Lucky Hank (1×06) The Arrival Review

For our review of the last episode of Lucky Hank, click here.

We’ve arrived at the moment we have all been waiting for. The episode title of The Arrival kind of gives it away but suffice it to say that before that, Hank has to overcome his own childhood trauma. However, said arrival could potentially go a long way in helping though the next step was up to him. That being said, he wasn’t the only one with issues to resolve. In the end, perhaps with distance came perspective as Hank took some time away from Railton to attend a regional academic conference that he found mostly irrelevant with Tony in what was essentially him avoiding his problems. The ultimate result was the opposite. As he often did, Hank found a way to make it worse. Meanwhile, with Hank away also meant perspective for Lily who was not alone in her endeavor as she played a part in Julie’s own marital issues with Russell, amounting to a mirror of sorts and an interesting dichotomy. While there was plenty of drama to be had, it barely holds a candle to the final scene as Bob Odenkirk continues to bring it with another strong effort.

The episode did not waste time in confirming what viewers were waiting for and that was the return of Hank’s father, William Devereaux Sr. (Tom Bower). However, Hank wasn’t ready to face him. Despite that, his mother urged him to see his father while he still could as he threatened to leave Railton because of the earlier threatening message he left on his phone. Instead of facing him, Hank decided to go to the conference with Tony after all but once there, he had no intention in taking it seriously. The whole conference was a commentary on the idea of relevancy in today’s day and age. Still thinking about his father, he unsurprisingly had miserable time. Having Gracie there as well of course didn’t help either. A notable moment occurred when he had his sights set on a woman with what appeared to be impure intention though in reality, was revealed to have a connection to his father. She merely was a character witness. Slighting Tony also made thing worse.

After a fight with Russell, Julie retreated to Lily and was ready to go with her to New York City. However, Lily took it upon herself to settle her daughter down. Forcing Julie and Russell to talk to each other to settle their issues backfired and made for some uncomfortable territory for Lily as she was reminded of her own issues.

As Hank and Lily reunited, they felt better about their own marriage. Gifted with perspective, Hank was ready to move forward but before he could truly move forward, he had to confront his father. In what was the most heartbreaking scene of the series thus far, he tried to get closure. However, something was wrong. As he realized that his father suffered from what seemed like dementia and that he probably wasn’t going to get the closure he was looking for, he broke down. The sheer look of sadness on Odenkirk’s face as Hank while it was happening is an image that is going to be hard to forget. The layers of pain and regret in that expression was masterful. Delivering his best performance of the series in the last episode, this scene alone arguably challenges that work. The conference scenes may have been silly for the most part, they still played a vital role as the writing that has slowly but surely been fleshing out the character of Hank over now six episodes, as well as Odenkirk’s performances, have been something to behold.

still courtesy of AMC Networks

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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.