yeah top 50 ep oat. this is not recency bias i watched this yesterday. 57 minutes long and it felt only like 20 minutes. by far the most satisfying end i have ever seen to a season 1, not because its conclusive or ends characters inner-conflicts, but because it perfectly recaps the messages and themes of the show while still leading into season 2. [SPOILERS] this episode, and more specifically the ending, heavily resembles a sort of scene i somehow manage to have twice a week, when i’m able to find myself virtually extinct any inner-struggles and outside conflicts; at complete peace. it’s in these reflective and satisfying times that i’m able to feel like i’m beginning to genuinely understand life, like i have concluded my arc or something; like things are going to get steadily easier from now on. is my life really settled at all? no, as i probably have a hundred problems waiting for me once i get off of the high. but in the moment, it looks like everything is in its right place. of course, this momentary perfection is not constant, as right after this sequence, some problem arises and i remember all of my stresses. because really, my life was not at all settled in those moments, i was just distanced enough to temporarily think they aren’t there. the only way i can explain this episode is by comparing it to those moments i have. the entire episode is absolutely packed with conflict and issues to stress about. claire continues to be much more mature than gabe, with him robbing a cashiers money and beer from his store at gunpoint. david may now have come to terms with his sexuality, but that does not mean that the external world has, and it absolutely does not mean that dating now will come easy (something that gets confirmed by the first half of 2x1, the farthest i’ve gotten since writing this review). most importantly, nate is diagnosed with a potentially fatal condition to his brain after a car accident, which, because there wasn’t enough to think about, occurred due to brenda and nate’s unstable relationship causing a fight. what i’m trying to say is that this episode is not conclusive at all, i think it’s one of the most impressive set-ups for a season 2 because of just how much is clearly being set-up. and yet, the same way i can, this episode manages to slowly distance itself from its problems until you’ve forgotten about them, and at the end, conclude on a scene so perfectly assembled that every character, every stage prop and camera angle, every minutiae detail just clicks into place. i know it’s temporary, and i know the second i start season 2 every piece will lose its place and have to find itself again. brenda and nate are not well together. claire and gabe’s relationship is built off of sadness and grief. the world is against david no matter how much he accepts himself. but still, somehow, this episode manages to make me feel like everything is okay. because for a moment, it is. sorry for the yap session good lord ok i will be actually watching this show i really really want to get 5 / 6 episodes done a week so i can hopefully have season 2 done in 2 weeks. i appreciate my kittens i promise this arc will go by faster now!! also go like my sfu every ep ranked list if u want 😊