Reviewer Rating: 3.4/5.0
3.4
Does the disclaimer just make us sympathize with the obnoxious “sad boy” Nicholas?
To its credit, Disclaimer Season 1 Episode 5 improved, even if only microscopically.
In its fifth hour, the show dives right into the tension, with things moving slightly faster than sap dripping from a tree trunk.
Stephen’s mechanization reaches ridiculous heights
We had an hour split relatively evenly between Catherine, Stephen and Jonathan, and it was exciting to jump from one version of this story to the next.
But most of this section consists of multiple grenades being thrown into the battlefield, so we know a confrontation between Catherine and Stephen is coming.
While Crane continues to gleefully play Stephen like a cartoon villain, the performance inspires some life and fun throughout the ordeal that leaves little to hold on to, or even disappears from.
It’s ridiculous to see this man wandering around a miserable home wearing tattered slippers and his late wife’s bug-infested cardigan while occasionally checking the glass on the counter for cockroaches for what feels like a lifetime.
His long game to execute this elaborate plan to destroy everything in Catherine’s world has begun, and he’s lost all sense of rationality in the process.
There are two things that make him lose his appeal as an entertainer for viewers to stick with the series.
The first example is his timid retreat into his oppressive home. When Catherine comes to talk to him, he avoids her and yells at her about anything important she has to say.
Is he so committed to this plan that he can’t face the woman he’s determined to destroy his life?
If he wanted to be a badass and take these giant leaps, why not tell that woman right then and there?
Of course, part of it was that she came to him at a time beyond his control, but why hadn’t he expected that?
Wouldn’t it be reasonable for Catherine to talk to him or something?
Of course the second point where he completely escapes the abyss is his catfishing move with Nicholas, just ruthlessly throwing a vulnerable guy into the abyss without even caring about the possible consequences.
As a school teacher, you might expect to show a hint of remorse or caution when dealing with another child, but Stephen’s complete disregard for the chaos he caused Nicholas was shocking.
Trying to record Stephen’s daily conversations with Nicholas via chat was enough to make me stop playing games on my phone and actually look at the screen.
Maybe this is progress.
Nicholas is a wet blanket but sympathetic in a way
Nicholas is a melancholy man and, frankly, it’s pathetic that he hangs on every word of a man he considers six years younger than him.
Did Nicholas have no other friends?
Is he still unemployed for a long time?
How could his entire world suddenly revolve around this random guy on social media so quickly?
It’s both confusing and sad, especially considering the conversations are so superficial and scattershot that they shouldn’t have any impact at all.
But Nicholas loved having a young man who looked up to him, even if it meant all they discussed was porn, girls and travel.
What moved me was that Stephen somehow convinced Nicholas to read this book that looked like a driver’s manual, and Nicholas did so.
It’s shocking that in this day and age not everyone considers themselves a reader, everyone in the field is just randomly reading this book or following it. Many people have the attention span of a mosquito and cannot focus on a book no matter what.
Stephen’s constant mention of the book felt like it should have made Nicholas realize something was amiss.
Once Nicholas realizes that Jonathan is actually dead and that someone else is messing with him, he probably shouldn’t believe more than what they say.
When we see Stephen stuffing Nicholas’s phone with sexy photos of his own mom masturbating, all thanks to a hilarious scene in Disclaimer’s sexy but dull double feature, it’s no wonder the kid is Trapped.
And, one would assume he had some sort of curiosity, and he might want to ask a few questions or solve a few problems before he stumbles over to the nearest trap house and shoots.
Disclaimer tries to make a lot of comments about society, sexism, trauma, and all that other stuff.
I get it; I do.
Disclaimer: Bad Communication Drama Feels Contrived
However, the series’ complete lack of communication feels so contrived that it obscures much of the show’s intentions.
Literally every scene in this series can be resolved or solved with a simple dialogue.
The characters have to work around them, continuing to push the plot into absurdity at every conceivable turn.
Nicholas actively avoids talking to his mother, for reasons we don’t know to the point of being frustrating.
Even the phone call with him sobbing into the phone in the trap house is annoying because it just stresses out Catherine and lets her know that something big is going on – something we need to move the plot forward.
When Stephen delivers this horrific message to Nicholas, Nicholas’ first priority is to fall back into his dangerous habits.
Now, thanks to the mechanization of a grieving father, whose life may hang in the balance, he conjures up what he felt in Italy through some photos on his son’s camera and the imagination of his late wife.
Robert remains the most frustrating, criticizing the deep misogyny and sexism that still prevails even within marriage.
Because he hasn’t allowed Katherine to talk since he got those pictures and just walked away with all these things that he thought happened.
It’s almost laughable that this bumbling clown would rather invite Stephen out to dinner to apologize and cut ties with his wife than have a reasonable conversation with her.
Catherine can solve many problems just by talking
This is not to say that Catherine herself is better.
She holds the phone and tries to talk to people, only to stutter and sigh and never get to the heart of what she wants to say, which doesn’t seem to help her career at all.
By now, we know she must have a worthwhile story, because Katherine’s story is not what Disclaimer offers us from multiple angles.
It doesn’t take much explanation to see that something else is going on in Italy. However, the waiting game to get to this point is tedious, and we see Catherine wringing her hands and stammering through dialogue rather than just speaking.
Even Catherine talking to her mother while she sleeps, telling her side of the story (from which we are excluded), is tiresome.
We see these poignant moments and words as she inevitably realizes that women can do such things, and you’re shocked to discover that this person you only know as “Mom” has a full, rich life, herself There are more stories about women than you know.
Again, this is a beautiful and poignant moment. There’s nothing better than realizing that your parents are actually human beings, too.
But it hung there, waiting to see if Nicholas could understand the same thing about his mother and what happened next in Italy.
Catherine shows even more firepower on the job when Stephen throws his bombs out there and makes them explode.
The community connections at Catherine’s work transcend emotion and reason
It’s not surprising that some people desire to know some disgusting things about people they admire.
But again, the entire scene takes place at Catherine’s job, which again is unbelievable.
Some random older man who one of her assistants thought was worse a pedophile, or someone who might have any number of cognitive issues or whatever, could vaguely mention the book and Catherine’s involvement in it, Is this a difficult fact?
With no one even questioning this or objecting to it, the situation loses legitimacy, no matter what type of comments there are about “not believing women” and no matter how easy it is to attack a person based on fabrication, speculation or rumor.
Hell, I’ve been on the receiving end of the latter, so I know it’s possible.
Disclaimer Not censored Catherine’s own prerogative
But I also know that, so far, the disclaimer doesn’t take advantage of Catherine’s own privilege either.
She was a wealthy Anglo-Saxon woman; there were many situations where she would have been at least presumed innocent, and time has completely obscured them.
Her boss publicly humiliating him in front of the entire team instead of pulling her aside for a meeting is a classic example of a situation where at least some people would be on her side.
The man kept grabbing her, and no one said anything, but it wasn’t until she pulled her arm away and hit him that it turned into a big scene.
All of this was based on speculation about a book that some of the stupid-looking people and bosses who confronted her admitted they hadn’t even read.
It would have been easier to live with if there had been an attempt to achieve more balance in this regard, but it’s a shame that the disclaimer leaves all the good stuff until the very end.
If only we could get there sooner.
Until then, over to you, disclaimer fanatics.
Can Catherine find Nicholas in time? Is it difficult for you to accept such limited and poor communication?
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