The Dropout Review: Lizzy (Season 1 Episode 8)
On The Dropout Season 1 Episode 8, “Lizzy,” the story wraps up in a way that provides a much better ending than expected.
Of course, we all knew what was going to happen to Elizabeth and Sunny all along. Even without ever searching out specific details of the Theranos case online, we’ve been told from the beginning of the series that everything in the empire would fall, Elizabeth and Sunny would break up, and there would be a trial.
But it’s in the execution of this story, the way it’s told and portrayed so brilliantly, that really seals this as fully Emmy-worthy.
I’ll sing my endless praise of Amanda Seyfried once again in this series. She’s never been anyone who stood out to me in a lead role before. She’s been front in center in a number of dark, twisted tales in her time, but what she does as Elizabeth is completely different from anything I’ve seen her do. And she does it so well that, for the life of me, I cannot imagine anyone else in this role.
But perhaps the most surprising gift we got from The Dropout is Naveen Andrews as Sunny. Sunny is such a complex, interesting, awful, sometimes terrifying individual, the one who groomed Elizabeth so young and enabled her to take her fraud as far as she did.
And yet, watching him, there were times I genuinely felt sorry for him. Not for long, of course. I mean, as soon as I remembered the kind of person he really is, I snapped out of it. But every time he was on the screen, I just couldn’t look away.
He’s dynamic in a way that isn’t overbearing, charming in a way that you can’t quite trust, brilliant and evil and heartless. Andrews’ performance as Sunny is the most unexpected gift this series gave me, and I can’t imagine I’ll get much disagreement there.
We also, as I’ve been hoping, got to see Elizabeth in all her cruel and self-serving glory. She’s in denial up until the very end, whether about the future of Theranos, her own role in the devastation and fraud, and even her own identity.
In my opinion, the greatest thing this show did was give us this cast. Good writing goes a long way, but it can only do so much if you don’t have actors putting everything they have into these roles. For a story as tragic as Theranos’, we need to be reminded that real people got hurt, real people died, real people lost everything.
And every single performance gave us an entire story from a vital point of view. All of it worked to give us this reminder that the tech world is practically looking for reasons not to allow opportunities of success to women.
It also reminds of a certain kind of feminism, a radical kind, a kind that looks out for white women only, excuses them, grants carte blanche, chalks actions like Elizabeth’s up to girlbossing her way into a man’s world.
And this is why these kinds of stories are so important to tell. Elizabeth Holmes caused real people real pain, inflicted emotional and psychological stress on employees, and was responsible for thousands of misdiagnoses. And never once did she take responsibility.
Yet, in the end, we are told that she continued on with her happy, delusional life after Theranos. She has not yet been sentenced, but her conviction could lead to as many as eighty years in prison. In her mind and in the mind of those who support this warped version of feminism, she should get a slap on the wrist at most.
In reality, we have yet to see what will happen.
Telling these stories encourages us to be more aware of our own responsibility in our lives. The Dropout is a true story, one that should have us all asking if we are living ethically, if we are supporting the right causes, and, perhaps more importantly, what we would do if we found out something we supported was wrong.
This series may be over, but the story will stick in my mind for a long time to come. To me, that’s the mark of good media.
I hope we see a lot of The Dropout in Emmy season.
What did you think of this episode of The Dropout? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Critic Rating:
User Rating:
The full series of The Dropout is available on Hulu.
Follow us on Twitter and on 
Instagram!
Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!
