Season 1 – Summer of Rockets

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Greg D @RT14379606 07/16/2022 I have a hypothesis that the last episode was re-cut with scenes that were shot at a later time after the original filming, because the ending 1.) doesn't make any sense, and 2.) there are a couple of scenes that begin with two actors in the same room, but then with an abrupt cut the scene is suddenly reframed so that we never see both actors in the same shot again. And these scenes are curiously exposition-heavy. Spoilers below. In the final cut, Antony has disappeared because he disagreed with family politics, turning Sasha's whole school arc into a red herring along with the disappearing "Missing" posters, the improbably-mum neighbors, and Paul Ledbury's pregnant observation that "Antony's parents had NO IDEA what he was really into." It turns out Antony was really into tofu and mock chicken. Is this really the kind of secret that would convince Antony's former schoolmaster and buddies to withhold information about his whereabouts from his parents. "I'm sorry Mrs. Shaw, Antony won't see you until you and Richard try cashew cheez." It seems pretty clear that up until about 15 minutes from the end of the series, we are all of the understanding that Antony is in hiding for something he did or something he knows, and by episode 6 it seems like perhaps that hiding is a form of witness protection. There would have been a very tidy ending around this idea. Mrs. Shaw, being not privy to the husband's machinations, is happy to have found Antony working at the vegetarian hotel, but Mr. Shaw shows up with a couple of thugs to spirit Antony away back home and hold him in his room because Antony was responsible for leaking details of the coup plot to MI-5, and has been in witness protection. That would explain why, when Petrukhin makes the call to Mrs. Shaw in his office with Field from MI-5 at the desk and he repeats out loud that Antony has been found and he's calling himself "David," Field makes a concerned and surprised expression. He knows Antony's arrangement. In the final cut, though, Field's look doesn't mean anything. In school, then, Sasha and the headmaster are connecting over their concern for Antony. In the final cut, the headmaster simply explains that Antony was concerned about animal welfare and nothing else happens. I imagine that in the original version, the headmaster reveals some detail to Sasha that allows Sasha to recontextualize something that Mrs. Shaw said to him, or something he saw at the house or in the garden, and realize that the Shaws are not seeking Antony out of concern for his safety, but because he knows something that would be damaging to the family. Then the headmaster reveals the good news that Antony has returned home, though he appears to be calling himself "David." Then obviously MI-5 denies knowing where Antony is to Petrukhin and has the men in the blue car tear down Antony's missing posters and has sworn all of Antony's neighbors and co-workers to silence. Petrukhin goes to the secret meeting to collect evidence, and separately MI-5 is trying to figure out how to extract "David" without blowing up the meeting. Maybe Sasha calls home and talks to Hannah, saying that "David" didn't want to be found, he's in trouble, he knows about something in the woods or the gardens that the Shaws don't want anyone to know about. This triggers Hannah to remember details of the drawings that she saw with Esther and recontextualize what they saw. The vegetarian manifesto is there, sure, but what about the city itself? Maybe it's some record of the details of a coup plot or some way of surreptitiously recording names and locations, etc., that he could later reveal to MI-5 as a whistleblower. Hannah knows that "David" has been recovered and that her father is at the Shaw's house right now, so she makes a call that takes her father out of the meeting to warn him that "David" is Antony and he is in danger, and don't trust Mrs. Shaw. Petrukhin, having a terrible poker face, blows his cover in trying to reach "David." Petrukhin is in danger, and Grandma, who has been listening in on the phone line with her new hearing aid, realizes that she has been kept out of the secrets of the house. She confronts "David" about what is going on and tries to set him free again with some money and a gun to protect himself. However, life-loving Antony can't countenance the idea that Petrukhin is in danger over a confession that he himself made, and wants to spring Petrukhin on his way out. But when he finds Petrukhin, Mr. MI-5 is about to dispatch him. With no time for reflection, Antony has to choose to take a life to save Petrukhin or allow Petrukhin's life to be taken, and he chooses to shoot Mr. MI-5. Petrukhin and Antony attempt to escape but the way is barred by Mrs. Shaw--with a gun. "It could have been perfect between us, Samuel!" she cries, waving the gun at Petrukhin, "If you hadn't been such a fool!" She cocks the hammer and begins to squeeze the trigger as Antony cries "No!" And just at that moment Field pistol-whips Keeley Hawes to the ground and ushers Antony and Petrukhin into a waiting get-away vehicle. Surely that's what the original plot was. I'm not sure why it was recut to make less sense. See more Read all reviews

Summer of Rockets — Season 1

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