'The Plot Against America' Finale Review: Uneasy peace and eternal uncertainty continues to prevail in the end
Some wounds never heal fully and bleed at the slightest touch — it is this thought that echoes through the conclusion of 'The Plot Against America'.
The HBO mini-series, which followed a sobering alternate timeline of American history where Nazi sympathizer Charles Lindbergh became President in the 1940s, has come to a close.
Anti-Semitic activities are now rife in the country, as Lindbergh's supporters lash out at the Jews, burning their synagogues and businesses. Fire and poison are coursing through America, and the Jews are the casualties.
Through the faithful radio, we learn that the radio personality Walter Winchell, a Presidential candidate, was shot dead at a campaign rally. Following on the heels of Episode 5, the finale picks up steam and shows a world falling apart for the Levins.
It doesn't have quite the punch you would expect, as some scenes seem out of place and rather clunky, but nevertheless you witness a cocktail of heartrending drama and pain. The episode opens with news blasting through the radio — an eerily similar predicament to our times, just replace the radio with television anchors.
Evelyn Finkel (Winona Ryder) does her best to convince herself and others that Lindbergh was not responsible for Winchell's murder.
She says frantically that Lindbergh condemned the murder, again a testament to contemporary times, when esteemed political leaders put out bland statements in the face of raging fire, rather than actually doing something about it.
However, she and her husband Bengeldorf (John Turturro) pay the price at last for their overwhelming support and sycophancy. Bengeldorf is arrested and Evelyn doesn't know where to go, and no way is Bess (Zoe Kazan) going to take her in.
This leads to the release of suppressed anger and tensions between the two sisters as Bess tells her to leave and never return. Bess' final words to Evelyn are sharp and cut like a knife, but lacks the poetic justice the scene truly deserved.
Zoe Kazan delivered a powerful performance in the previous episode and broke free of her laundry-cooking schedules, at long last.
However, after a couple of powerful scenes in the finale, she is back to cooking sumptuous dinners and playing peacemaker while her husband Herman (Morgan Spector) and Alvin (Anthony Boyle) engage in a brawl, which really seems unnecessary.
The significance of this fight is rather confusing, as some sort of peace had finally come to the family, or unless it meant that some traumas can never be forgotten. Winona Ryder and Zoe Kazan's characters deserved more screen time, rather than just being props and standing around while the men fought their way through.
As the episode ends, the gaps between Sandy (Caleb Malis) and Herman have reduced considerably, as Sandy finally has an inkling about the insidious policies of the Lindbergh government.
We see a montage of Election Day, but the episode ends on a rather ambiguous note — did America finally come out of its darkness? Perhaps we'll never have the answer.
