In 2013, I felt Double Crossers was one of the weaker episodes of season 4. Parts of it, such as George Sr. becoming more feminine, and the drag of Michael being a producer, still don't quite speak to me much. There are definitely some better exchanges; Lucille, for a second lovingly reflecting on GOB being better than given credit for, then reacting to the "magical abilities" part; and GOB not having an older sense of purpose.
What's particularly striking about this episode now, or season 4 generally, is the talk of building a wall on the Mexican border. Back then, it was ADish silliness, a play on memories of the Berlin Wall and the xenophobic stupidity of neo-conservatives in the Herman Cain vein (portrayed as Herbert Love). Back then, we could chuckle, knowing the possibility of actually building one and bringing in hostile foreigners (a Mongol horde) to do it was nonsense. "Build this wall!" the crowd shouts at the end, to keep out the Mexicans. Now, in 2017, we're seeing a person ascending to the presidency elevated by identical chants. And, he's selling shop to national enemies to do it- not Mongol gangsters, but Vladimir Putin. It all seems perceptive and prescient, now, in a dark way. But we can now appreciate, on a new level, the pre-emptive satire on the total fraud of it; videotaping a truck going around a building portraying it as a wall just about sums up a president who's openly cheated on every tax return and pretends to be the sword of the little guy. Claiming you can build an American wall in Mexico (in this episode) is also just about as stupid as claiming you can build an American wall with Mexican money (in real life). Future audiences will be confused to no end as to whether this episode was made during or after Obama's presidency. So thanks, Mitchell Hurwitz, Dean Lorey and Richard Rosenstock, for your whimsical joke that turned out to be a warning we didn't think we should take seriously about what is now our living hell. Funny.
What's particularly striking about this episode now, or season 4 generally, is the talk of building a wall on the Mexican border. Back then, it was ADish silliness, a play on memories of the Berlin Wall and the xenophobic stupidity of neo-conservatives in the Herman Cain vein (portrayed as Herbert Love). Back then, we could chuckle, knowing the possibility of actually building one and bringing in hostile foreigners (a Mongol horde) to do it was nonsense. "Build this wall!" the crowd shouts at the end, to keep out the Mexicans. Now, in 2017, we're seeing a person ascending to the presidency elevated by identical chants. And, he's selling shop to national enemies to do it- not Mongol gangsters, but Vladimir Putin. It all seems perceptive and prescient, now, in a dark way. But we can now appreciate, on a new level, the pre-emptive satire on the total fraud of it; videotaping a truck going around a building portraying it as a wall just about sums up a president who's openly cheated on every tax return and pretends to be the sword of the little guy. Claiming you can build an American wall in Mexico (in this episode) is also just about as stupid as claiming you can build an American wall with Mexican money (in real life). Future audiences will be confused to no end as to whether this episode was made during or after Obama's presidency. So thanks, Mitchell Hurwitz, Dean Lorey and Richard Rosenstock, for your whimsical joke that turned out to be a warning we didn't think we should take seriously about what is now our living hell. Funny.
