[Movie] Uncoupled – Season 1 Episode 8 Recap & Review

‘Episode 8’

It is the big wedding day for the Jonathans’ and Michael has still not recovered from the injuries to his face. He calls over Suzanne to put makeup on them to cover for the wedding.

He does not want to see Colin there with his hot architect boyfriend looking like this. Suzanne also brings Claire’s commission check for Michael, which is huge. While they’re talking, he mentions that he is thinking of buying out Colin’s part of the mortgage to own the house. The apartment feels like home to him and he wants to start over.

At the wedding, Suzanne and a nervous Michael meet up with Billy and his new boyfriend, Wyatt. He is the same guy from Colin’s 50th birthday celebrations in episode 1.

It is kind of unusual to see Billy with the same man twice but he feels it might be different this time. Billy and Michael then turn toward Stanley, who looks upset. They take his state for his usual lonely sad-guy vibes surfacing. But they’re shocked to know that Stanley actually has first-stage breast cancer. Very few men are probable to be diagnosed with it and he is one of them. He asks Michael to accompany him to the doctor’s on Monday to learn how to proceed.

Michael spots Colin with his boyfriend and goes up to say hi. The man with Colin is actually not Craig, and Colin has come there alone. Just as he is about to mention the mortgage, the ceremonies start to kick in. The Jonathans say their vows to each other and are over the moon. It is dinner time and Michael’s table of friends stands tall compared to Colin’s empty table.

Suzanne comforts Stanley with the process saying that she went through something similar and he will be okay. Wyatt is a medical major at Columbia and agrees with her. He does seem to be really smitten with Billy. Michael announces that the curfew for his friends to talk with Colin has been lifted and it is too exhausting to stay mad anymore.

He goes up to his table and has fun chit-chatting. The mortgage thing is just about to come up as a drunk Teresa – the mother of one of the Jonathans – gives a toast. She actually cites the splitting up of Michael and Colin as the reason why her son went ahead with the decision to marry.

Both take it like champs and revel in the celebrations. Colin then expresses to Michael that he wasn’t unhappy in their relationship. What prompted him to separate was an urge to write new pages in his life every day and not have his fate decided beforehand. The mundane continuity of domestic life was suffocating for him and he decided to act on his instincts. Michael says he is okay and relieved with his explanation and then mentions the mortgage. Colin is circumspect and asks Michael to give him time to think it over, “financially”.

Surprisingly, Michael agrees and goes back to his table. Suzanne is visibly disappointed and decides to confront Colin about his decision. She says it is great to see and talk to him again after the bitterness of the split. The two catch up about their lives.

Suzanne then mentions that Colin should agree to Michael’s request. His sudden declaration of moving out hit Michael like a train and when Colin says it’ll be weird for him to imagine Michael living there with someone else, Suzanne says it was him who put him in this position.

Wyatt spots Billy taking the number of a guy he hooked up with some time back. He calls Billy a shallow narcissist and breaks up with him. Kai calls Suzanne and lets her know that he is meeting with his father at L’Express around eight-thirty.

No pressure on Suzanne to come; it is her decision. Billy tries to make up with Stanley and asks him why he didn’t ask him to go to the doctor. Stanley says he didn’t figure Billy would want to come with and apologizes.

They all dance as a group and Michael even has a duet with Colin. The group teasingly probes but Michael says it is nothing. They are not getting back together.

They disperse and each has a moment with themselves while going back home. Billy deletes Wyatt’s contact and thinks about his future. Stanley is understandably worried about his cancer and googles survival rates for males. Suzanne decides to turn around and goes to L’Express, where she is in shock when she sees Kai’s father. We are not told who that is exactly.

Michael goes back to his apartment and is shocked to see Colin there, waiting for him. He says he thinks he has made a mistake and wants to get back together with Michael! Season one concludes with the peppy theme playing over the credits.

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The Episode Review

It has to be said that Uncoupled’s season 1 has one of the best finales among Netflix’s recent comedy dramas. It is arguably the season’s best episode and leaves us with new possibilities for season 2.

The culmination of all the jealousy, frustrations, and rumours has resulted in Colin rethinking his decision to separate from Michael. The final shot was a huge shock considering how desperate Colin was to rid Michael of his life. What prompted the sudden change of heart? Or was it not sudden and had been brewing beneath his mulling all along? At this point, I have no idea. Maybe the writers will be able to explain it better.

We are not shown who Kai’s father is, and that is a big disappointment. Is it someone we have seen or will it be a new character altogether? Although it was not such a huge sub-plot in this season, by the end, we had warmed up enough to Suzanne to care about these significant details. She is definitely number two as far as the priority order goes for the characters. Hopefully, we will have more.

Billy’s turnaround was rather unexpected and rushed. Are you telling me all that was needed for him to shed his narcissistic personality was a rant from a 20-year-old? Viewers won’t buy it and creators will have to find a way to be more subtle about it.

Stanley’s health ailment was another overwhelming detail none of us anticipated. It seems almost as if the writers wanted to change the complexion of how the story would progress in the next season in one fell swoop. Well, that certainly has spiced things up but throwing so many things all at once was a bit insensitive!

The finale was the most empathetic and comfortable we have seen Michael all season. He certainly has gone through an emotional curve of rehabilitation and confirmation. The season 1 finale has set up things very temptingly for a season 2. The only question is” is it happening?