'Guilt' Exits with a Delinquent Whimper
After two seasons and a whole lot of waiting and hype... well, that was a lot of build-up for nothing. The series finale of Scottish fan favorite Guilt opts for the least exciting outcomes in nearly all the story threads, and much of that can be attributed to the decision to use conversation to drive the plot. The finale is weighed down by too much dialogue and not enough action. Didn’t they learn the golden rule of storytelling? Show, don’t tell.
To wit, the episode opens with Maggie monologuing; she’s a very classic villain in that sense and loves to speechify. She’s prepared to take her enemies head on if they dare. She’s been a great foe and we expect a showdown. We won’t get one.
Sheila squares off against Max, tossing out a line that sounds important but means nothing: “Beginnings are where you find the endings.” What irks me the most about the intensifying threads is they feel significant, but the payoff isn’t sufficient. It implies something more substantial is in the works, but by the end, things fizzle out disappointingly. It’s like they wanted to write a caper but forgot the heist. It all happens on paper and off-screen when it comes down to stealing the money. It’s cerebral theft. There’s a way to make white-collar crime dramatic, and this isn’t it.
