A Friend of the Family Season 1 Episode 9 Review: Revelation
A Friend of the Family comes to its conclusion with a powerful and emotional finale on Season 1 Episode 9, “Revelation.”
Throughout the whole season, the series has approached the dramatization of real events with such sensitivity to the subject matter and to the real people that lived through the horrors inflicted by Robert “B.” Berchtold. It’s created a sense of unease that’s sustained through the old-fashioned week-to-week viewing.
Which is no easy feat in these fast-paced, binge-watching times.
In large part, credit is due to the tremendous performances by the actors, especially Mckenna Grace as Jan Broberg.
At what is to be their last meeting together before Jan’s dreaded 16th birthday, she asks B. what he thinks it feels like to be vaporized. His response:
My best guess is that it’s like your soul being torn in half and then both those halves being torn in half again. The tearing keeps going until there’s nothing left to tear.
That’s exactly what it feels like is done to the viewer’s heart during this episode. Mine just breaks over and over and over for this family and for all his other victims.
Grace exudes raw anxiety as Jan at this stage, and it’s like watching a car crash in slow motion. The level of intensity this young actor is able to operate at is absolutely amazing. There’s authenticity behind it in that hopeless, confused panic of an innocent when truly frightened.
Jan’s last little plea for compassion from B. that is met with complete disregard is a helluva gut-punch. Three words—”B., I’m scared.”—in that vulnerable voice will haunt me for some time.
Halfway through this finale episode, Jan celebrates has her 16th birthday, where she is to face her own annihilation all by herself. Again, my already broken heart breaks some more as she lies down in her bed away from the party and waits to be vaporized. Experiencing that kind of fear at such a young age is unimaginable, and Grace makes it palpable through the screen.
When she finds herself alive and whole the next morning, the false reality that B. had built for her begins to crumble. We saw a crack before at their last meeting through a clever visual device. Jan throws her car headlights on and it floods him in a harsh, flat light. A little bit of who he really is shines through and Jan senses it.
In addition, the sexual abuse she’s endured and, subsequently, repressed, starts to come back to her.
After attending a school dance with a nice, respectful boy who she’s able to touch without being instantly vaporized as B. claimed would happen, the extent of his lies comes crashing down on her.
Here, she suffers a different kind of panic than the one earlier, and again, Grace holds nothing back in getting that across to the audience. We’ve known all this time that she’s been severely gaslit, but Grace makes us feel what it must be like to come to this realization after years—not to mention formative years—of manipulation.
As misguided and clueless as Bob (Colin Hanks) and Mary Ann (Anna Paquin) Broberg were when their family was first targeted, they get something right that’s vitally important. They let Jan know they’re there for her and they give her the time she needs to come to them when she’s ready.
In court, Mary Ann admits her daftness. “I was an absolute fool,” she says. “I was a fool. He is a predator.”
She reiterates this later when Jan comes to them to tell them the truth and to ask for their forgiveness.
Mary Ann: We made every mistake in the world. You’ve done nothing wrong.
Bob: You could tell us anything and we would never stop loving you.
It’s an extremely moving scene in which all three actors deliver extraordinary performances wherein the victim is heard, believed, and assured that it’s not their fault.
This isn’t the only cathartic element to the finale.
Two scenes feature special guest star Jan Broberg—who is a professional actor—as Jan’s therapist, Dr. Carr. It offers an incredible opportunity to see an actual survivor of these abuses be able to talk, in a way, with her younger self and to her father who has since passed.
The series approaches this as thoughtfully and sensitively as it has done with everything else, and the result is beautifully effective. Broberg does a fantastic job in this role as does Hanks when Bob sits down with her.
Of the two parents, Paquin as Mary Ann has had more to do in terms of the story; and while Hanks has been strong throughout the season, he really gets a chance to exhibit his talent here. It’s a powerful scene that goes well beyond the dramatization, and it’s one among many in this expertly-done finale episode.
What did you think of this episode of A Friend of the Family? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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A Friend of the Family Season 1 is currently streaming on Peacock.
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Erin Allen
Erin is a former script supervisor for film and television. She's an avid fan of middle aged actresses, dark dramas, and irreverent comedies. She loves to read actual books and X-Files fan fiction. Her other passions include pointing out feminist issues, shipping Mulder and Scully, and collecting pop culture mugs.