A 'tepid' episode, using the old, "how do we save money on this season?" tactic of many clips, flashbacks, to earlier episodes, to make up the lion's share of the episode's visual content. Overall, this choice allows - and succeeds - in adding some more 'value' and detail to Bull's underlying story, by filling in a gap or two.
It seemed to me very intentional, both creating and seemingly dispensing through a mild, generated deliberately for us here, curiosity about our protagonist's past being linked to his present. Not an untypical technique, this works in the sense of emphasis that Bull's professional and personal experiences, as with any of us, have had significant impacts on whom he was as from a kid and young man, through whom he chose to be across his adulthood, and ending with the present.
The unfortunate things from my perspective are twofold. One, I didn't really feel like there was anything in the way of mundane or gripping and thus curious gaps to Bull's character and motivations prior to this episode, that it now answered, particularly as I had no profound or critical moment of "Aha! Now I get it!" while watching. A couple of "huh, seems plausible" kind of thoughts, but no stunning revelations. Two, most of the scenes used relied on fairly recent content, was my impression, so the plot progression was not advanced by introducing and referencing, or building in, new implications to much older past incidents or exchanges to conclude now 'differently' as to imoort and follow-on impacts. I don't specifically recall early season material, so maybe I am off base here, but if the intention was to create a nostalgia or summary and 'finishing up' emphasizing Bull's character development over time as particularly meaningful, this was only partially successful.
The writers could have used a broader, longer and wider set of influences to convince me better, I think, of their messages about Bull and the nature of maturing and weathering traumas thrust on us by circumstances beyond our control, throughout our lives. But apart from Siegert's stellar delivery of his role adding a star for me, nothing elevates this episode to move the needle further up than 6/10.
The ending is, if somewhat too predictably by then, ultimately fairly satisfying. Overall, my thought is that despite the cheap flashback method used, the episode's premise as to Bull's evolution from childhood, as a man, psychologist, trial scientist, boyfriend/lover, husband, brother, son, and father, is still engaging, if not action-packed nor riveting. This is a light, easy-to-watch episode, a tidying and filing type of enegagement as the series winds down. Worth watching, but won't make or break anything, I suspect, with regard to where the writers will lead us in the ulcoming final two episodes.
It seemed to me very intentional, both creating and seemingly dispensing through a mild, generated deliberately for us here, curiosity about our protagonist's past being linked to his present. Not an untypical technique, this works in the sense of emphasis that Bull's professional and personal experiences, as with any of us, have had significant impacts on whom he was as from a kid and young man, through whom he chose to be across his adulthood, and ending with the present.
The unfortunate things from my perspective are twofold. One, I didn't really feel like there was anything in the way of mundane or gripping and thus curious gaps to Bull's character and motivations prior to this episode, that it now answered, particularly as I had no profound or critical moment of "Aha! Now I get it!" while watching. A couple of "huh, seems plausible" kind of thoughts, but no stunning revelations. Two, most of the scenes used relied on fairly recent content, was my impression, so the plot progression was not advanced by introducing and referencing, or building in, new implications to much older past incidents or exchanges to conclude now 'differently' as to imoort and follow-on impacts. I don't specifically recall early season material, so maybe I am off base here, but if the intention was to create a nostalgia or summary and 'finishing up' emphasizing Bull's character development over time as particularly meaningful, this was only partially successful.
The writers could have used a broader, longer and wider set of influences to convince me better, I think, of their messages about Bull and the nature of maturing and weathering traumas thrust on us by circumstances beyond our control, throughout our lives. But apart from Siegert's stellar delivery of his role adding a star for me, nothing elevates this episode to move the needle further up than 6/10.
The ending is, if somewhat too predictably by then, ultimately fairly satisfying. Overall, my thought is that despite the cheap flashback method used, the episode's premise as to Bull's evolution from childhood, as a man, psychologist, trial scientist, boyfriend/lover, husband, brother, son, and father, is still engaging, if not action-packed nor riveting. This is a light, easy-to-watch episode, a tidying and filing type of enegagement as the series winds down. Worth watching, but won't make or break anything, I suspect, with regard to where the writers will lead us in the ulcoming final two episodes.
