Dirk Gently 207: That is Not Miami
*Warning: Review Contains Spoilers
Flashbacks to the 1950’s highlight the horrors the Cardenas faced raising the boy all those years ago. Able to manifest his dreams into reality, the boy unwittingly terrorized his parents and may have led to their untimely demise. That is Not Miami is another uneven episode of Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. While it does reunite several characters, reveal some of the details of the mystery surrounding the boy and has a decent battle scene, some of the slower bits involving Dirk and the Beast aren’t as effective as the rest of the narrative.
Arnold’s death and the massacre at the hospital has Dirk’s confidence in a downward spiral once again. Burdened by the guilt of causing people to die, Dirk refuses to believe that it’s possible to connect all of the loose and seemingly unrelated fragments of the case. The cloud over Dirk’s head leads him to contemplate quitting altogether.
Shifting the balance of the narrative to Wendimoor risks running what’s left of the season off the rails. I mentioned a couple of reviews ago that some of the elements of the child inspired realm of Wendimoor marred otherwise good episodes. Less Bufuki Napu and more Bart, scissor swordplay and the relationship between Silas and Panto would be welcome. Unfortunately That is Not Miam suffers from this problem with the unfortunate scenes with Dirk and the Beast that offers him burgers from a bush and wants to make them into a couple. The one benefit from these scenes is Dirk’s discovery of a new set of drawings and some answers surrounding the whereabouts of the boy.
Amanda looks to bring an end to the conflict between the Trosts and Dengamors by bringing Farsom back to his mother. They’re intercepted by Pinky Panto’s sister, Litzibitz and her crew and after some witty banter they set off to reunite Farsom with his brother Silas. The meeting brings Todd and Amanda together and after some explanations and a glimmer of hope between the two parties everything falls apart when the Trosts and Dengamoor clans show up to do battle.
All out war ensues and the casualty rate is high. Complicating matters is Suzie’s appearance in Wendimoor. She finally assumes her place as the main villain – every fairy tale needs a wicked witch doesn’t it? Now responsible for leaving a trail of destruction in both dimensions, Suzie is poised to take center stage as Season 2 marches to the end. That’s a good thing as this season hasn’t had the same stakes as Season 1. While the snippets of the boy’s arrival and life with the Cardenas come across as quite dark and out of step with a show like Dirk Gently, some of the scenes in Wendimoor are far too light. More of a balance now that we’re in the final act wold be welcome to help bring this season to a satisfactory conclusion.
