WeCrashed Review: The One With All The Money (Season 1 Episode 8)

The IPO is drawing nearer, and the big Wall Street Journal story is looming even more prominent, leading to disastrous results, leadership ousters, and plenty of questions about what comes next on the entertaining (if a little frustrating) conclusion to WeCrashed Season 1 Episode 8, “The One With All the Money.”

Damien begging the Wall Street Journal writer not to publish the story is inadvertently hilarious. Though we know what’s about to go down with the article leading to this full-circle moment from the premiere as Adam gets ousted as CEO of his own company, the delivery of the line leaves you at least chuckling a bit.

One of the most enjoyable parts of the final WeCrashed entry is that we get to see every red flag, every warning, every plea to see reason come back to bite Adam in a somewhat satisfying way.

Whether it’s the lawyers pointing out that he can’t fire the entire board in the act of retribution or Bruce finally (finally) growing a spine, there’s just something about seeing consequences befall people that well and truly deserve it that feeds the soul.

The writers may try to drum up some sympathy for the Neumann’s but considering everything we’ve seen them do in the span of eights episodes, spanning a decade in their lives, the well has run dry, and they let the chips fall where they may.

Rebekah’s ridiculousness reaches its peak as she announces to the parents of WeGrow that they’ll be shutting down. It’s a fascinating moment, both in how it is shot and what is being said. It’s almost like a spell is broken, and everyone’s friendly veneer is gone, with just the rage, anger, and disbelief at how Rebekah is on full display out of touch.

The house of cards comes crashing down during the finale as Adam tries to reach every powerhouse contact and comes to a startling realization: bravado will only get you so far in life, and angering the wealthy, powerful men that you once took advantage of will leave your back up against a wall.

What’s baffling is that Miguel still sticks with Adam through it all. All of it. Despite his attempts at shoehorning Rebekah into the company, the times Adam goes over his head. It’s like he’s afraid of this grifter’s spell breaking and seeing that he spent the last 10 years working on something that was never going to work as they intended and was constantly lied to for it.

Seeing Cameron as WeWork CEO, even for a few minutes, was fun to watch and shows his different leadership style because O-T Fagbenle plays the dramatic and the comedic very well, especially when he finds out that they’ve massively overspent on expansion.

The board meeting where Cameron McGill breaks it to them plays out like a long-lost Succession scene, and at that moment, everything about the limited series makes sense. Everything feels so absurd that you think that even though these events may be dramatized, it’s based on actual events that led to hundreds of people losing money, losing their jobs, and more.

As the hour ends, a sense of frustration stems from Adam getting away with what can effectively be called larceny by trick.

Masa: Who wins in a fight, the smart one or the crazy one?

Rebekah: I don’t understand.

Masa: The one with all the money.

This conversation between Masa and Rebekah is excellent because it sets up the idea that even though Adam thought he was getting away with something, Masa pulled the strings the entire time and meant it to end that way.

It’s truly a moment of impressive payoff, down to the sinister smile before he hangs up on her.

The writers play it up well, and just as it looked like they were getting their happy ending, they steal it right from under them.

Random Thoughts

• Overall, each episode felt too long and could have stood to cut a bit out of each hour.
• Jared Leto really nailed Adam Neumann’s tone and mannerisms, as you can see from comparing the limited series to the short clips they show at the very end.
• And Hathaway did an excellent job dramatizing Rebecca for the screen in a way that made you want to both shake her and feel sad (but not too sad) for her.

What did you think of this episode of WeCrashed? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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All episodes of WeCrashed is now available to watch on AppleTV+.

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