The Last Rydell Resort, Part 1

Before I went into writing, I spent a good deal of my time working on the AIO Wiki. One of my undoubtedly most significant projects was breaking down the plot of Rydell Revelations, a part of the saga I believed had an immense impact on the story. No doubt, my opinions on it launched me into web creation for the first time. Three and a half years later, I am presented with a re-visit of those moments in a world drastically different from the one in which Rydell Revelations aired. The saga behind it has most certainly fallen apart, and this is most certainly the last stance of the driving force behind the formerly acclaimed Rydell saga in an attempt to restore its face in the public eye once and for all. Numerous times have I sat down to do an in-depth analysis of the saga; however, every time, I am rudely interrupted by the duties of life. This, however, is too paramount to ignore. So, step along with me as we gather around the radio to hear Rydell out one last time.

Music

Opening up the episodes with leitmotifs from the iconic Rydell Revelations soundtrack, as well as including them in Emily’s conversation with Whit, is an obvious artistic choice that is excellently placed and reflects that Emily never truly recovered from the incidents that, for us, occurred before the pandemic. Many musical callbacks like this happen throughout the episode, and Jared DePasquale never misses, which is why this episode’s music gets a solid five stars.

Making

I’m going to focus on the plot of this episode. Which TL;DR is pretty good. Every note I made was made as I listened to the episode, and because this is a reaction/review post, I’ll refine my notes here in the order I made them. The opening felt more natural, reminiscent of an early Novacom or Blackgaard episode, which holds up the plot nicely. In my As Buck Would Have It, Part One review, I mentioned that Chekhov’s Gun always plays a role in major AIO episodes like this one, and the payoff happened again for every detail. Everything else was delivered as well. The acting was excellent among six now-renowned actors and a seventh who performed her new role exceptionally. Speaking of which, I was able to instantly detect the suspicious nature of Carli(???)’s character and the fact that there was no way Carly(???) Doppelhoopenmeyer was a real name. The flashback scene displayed the unique side of Morrie’s character with a soft side, and as the kids would say, he has some serious rizz. The episode is able to pull off the suspense AIO has been lacking lately. Because of this, Making also earns five stars.

Emotional weight

As I just mentioned, the episode executed impressive levels of suspense as this three-parter unfolds. For once in a while, I am highly anticipating next week’s episode. Little bits of comic relief add to the episode’s emotional quality, such as Whit’s rib-jabbing of Morrie’s new supposed love interest and Morrie’s immediate reference to Whit as “the only senior citizen he knows.” However, it definitely isn’t enough to warrant three perfect categories, so for that reason, this section earns 4.5 stars.

Moral

The moral direction this three-parter is going in poses a question to fans as much as Emily. That question to all of us is this: “Is 100% blind, deserved justice more important than forgiveness?” If you ask God that question about humanity, the answer is “love.” This part of The Rydell Saga, which is more “The Jones Saga,” has recently been asking the same question. We can’t take all the sins we’ve committed and have been forgiven from, turn away, and claim another person (or, as a fan, fiction person) doesn’t deserve that grace from us, which is Whit’s message to Emily at the beginning of this. Of course, it doesn’t mean we excuse it or even forget it; it is simply taking that love that Paul describes in Romans 5:8 and transferring it to someone else. I’m intrigued by how the next two episodes will run with this idea, but because of this still-unfinished lesson, this category earns four stars.

The Bottom Line: This episode series can carry on as a top-tier episode or sabotage itself in its director’s own sanctimoniousness. Rydell Revelations went with the second option. This episode is its redemption and final hope and will be the definite transition from Morrie and his sister as mainstream characters, even more so than they have been in the 2023 season already, meaning the future of Odyssey will be permanently affected by the stigma around these next two episodes. I braced for this episode’s continuation of a negative message and haphazard quality, but surprisingly, it did not disappoint me. Let’s hope it does it again two more times. For now, I’m Don, signing off.