Parade’s End – Series Finale – Recap and Review via Rickey.org
Recap and review of Parade’s End – Series Finale:
I’m kind of at a strange place with Parade’s End. I enjoyed the first two episodes, and loved the previous two, yet the finale left me strangely cold. It isn’t that the series finale is bad. It’s more that the series just sort of…ends. Of course, this is merely a reflection of the source material, the tetralogy of novels by Ford Madox Ford upon which the series is based. And even if it wasn’t a completely satisfying ending, I was still glad to have stuck it out, as Parade’s End proved to be rewarding in how it intimately charted the progress of one man’s attempts to salvage his honor, and preserve the old way of things. In addition, the series, particularly this finale, is among the most exquisitely-filmed pieces of television I’ve seen in years. The bleak, wet, green-grey sight of the trenches of World War I is hardly a new image in film or television, but I couldn’t help being impressed by the beauty of some of these shots. This has been one of TV’s classiest productions, and it shows in nearly every frame. This is without even getting into how Parade’s End remains one of the most unimpeachably well-acted series in what feels like ages. Benedict Cumberbatch and Rebecca Hall are truly doing yeoman’s work here, and I only hope their acclaim continues to rise more than it already has, as they’re already fairly well known (Hall has starred in films from Ben Affleck’s “The Town” to Woody Allen’s “Vicky Christina Barcelona”, while Cumberbatch is already a hit as Sherlock Holmes, to say nothing of his film roles in “War Horse”, “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” and the upcoming “Star Trek Into Darkness”). Adelaide Clemens is also someone we need to see a lot more of in the mainstream ether. If nothing else, Parade’s End serves as a hell of a platform for the considerable talents of everyone involved.
Credit: BBC/HBO
The lion’s share of the hour-long conclusion sees Christopher (Benedict Cumberbatch) in the trenches, deeply embroiled in the seemingly-interminable business of war. These scenes are particularly harrowing in their gritty, visceral realism. It’s very easy to imagine, for much of the episode, that Christopher could die at any moment. Lord knows, the people around him are dying off, left and right. There is a pervasive sense of tragedy haunting the narrative, and it continues once Christopher returns home, as he comes face-to-face with the horrific facts of change. Groby Cedar, his family’s trinket-filled tree, under which members of the Tietjens family have been wed for generations, is reduced to a stump. The felling of that grand and mighty cedar is as terse a representation of Christopher’s development throughout the series as one could ask for, with the tree representing Christopher’s obstinacy in the face of change, and his ultimate relenting upon realizing that there’s no fighting the future, or the onward creep of modernity. However, much like his Victorian notions of honor and nobility, Christopher carries the remnants of that old tree with him, and it makes for a very poignant visual, communicating how some piece of Christopher will still hold onto tradition.
Credit: BBC/HBO
Yet it’s ultimately the things happening exterior to the war that hold the most interest, particularly as it concerns Christopher’s marriage. After appearing to rededicate herself to her marriage, Sylvia (Rebecca Hall) has returned to Gerald Drake (Jack Huston), and she seems to persist in her back-and-forth nature about her marriage to Christopher. It’s actually kind of frustrating, since she never seemed capable of really making up her mind, one way or the other. That said, Sylvia’s constant presence makes for some great drama, particularly in the confrontation that’s been building over the length of the series. Sylvia had told Christopher she didn’t have very long left to live due to cancer, yet Christopher coldly abandoned her, having been manipulated one time too many. When he and Valentine (Adelaide Clemens) encounter Sylvia on the staircase (the couple ascending while Sylvia descends in a nice, though on-the-nose, bit of staging), Valentine finally laces into Sylvia. She accuses her of making up her ailment altogether, and while Sylvia initially laughs off Valentine’s tirade, it’s one of the best moments of catharsis in the series. “This is what you do, isn’t it?” Valentine roars, and Christopher backs her up, to Sylvia’s disappointment and heartache. She passive-aggressively, and somewhat sadly, wishes them both nothing but happiness, before telling Valentine to “Please remember me to your charming mother,” closing the chapter on the tumultuous marriage of the Tietjens in one of the more moving moments of the episode. Ultimately, Sylvia ends up as the consort to India’s viceroy, while Christopher and Valentine finally begin their new life together, consummating their long-simmering romance with a sensuously-filmed love scene that works as a kind of analog for the peace of a war finally ended.
Credit: BBC/HBO
I’ve tried to remain as vague about in-depth, specific details as possible, beyond the mere broad strokes of what actually happens (such things are unavoidable in a review — and this is far more a review than a recap). The reason I chose this method is because HBO is going to be reairing the entirety of this miniseries over the weekend and, doubtless, in weeks to come, since it provides an easy five hours of programming. Thus, I wanted to preserve some of the intrigue and integrity of the series for those who are reading these reviews and might still be on the fence about whether or not they’ll give it a shot. I imagine this will play much better as a binge-watching series, so I definitely recommend that anyone reading this to give it a shot, if you haven’t already. There’s far more to like about Parade’s End than there are faults, and really, most of the faults center on this story not being all that new for modern audiences: we’ve seen the World War I love story before, we’ve seen the romances of the British aristocracy circa the 1920s, and we’ve seen well-costumed period pieces before. But it’s still a story worth engaging. Parade’s End isn’t revolutionary television, but it’s unmistakably compelling.