.  Strangling a girl is not a smart way to cover up a rape, especially with 20ish teens milling around the scene.  

I had hoped we'd see the murder at the end, just so we'd know for sure what happened.  Again, not that it really matters, especially since they pretty much exonerated Daniel (to the viewers, at least).   But I would've rather gotten details on that than the long story of Daniel's shower rapes.  I know those mattered a lot to his PTSD, though.  

I watched all four seasons over the last month or so.  Good show.  It was a bit difficult to watch in that I had a brother a lot like Daniel who died around Daniel's age in the show (38).  So I kind of empathized with Amantha, to some extent.  

One thing that seemed odd to me was that they stayed in that awful town the whole time, excepting Amantha.  In Janet's shoes, I would've been outta there as soon as they moved Daniel to Atlanta.  And in Amantha's I would've gone off with Jon the first time he asked.  

I will miss all the good male characters on the show.  I had mini-crushes on Jon and Ted.  

Edited May 29, 2017 by Guest

[ruby24]

I used to be okay with the ambiguity surrounding Hanna's death, but they spent enough time on it this season that by the end I really did want to know exactly what happened that night, who killed her, etc. The show did seem to be pointing towards Chris though. Although I'm not sure when he would have done it. I guess he went back and cornered her afterwards?

I was almost hoping for a full on flashback sequence, with younger actors for the characters and everything. That would have been dramatic enough for a series finale, especially considering they had never done one for that far back. 

[EDTV]

im also late, but this was an amazing series, wish it was a bit longer.

I was ok with the ending, certainly not up to SFU standards, but it was fitting for rectify.

[Lakebum]

On 1/6/2017 at 12:50 PM, Ilovecomputers said:

Referring to the last episode, I must have missed something.  A lot of posters are saying that Daniel was daydreaming about what his life could be and then he's shown walking in the field, etc.  For some reason, I thought that was real.  In other words, it was set in the future after he was completely cleared and free to go wherever he wanted. 

I saw it as Daniel's daydream, but a very significant daydream for two reasons. One, he was actually thinking about the future -- a very pleasant future -- instead of looking back on his mostly horrific past. Daniel did not spend much (if any) time looking forward, so it was comforting to know that he can do that now. And two, he was daydreaming while listening to the tapes from his therapy sessions. If he can daydream while listening to those tapes, then they are losing the grip they had on him; another very good sign.

[zobot81]

On 5/27/2018 at 2:46 AM, Lakebum said:

I saw it as Daniel's daydream, but a very significant daydream for two reasons. One, he was actually thinking about the future -- a very pleasant future -- instead of looking back on his mostly horrific past. Daniel did not spend much (if any) time looking forward, so it was comforting to know that he can do that now. And two, he was daydreaming while listening to the tapes from his therapy sessions. If he can daydream while listening to those tapes, then they are losing the grip they had on him; another very good sign.

I literally joined this forum in the hopes that people would continue to find the stories I love -- even the ones that have ended.

Rectify is my favorite show, closely followed by Hannibal.  If that seems like an odd coupling, well.  Maybe it is.

Anyway, I'd like to thank you for your post about the series finale.  And I couldn't agree more with your human analysis.

Daniel is so special because he can change, he can get better, he can want a real life that is safe and trusting, even after all that he has been through.  I understand that there's a certain faction of the audience who want to know exactly what happened to Hannah Dean, but I've never wondered.  The reason I've never wondered is because Daniel has always proven himself to be a man capable of reform, whether he's guilty of murder/manslaughter/negligence/whatever you want to ascribe -- and that's the beauty of Rectify.  In my estimation, it's the quietest, gentlest, most sincere referendum of our criminal justice system that anyone has ever envisaged and accomplished.  It is done with so much heart and wholesomeness, it's like a prayer of hope for anyone who suffers.

At the end, Daniel is looking at a future -- that he dares to dream of one is such a good sign, as you say -- he dreams of love, of all things.  And he confronts the past to disavow it.  It is losing its power over him.  Personally, there is nothing more satisfying or hopeful than when a person learns how to process catastrophic grief and trauma.  It's so difficult to climb out of that dark hole on your own.  And if we are only in it to condemn Holden to that pit forever, or else we are waiting to give him permission to come back up and into the light, then I believe that we are in it for the wrong reasons.

Edited June 1, 2018 by zobot81