***Spoilers Ahead***
Release the Hounds
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| Will Forte (center). Photo: Kevin Estrada/FOX |
Todd has always been a captivating character on The Last Man on Earth. While he maintains a mature and cheerful attitude, that behavior immediately flies out the window whenever he meets a setback. While he has faced problems in the past, nothing has affected him to a similar caliber as the events of 'Release the Hounds'. Overall, this episode builds serious conflict only to knock it all down before the outing is over. Because of that, 'Release the Hounds' can almost be classified as a filler episode.
In the A-plot, Carol and Tandy can't keep their hands off each other. The story is simplistic and mainly focuses on the hilarious interactions between Schaal and Forte to drive the storyline. Ultimately, there are many enjoyable moments peppered throughout. Their sex scene stands out as a particularly amusing one. Carol's awkward analogies during these sessions help add to their ridiculously hilarious nature. Despite the comedy, the story is mainly meant to introduce the plot point that Carol is pregnant. The writers insert this detail through an extremely sloppy time jump. Considering that time moves very slowly in the series, it felt strange to jump forward into the future during a single scene transition. This made the second half of the episode feel rushed and rather confusing.
In the episode's second story, Todd falls into a deep depression after Erica rejects his idea for them to make a baby. Because of this, he ends up growing a beard and playing with a train set. On its own, it's not a bad concept and reminiscent of Melissa's struggles with mental illness in the third season. But, everything is undone when Erica inevitable agrees during the installment's final moments. If the writers had made an arc out of the Todd plot, it would've felt worthwhile. But, it ended up being nothing more than filler. While Rodriguez demolishing his train set was one of the main highlights of the episode, the plot felt futile and meaningless.
In closing, 'Release the Hounds' is a fairly uninteresting episode. Aside from introducing Carol's pregnancy and Erica's decision, it hardly has any substance to offer. Additionally, the time jump felt awkward and Jasper was not seen or heard from despite being a prominent character. Nevertheless, adding a new (or old) person to the cast should help revive things once more
Stray Thoughts
- Jasper was missing in action. They should seriously check in on him.
- The person at the end has to be Mike.
- The episode's title has some funny origins.
Grade: C+
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