Jan 24 2009
Crusoe Winds Up for Finale
*SPOILER ALERT* Tonight’s episode of Crusoe leaves us hanging in a cliffhanger before the season/series finale next Saturday. The incredibly evil Blackthorn (Sam Neill) washes up on shore after his running boat is destroyed on the reefs, killing the other two passengers. Crusoe (Philip Winchester) and Friday (Tongai Chirisa) of course rescue and care for him, blind to the snake that he is. Well, Crusoe is blind, but Friday’s not so easily fooled. I wish Crusoe would listen to Friday’s instincts a little more, but it’s understandable that it would be hard to suspect someone you’ve spent your whole life trusting. But he should have been a little more suspicious about Blackthorn’s vague answers about his wife and where she was living.
The bit of news that totally threw me was that Crusoe’s father isn’t really his father. This is complete irony, as so many viewers have commented on the astounding likeness between Sean Bean and Philip Winchester. It seems crazy to go to such trouble only to have them not actually be related–unless their intent was to completely shock us with the revelation, which I suppose they succeeded. This seems to be setting up a sort of fairytale ending, whereby Crusoe is heir to a large fortune. Unfortunately the proof of his parentage lies in his family bible that Blackthorn “accidentally” left back at the treehouse.
The cliffhanger leaves us with Crusoe and Friday running towards their “rescuers” camped on the beach. This is one of those times Crusoe needed a telescope to observe the rescue party, because I would think once he saw his brother-in-law he would know something bad was afoot. Although it looks like Friday was somewhat prepared for a fight with his gun at the ready…we’ll have to see what happens.
*MINOR SPOILER FOR NEXT WEEK’S FINALE* Actually, this is only a possible spoiler. NBC lists the summary for next week’s Crusoe finale and in the credits, Sean Bean’s name is listed. This could be just a flashback scene, of course, but could it be that Blackthorn was lying about Daddy Crusoe being gone? I’m not getting my hopes up, considering Sean Bean’s record in this area, but it’d be a nice surprise if he does turn up one more time.
And remember, all you Google searchers looking for “Philip Winchester shirtless” (and there are a lot of you, I’ve noticed), next week is your last chance to get a view of this toned beautiful man with his shirt off–and it may only be the familiar credits shot that runs every week.
Of course you can always visit the Shrine to Actors to see some of those shirtless screencaps…
Tune in to NBC next Saturday at 8/7c for the final episode of Crusoe.
