Maniac: Episode 9, "Utangatta"

 Maniac: Episode 9 "Utangatta"

September 21, 2018

Maniac’s “Utangatta” is a chaotic episode that has much going on and little that one could actually understand…yet it still is lots of fun. Both Emma Stone and Jonah Hill deliver excellent performances. One could be annoyed with Hill’s accent, but he has some truly amazing lines. As I try to decipher the plot, I liked the spy angle with a sci-fi twist. Of course, Russia had to be involved. The episode reminded me of 2001: A Space Odyssey as we see who GRTA truly is and the race to shut her down. Like I said, this episode is filled with delicious chaos. Fukunaga may not have the super glue from the previous episode, but still managed to make the episode somewhat coherent. Fukunaga does a solid job wrapping up the main plot as we will focus on resolutions to end this series. As a side note, I liked how this episode tackled mental health and I was moved during the scenes where Annie interacts with Ellie and admits she has been lying to herself all along.

As with most recent television series, the climatic action occurs during this penultimate episode. There is a NATO summit (including Russia) where all countries assembled to discuss an alien invasion. Annie finds herself in a situation where she needs to be saved. Owen risks his life to save Annie. Annie finally confronts GRTA. Over at the lab, the Mantleray’s finally learn how dangerous GRTA is and need to find a way to shut her down. Will Annie and Owen be able to survive and feel better about themselves?

Overall, definitely a really good episode despite everything moving really quickly. The show has a knack of providing some fun comedic moments. I liked the scene with Ernie the alien and his speech at the microphone. I was pleased with this penultimate effort and I am looking forward to see how this series wraps up.

My Grade: A-


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