Review: “Conspiracy Theory” (2.10)

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When the first season of Review ended, Forrest McNeil was running into the streets after his ex-wife Suzanne, leaving the world of the show behind. Of course, he would return, which was great for us, but terrible for him. Forrest’s life has been destroyed thoroughly during the course of the show, and especially this season. What the season two finale, “Conspiracy Theory,” sets out to do is pinpoint just how things got so bad, and the end result is fantastic.

There is only really one review in this episode, and it is dedicated to believing in a conspiracy theory. After a brief visit to a Matt Besser-hosted lecture about the illuminati, the interdimensional Nazi sasquatches among them, Forrest takes a moment to look inward, and to think about the show. Until this moment, he had always assumed that his misfortunes, were dumb, random bad luck. (The episode is almost an ersatz clip show because we see a lot of the major moments of the season as Forrest thinks about them.) Then he really starts to think about it, and how awful so many of the things he’s asked to do is, and how many of them almost killed him. At this point, Forrest has fallen into a conspiracy theory. Namely, Grant, his producer, is trying to kill him.

At first, Forrest’s alarm makes sense. He breaks into Grant’s office and finds his fish oil supplements and his weird magazines of old medical equipment, but he also finds a list of all the reviews submitted to the show. Were all these awful reviews truly random? Or did Grant, say, want Forrest to kill somebody for the show? As Forrest worries, he grows increasingly unhinged, and heads to where all conspiracy theorists end up: a motel room where he can fill the walls with photos.

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Forrest has gotten to a degree of truth in his ideas. Grant has been shown to care primarily about ratings, and not to care about Forrest as a person. He is a sleaze, and he is definitely partially responsible for Forrest’s woes. He could have stepped in many times, but he never has. Of course, Forrest digs deeper into his theory. He starts to wonder if Grant is messing with the results. How does a rowboat trip turn into months lost at sea? However, Forrest’s myopia becomes clear when he remembers his father’s house burning down. As his drawing clearly indicates, Forrest feels that the fire extinguisher was purposefully placed too high for him to reach. Then you remember he was walking around on his knees to find out what it’s like to be a little person, and, at any point, he could have stood up. Forrest and Grant have both been conspiring to destroy Forrest’s life. Forrest just doesn’t realize it.

Other people realize it, of course, particularly Suzanne, who Forrest visits in a fervor. Once Forrest tips over the edge, Daly gives an excellent, unhinged performance. Of course, praise for Daly’s performance is a given at this point, but he was particularly good in “Conspiracy Theory.” Suzanne tries to speak truth to Forrest, to try and make him see that his own selfishness is his main problem. Instead, Forrest ends up digging deeper into his theory until he is presuming that Grant used to be Gretchen, a girl who was in love with Suzanne in college.

Eventually Forrest confronts Grant in his swanky house, but Grant is, as expected, calm and calculating. He is able to break through the bubble a bit. Forrest’s reviews are generally so harrowing because people aren’t interested in mundane stuff. They want Forrest to live the experiences they fear or are curious about. For what greater fear is there than the fear of eating 30 pancakes? Also, Grant grew up as a boy in the “delightfully named” Sandwich, Massachusetts. Of course, Grant also repositions himself so the camera can see Forrest’s tears while the two hug, so he’s not exactly a noble man.

Forrest’s fears have been assuaged, conspiracy theory is given a half-star, and all is well. Then Forrest’s next review topic is what it’s like to be hunted, and it comes from Sandwich, Massachusetts. This sets Forrest over the edge, and he starts to believe everybody is trying to kill him. So he flees, again, but it doesn’t end there. He’s stopped on a bridge by Grant, who is trying to keep him on the show. Then the man hunting Forrest shows up, and Forrest decides the only thing to do is throw himself and Grant off the bridge into the river below. A moment too late, he finds out it’s not a real gun.

Review is always an ambitious show, but this is a particularly ambitious, interesting episode. It’s basically an episode about the show, about Forrest, more than any previous episode. It’s thematically rich, and it ends with maybe two major characters dead. The show always seemed destined to kill Forrest, but Grant, in all his ambition, may have gone down with it.

“Conspiracy Theory” is reminiscent of the Sherlock Holmes story “The Final Problem,” which Sir Arthur Conan Doyle intended to put the Holmes series to rest. In the story, Holmes throws himself and Professor Moriarty, his archenemy, off the Reichenbach Falls. It was an ultimate sacrifice to rid the world of its most nefarious criminal. Not that Forrest, or Grant, is Sherlock Holmes. They are, at best, two bumbling Moriartys accidentally slipping on some wet rock and falling off a waterfall. What’s most relevant, though, is that Doyle eventually brought back Holmes, his death being only temporary. This would make a great, fitting final episode of Review, but it doesn’t have to be that.

Indeed, the episode ends, as the first season did, with A.J. in the hosting role. She says that Forrest and Grant are missing, but she hopes they are floating down the river, putting an end to their squabbles. A.J. gives being hunted six stars. This is particularly cruel, in its accidental way. After all, earlier this season, Forrest refused to give a six star review on Review, because then none of the rules matter, and this has all been for naught. Then A.J. just gleefully gives something six stars, thereby making Forrest’s greatest fears come true. A.J. then signs off with her own life-affirming view. You know, in a way A.J. seems just as deluded as Forrest in her bubbly positivity. It’s less destructive delusion, but delusion nevertheless.

This isn’t A.J.’s show, though. It’s Forrest’s, and he was willing to die for it, and he just may have.

Chris Morgan is not the author of THE book on Mystery Science Theater 3000, but he is the author of A book on Mystery Science Theater 3000. He’s also on Twitter.