Review:  Enlightened – Season 1 Finale, Episode 10 – “Burn It Down”

Air date: Monday, December 12 at 9:30pm ET/PT on HBO

Rating:  ★★★★★

Levi (Luke Wilson) finally issues the SOS Amy (Laura Dern) has been waiting for and Damon (Charles Esten) grants Amy the opportunity to present her research findings at a meeting with her former group. Amy views the presentation as her ticket back to her old team. As personal and work-related conflicts hit a boiling point in ”Burn It Down”, will Levi agree to get the help he needs?

Amy jeopardizes her current job for the chance to present her research to her former group.

Will the presentation offer Amy a way back to her old department? Or will the ever strong-willed Amy figure out an alternate way to pave her own future?

“Burn It Down” has a strong and unusual beginning.  Levi desperately wants to speak to Amy at 3:00 AM but instead of waiting for the Jellico women to open up the door; he kicks it down/knocks it down to get in their house. The scene sets the stage of the rest of the episode as we are taken into a journey of familiar scenarios but this time we go deeper into conflicts and the outcomes are not necessarily what we are used to seeing in the show. There are little twists and turns waiting for us at different intervals.

Wilson’s portrayal of a broken down Levi is heartbreaking and endearing as the man finally accepts he’s in dire need of help. Once again he proves his talent for sarcastic humor but shows there’s so much more in his acting range that is yet to be tapped.  The whole sequence comes down ultimately in that Levi want to die and Amy is happy to quickly ship him off to her treatment facility in Hawaii.  Before his departure, Dern and Wilson share a touching moment in which they finally outwardly express the bond their characters share.  As I’ve stated before, Levi is the most functioning addict I know in television and very wisely cautions Amy to lower her expectations about his recovery. Amy hears him but I’m unsure if she’s able to process the warning.

Amy remembers a conversation she had with Tyler (Mike White) regarding how he hacked into a love interest’s email account. She’s a dreamer, naïve and impulsive but Amy is no dummy: she knows she needs proof to bring the “boys club” down.  Accessing everyone’s email may just give her that power. It will interesting to see where this goes because just like Amy explains to Tyler, they can come out looking like heroes and whistleblowers or may find themselves out of work.

Amy searches for evidence to bring the ‘boys club’ down by hacking their emails accounts.

I don’t often comment on the music on this show but in this one I must as Mark Motherbaugh did a great job. I loved how the final “burning” scenes were wonderfully framed and fueled by the intensity of the opera music. The addition of the popular “Rolling in Deep” by Adele is right on target as the song’s lyrics tie well into Amy’s frame of mind for the finale: lighting up a fire sure brings people out of the darkness.

I have to confess I have a hard time dealing with self-inflicted gloom and doom scenarios in both real life or in fiction.  I realize it’s my own issue and as a consequence, there have been times where Amy’s actions, especially impulsive ones, have made me cringe. There were moments in “Burn it Down” that were starting to make me feel that way again but seeing how Amy didn’t always react in her usual manner or stopped herself from making bad decisions made it easier. I like seeing Amy unwilling to be a conformist and challenging the status quo.  I’m not so sure how this is going to work out next season. The creative team of Dern and White have left themselves open to multiple plot points to carry over and exploit next season.

From an overall standpoint, HBO and the White/Dern team deserve recognition for venturing out into uncharted territory with this series.  Enlightened addresses subjects and emotions that can be uncomfortable to deal with but they’re treated in a realistic, creative and empowering manner. I’ve enjoyed seeing Amy evolve from a self-conscious woman to a confident and more self-aware woman and I look forward to seeing how those factors play up in Season 2.

Stay connected with Enlightened by visiting: http://www.hbo.com/#/enlightened.

LIKE Enlightened on Facebook, at: http://www.facebook.com/enlightenedHBO.

Photo © 2011 HBO. All Rights Reserved.