“I want to be with the man who doesn’t have the heart to go through with it.”
Phil Miller’s (Tandy’s) characterization has been shaky the entire season, oftentimes relying on him being a full-on asshole in order to wring comedy out of various situations. Recently, however, the show’s been improving upon the writing of his character, and that’s on full display in “Screw the Moon”, the funny and satisfying season one finale. It’s a great way to end the season, and it certainly has me looking forward to season two.
Because I have to get up quite early tomorrow morning, this review will be short, but I’d like to touch on a few things here. It’s fitting that Phil would have to leave Tucson, because frankly, he’s done quite a few unforgivable things throughout the season. One of the marks of character development is a facing of the consequences, and we see that in this finale when Phil Miller leaves him in the desert; this is the result of a season’s worth of build-up, and even Todd can’t handle it anymore, blurting out Phil’s plan to a listening room of people.
And when Carol shows up to rescue Phil, it’s even more fitting because the show’s returning to its central relationship. These two just fit together nicely, and that scene between them in the desert is actually a very poignant moment. We get the sense that they’re really going to get to know each other now, that Phil’s going to cut the bullshit he’s been pulling the whole season. You can make up your identity all you want, but in the end, it’s going to come back to bite you. In a post-apocalyptic world, accepting who you are and who you were is paramount to staying tethered to reality.
GRADE: B+
SEASON GRADE: B+
OTHER THOUGHTS:
-The “Leaving on a Jet Plane” scene is pretty sweet. I also really like the final moment between Todd and Melissa.
-Being stuck in space is bad enough, but being stuck in space post-apocalypse? Yikes. Anyway, looking forward to what Jason Sudeikis can bring to the show. Maybe Pete Twinkle and Greg Stink?
-So, where do we go from here? Are we going to see any of the other characters again, or is it mainly going to be Phil and Carol finding others? Or, will Jason Sudeikis crash land on the planet and bring them up to space, therefore leading to them exploring the universe and finding aliens? Who knows.
-I really enjoyed this season. It had its flaws–I was kind of disappointed it became an ensemble comedy after only a few episodes–but it wound up being a very funny and very entertaining show to watch.
Photo credit: FOX, The Last Man On Earth
Polar Bears Watch TV 
What an up and down season. I love the concept and the first few episodes seemed like a great start. Then Phil just became too much of an ass and it became a little difficult to watch. I didn’t really like how fast the cast expanded either, but I think that is more forgivable. And then I sort of liked the way it finished the past few episodes. The end of the finale was particularly good. I loved the final Phil/Carol scene. I remember seeing Jason Sudeikis in that photo with Phil (in the pilot I think?). So I figured he was his brother and was waiting for him to show up. I look forward to seeing how he plays a part in Season 2.
Yeah, they were really treading water there with Phil’s characterization. I feel like that maaaybe could’ve been helped a bit by doling out the cast at a slower rate, but yeah, at least they improved on that at the end.