The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey Review: The Legacy of Ptolemy Grey (Season 1 Episode 6)

The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey wraps its six-episode run with The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey Season 1 Episode 6, “Ptolemy.” The final episode doesn’t quite stick the landing of what has otherwise been a fantastic limited series. 

The first four episodes of The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey are excellent, and the fifth is very good. Expectations were high heading in for the finale. Unfortunately, those expectations work against the episode, which feels a bit anticlimactic. 

One problem with the episode is that the series does a good job of building up the mystery of Ptolemy’s past and Reggie’s murder in the first few episodes, but it never pays off.

The mysteries were never the most important thing about the series but realizing there is no puzzle to solve or twists to reveal is still a letdown. That would have been a minor quibble if the final episode gave viewers a more satisfying conclusion to Robyn and Ptolemy’s story.

Yet even there, “Ptolemy” falls short of the bar set by the rest of the episodes, including The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey Season 1 Episode 5, “Nina,” which is a weaker episode than the first four. 

Viewers only see the two interact as part of Ptolemy’s hallucinations. Narratively it has to be this way since Robyn is kept away from Ptolemy by Nicey during his last days in the hospital. Knowing that doesn’t make it any less disappointing, though.

To be sure, the best scenes of “Ptolemy” are the scenes that focus on Robyn and Ptolemy’s relationship. Those scenes are flawless and capture everything that made the series up to this point so good.

Ptolemy’s video recording to demonstrate that he was of sound mind when he made his will and Robyn’s conversation with the judge stand out as two of the episode’s high points. They have the emotional resonance and outstanding character work that we came back every week to see.

Those two scenes, along with a few of Ptolemy’s hallucinations, hold the episode together. They are moments of brilliant acting, writing, and artistry. It isn’t enough to create a sufficient conclusion, but they keep the finale in the realm of “it’s fine” so that the episode only minimally detracts from the series.

Ultimately, The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey seems to suffer from what a lot of adaptations suffer from. There is too much story to do justice to within the constraints of its screen time. 

Perhaps in the book, characters like Shirley Wring, Billy, or even Roger — a character I genuinely love and wanted to see more of — had a more significant role. In the series, however, they are underserved.

Viewers spend much of the series waiting to find out their significance, only to realize they don’t have much at the very end. 

It’s unfortunate to see the series stumble at the end after giving viewers such exceptional character-driven storytelling leading up to the finale. “Ptolemy” isn’t a terrible episode. It certainly isn’t the worst finale I’ve ever seen. It’s just not the emotionally satisfying conclusion these characters deserve. 

I can’t say that the finale doesn’t mar my overall impressions of the series, at least a little. It does. Not so much, though, that I would change my earlier assessment that The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey is a great limited series.

Fishback and Jackson’s performances alone make the series something special. “Ptolemy” may be a mediocre finale, but The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey is still a superb series.

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You can stream all six episodes of The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey on Apple TV+.

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