Welcome to Chippendales (1×08) Switzerland Review

For our review of the last episode of Welcome to Chippendales, click here.

After how the last episode went, it was only a matter of time until Banerjee faced some consequences for his actions but a five-year time jump sure made things weird here in what technically works as a finale but it also could have been so much more than it was. One thing that would have helped was at least one more episode in between last week’s episode and this one to fill some of the gaps. With seemingly no one left, Banerjee had his repressed guilt and regret to deal with as he attempted to move forward with his still profitable company that viewers now know came at a great cost.

Now in Switzerland, Banerjee was incredibly paranoid about being followed but despite this, he agreed to meet up with Ray who he had tasked to do something in London. As they reminisced about to good days, it was clear that something wasn’t right. Ray’s motivation to keep the conversation became clear when he was revealed to be an informant for the FBI who were indeed following Banerjee. In lieu of concrete evidence connecting him to De Noia’s murder, they opted to get a confession. Banerjee tasked Ray to kill a trio of former dancers now working at a rival club. However, Ray couldn’t get himself to do it which disappointed Banerjee. The end of a great scene between Kumail Nanjiani and Robin de Jesus came to an end when a frustrated Banerjee finally blurted out that he tasked Ray to facilitate the hiring of a hit man to kill De Noia thus leading to his eventual arrest.

Agreeing to surrender Chippendales to Irene were something happened to him in Banerjee’s divorce agreement, he believed it would be safe with her. However, being the target of a R.I.C.O. case, it would all go away if he was convicted. Sitting in a cell allowed him plenty of time for reflection on his past and future as a person from his past offered him some tough but fair perspective. Nanjiani was stellar here as well with Murray Bartlett returning as the ghost of Nick De Noia ironically delivers his best performance in the series.

For those unfamiliar with the true story which Welcome to Chippendales is based, the end might come as a shock as Banerjee’s way out was to hang himself in his cell just hours before he was to be sentenced for what could have been life in prison. As a result, Irene, who was since out of the picture, got the company. Meanwhile, whatever happened to Denise is unknown as she got written off by the time jump. Though the end was strong, the lack of a proper build-up lessened the impact of that moment as his motivations for doing so weren’t as well-established as they could have been. Again, focusing on the destination rather than the journey there, those lost moments can make a big difference. That being said, having only 8 episodes to do it does also play a part in that. It’s a common issue with limited series as some stories warrant a longer format to do them justice while some would benefit more as a limited series. That issue won’t be resolved anytime soon but one can’t help but still think about that while watching this one.

*still courtesy of Hulu*

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.