Maniac: Episode 4 "Furs by Sebastian"

 Maniac: Episode 4 "Furs by Sebastian"

September 21, 2018

“Furs by Sebastian” is a very odd trip inside the mind of Maniac. Odd, but delightfully odd. I thought we were finally moving upon a tangent line, but Fukunaga decided to take us on another line…inside the effects of the B pill. What this episode mainly focuses on is a Long Island caper with a lemur at its center. Yes, strangeness is abound here folks. Despite Jonah Hill and his questionable fashion choices (geez, that mullet. Seriously?), this is a truly fun and unique episode. I am not sure if it advances the plot much, but I did enjoy the weird energy this episode gives off. There also happens to be many amusing moments. My favorite is when that one dude was trying to sell Hill’s character a bulletproof fur jacket.

So, the gist of the plot involves Hill’s Bruce and Stone’s Linda as a married couple that seems to be in the gutter. Bruce is more of a muted character, but Linda is a wacko with plenty of intelligence (and a character that Emma Stone really embraces). At her work, Linda has this dying woman as a patient and Linda is moved by her story. To grant the woman’s dying wishes, she decides to find the stolen lemur and bring it to her daughter. Meanwhile, Agent Lopez (the animal enforcement officer who reallllly wants to be a police officer) is hot on their tails.

This is a strange but funny episode. This reminds me a bit of Philip Dick’s science-fiction works in terms of genre hopping. We learn some more about Annie’s parents, but there seems to be more to this story than what has been told so far. Now this episode plays around with time and genre, and it seems like the next episode will as well. I am fine with that because it allows Emma Stone and Jonah Hill to inhibit different characters. One final thought. I like how the end of this caper is nothing conventional. A rather great episode!

My Grade: A-


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