'Hollywood' Finale Review: Oscars and apologies suit the woke era, but the feel-good ending falls flat
Spoilers for the finale, episode 7.
There's a certain kind of raw twist in every creation of Ryan Murphy - be it satire, horror, or even a wholesome drama like 'Glee'. His latest is a revisit of 1940s' 'Hollywood', with the Netflix series creating its own woke, progressive spin on the reality that could have been, had tinsel town not been so cruel.
But sinister talent agents and racist studio bosses later, after the movie within the show wins a whopping five Oscars purely for casting an African American lead, the show falls flat even though its core essence is a struggle for visibility.
In that, for all the touting 'Hollywood' does for the representation of all races and sexualities, the ending -- wholesome and positive every bit -- still falls flat by Murphy's standards.
The finale opens to Ace Amberg's funeral after he finally greenlights the controversial movie 'Meg' and passes away in his sleep. ACE Studios' lawyers burn the reel of the entire film the first chance they get and all hope is visibly lost until their editor informs director Raymond Ainsley (Darren Criss) that he had in fact kept a copy safe.
This drives Avis Amberg (Patty LuPone) -- the new in charge -- to release the movie after firing those godforsaken lawyers. Avis finally finds her firm ground as a studio boss, just the way Ellen Kincaid (Holland Taylor) finds love in Ernie West (Dylan McDermott), and Dick Samuels finds the bravery to accept his sexuality and be with the man of his dreams.
Soon the box office collections roll in and to everybody's utter shock, 'Meg' has broken all records. It is a mush pile of one good news after the other just falling into their lap for being so brave and gallant from that point. Claire Woods (Samara Weaving) and Jack Castello (David Corenswet) fall in love even though her mother Avis was his first client at Ernie's prostitution ring, and the Oscar nominations also find their way to the movie's crew - as if offering a gold star just for showing up. It's historic and incredible - every bit as imbued with glitz and glamour as it should be. But somewhere along the line, the finale stops taking itself seriously.
Maybe it's just rewarding all the hard work and pushing the crew had to endure just to be visible on screen, but the only poignant moment in the entire plot is when Queen Latifah's Hattie McDaniel tells Laura Harrier's Camille that no matter what, she should fight and campaign every bit for her rightful place amongst the A-listers.
That, and when the Oscars are finally handed to Camille, Archie (Jeremy Pope), and Anna May Wong (Michelle Krusiec), and in parallel we see the ecstatic shock and joy their families back home feel as they make movie history. It is in those moments that 'Hollywood' finally lays down its core agenda: highlighting the need to feel represented and visible in a society that has had only hatred and prejudice to offer.
The other pivotal moment in the finale is Henry Willson (Jim Parsons) seeking Rock Hudson's (Jake Picking) forgiveness for being the preying, coercing talent agent that he was to the aspiring actor and so many others.
Rock appreciates the concern, but tells him there's no forgiveness for what he did - and that is exactly the fierce honesty one would expect from a budding actor who just walked into the Oscars hand in hand with his African American boyfriend Archie.
The pair kiss and don't shy away even for the slightest bit on Hollywood's biggest night, and that is pretty much the only respite compared to the ending where ACE Studios decides to produce a gay romance titled 'Dreamland' from known predator Willson.
The show has all the right ingredients to make it work, but the patchy execution serves a bland offering not worthy of a Ryan Murphy show.
'Hollywood' dropped with all seven episodes on May 1, only on Netflix.