neXt Review: Going Out On Top (Season 1 Episode 8-10)
neXt comes to an end with Season 1 Episodes 8, 9, and 10, “Case 8,” “Case 9,” and “Case 10.”
It’s an odd feeling watching the end of a season of television that you know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, will be the last you ever see of that show. A lot of the times when something gets canceled, it’s not until after it has finished and you’re left with the knowledge that you were there at the end and weren’t even aware of it.
With these final three episodes of neXt, however, we are all acutely aware that this is it. The plug in the bath has already been pulled and now we just have to watch the water spiral down. In a weird way, this is a bit of a blessing for it. This final arc can play out however it wants to and it won’t really matter that much.
The show can completely clear the board and, as the viewers, we don’t have to worry or speculate how it’ll back itself out of a particular corner that it’s walked into within its final moments. Throw in some cliffhangers? Fine, who cares. The sky is the limit for the ridiculous shenanigans that you can pull.
Why? It’s Groundhog’s Day logic: you’re never going to have to deal with the consequences of this in any way, so go nuts.
To be frank, this has been a show that we have been critical of throughout the season. It has often felt that it doesn’t have a terribly good sense of self or where it truly wishes to take its core conceit, but “Case #8,” “Case #9,” and “Case #10” certainly helps to wash some of that away. If a show has to end, this is the way you want it to by doing as well as it can.
All three of the episodes play really well as a piece together and there’s an excellent cohesion and flow that comes out of that. There’s a very clear escalation of stakes responses that promises something big and fully delivers. It’s still a show that takes itself far too seriously for the kind of show it wants to be — or could be — and you’d probably still be better served just watching Person of Interest instead.
One of the best aspects of this still continues to be some of the core performances that run through it, specifically John Slattery as the ostensible lead of the show. He is very clearly having a blast with the ability to just riff and go on weird tangents. There’s this weird enjoyment we get just from hearing him speak in this fun manner and just immerse ourselves in the zaniness of whatever he’s about to say.
It’s a true credit to him as an actor because the character in and of itself is an abrasive arrogant jerk that we shouldn’t like at all but Slattery is what makes that character work.
Similarly, the writing itself for Shea Salazar might be a little flat on its own but the performance by Fernanda Andrade does a lot for it. It’s not very showy or big, in contrast to Slattery, but it is very stabilizing. That makes it all the more unnerving whenever she goes off-book and seems more erratic or frazzled. Andrade is great at both modes: cool and in charge, and flying apart at the seams.
Those two performances, even when neXt wasn’t particularly interesting, always managed to ground the show in something substantial that made it worthwhile.
What did you think of this episode of neXt? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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neXt airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on FOX.
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Drew Koenig
Drew has an ongoing, borderline unhealthy obsession with pop culture, but with television in particular. When he's not aggressively trying to get out of a perpetual state of catching up, he can be found passionately defending the ending of Lost. More of his online work can be found at The Lost Cause and he also co-hosts The Lost Cause Pod.
One thought on “neXt Review: Going Out On Top (Season 1 Episode 8-10)”
It was pretty much a giant waste of time watching it.
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