Reboot (1×08) Who’s The Boss? Review

For our review of last week’s episode of Reboot, click here.

Each episode of Reboot has delivered undeniable hilarity and incredibly poignant themes, and whilst the final episode does include some of this, Who’s The Boss? delivers a drastic tonal shift which still works. Every relationship and character moment has built up to this final episode, leading to an emotional end which may surprise a lot of audiences. More so considering how light-hearted the series has been thus far. This is by no means a knock against the series as it handles the deeper and more serious moments just as well as the uproarious comedy of which viewers have come to love about the series.

Who’s The Boss? sees a Hulu executive get fired and a replaced by a man named Tyler (Peter Gallagher) who is brought in to overlook the business. This leads to the cancellation of several series within the span of a day following his arrival. Gordon and Hannah aren’t very worried, at least not until Gordon finds out that the new exec is an old friend of Gordons. This does not bode well for the reboot of Step Right Up as Gordon risks the cancellation of the entire series insulting the exec.

This episode also features a few different B-plots, one being that Bree falsely mentions that her and Reed are back together and talking about having babies together in an interview. Most shockingly of all, however, is that this is the day Reed’s girlfriend decides to visit the set, leading to many moments that will no doubt cause countless viewers to cringe.

Secondly, Clay struggles to buy a house most notably because he doesn’t want to be the “old guy who shouts at kids to get off his lawn.” Knoxville is brilliant in this episode. Sure viewers have seen Clay’s emotional side over the course of the series but not like what he shows in this episode. There are moments where he is clearly struggling to not start drinking again after years of sobriety and Knoxville’s performance only enhances that.

Who’s The Boss? is certainly a departure to the rest of the series which is not necessarily a bad thing. Viewers have fallen in love with these characters over the course of the series which makes seeing how they all end up in this final episode pretty devastating as fans anxiously hope and wait to see where they all end up in a potential next season. The cast have consistently delivered brilliant comedic chops and the finale gives them all a chance to let their dramatic and emotional performances shine through. While they all delivered great performances, Knoxville certainly delivered a surprising and impactful emotional performance.

This season has proved that Reboot is a series that should not be missed as this final episode is merely the epitome of this. From the series’ brilliant and delicately-handled offensive comedy, its important themes, great cast, as well as some very impactful emotional moments, the series is easily one of the best TV comedies of 2022. Although Who’s The Boss? certainly isn’t the best episode of the series, it is undoubtedly its most emotional and important.

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Olly Dyche

Journalist, Writer, Film Critic and Professional Nerd. You will probably find Olly at the cinema chomping down on some popcorn and taking in the glorious visuals of the latest theatrical release.