Mikes Film Talk

You, Me and the Apocalypse: End of Days finishes on a pretty impressive cliffhanger. The whole bit about mum’s monkey leaves us dangling. This, despite Sky’s assertion that the story ended on a conclusive note. in reality, it is pretty mind boggling almost as much  as Mum Sutton (Diana Rigg) and the aforementioned monkey.  

Quite a lot happens in the show’s final episode and it appears that Jamie may really be the “son of God,” after all.

Although we will now never know what Jude’s role in all this was, or whether or not he would have returned from the dead in a second season.  Before talking about the annoying bits, aka unanswered or unresolved parts of the story, perhaps a brief recap is in order.

Recap

Jamie’s mum (Pauline Quirke) marries Dave (Joel Fry).

Frankie (Grace Taylor)  helps to rescue Jamie and tells Celine (Gaia Scodellaro) that she is carrying Jude’s baby.

Leanne (Megan Mullally) along with Rhonda (Jenna Fischer) and the rest of the escapees fly to England. They crash just short of the bunker. Rhonda shoots a man for his wrecker.

Layla (Karla Crome) is fooled by Ariel (Mathew Baynton) until he calls her “babe.” She causes him to crash the car and escapes. Jamie, along with Frankie, mum, Dave and Celine grab Layla. 

Jaimie parts the “green” Thames.

Meteors; forerunners of the incoming comet of the apocalypse, smash into the earth like missiles of death.

Rhonda’s husband Rajesh (Prasanna Puwanarajah) stays outside the bunker to close the door with the stolen wrecker. Jamie stays to help Rajesh but is knocked out by Ariel. *This evil twin is like the Energizer Bunny, or a Timex watch – takes a licking and keeps on ticking.*

Ariel then takes his brother’s place in the bunker.

The comet hits; clouds and lightning fill the sky and a naked Jamie crawls toward the bunker entrance as the end approaches.

Comic Moments

The password to get into the bank vault:

“Dave has a tiny winkie”

Leanne’s line to the general:

“Can a dinosaur do that? I’m changing. So you can suck it.”

Rhonda’s freak shot that kills the wrecker driver and her reaction to it:

“He was going to die anyway…Right? In a few minutes.”

Larsson (Branagh Gallagher) pulling the pole from Spikes hands. Later calling Leanne a moron after explaining that she is the only one who know where the bunker is. 

Things Unresolved

If Celine is carrying Jude’s baby, does this mean that Jamie will not get into the bunker. Meaning that the good Father made another saviour?  Who is the woman in the wooden box?  What is the backstory on Sutton and the monkey? Will Sutton start killing off the excess bunker denizens? Will June Whitfield, as God, reappear?

And why does the woman in the box believe that the monkey is pure evil?

Overall Thoughts

The timeline in the last episode (ever) of You, Me and the Apocalypse stretched belief. With minutes left, Jamie and his little group/family mange to make it from Windsor to Slough, after crossing the muddy bottom of the Thames in time to be saved. (Who knew the Thames was so shallow eh? And  not one shopping trolley in sight…)

Anther problem that will never be sorted out, not necessarily unresolved but puzzling nonetheless, is the issue of Sutton being Jamie and Ariel’s grandmother but Rhonda and Scotty’s mum.  They all appear to be roughly the same age so this is a tad confusing.

Kudos

Diana Rigg, Jenna Fischer, Megan Mullally and Mathew Baynton all kill it in this episode.  On a sidenote young Grace Taylor, despite having less to do in this final installment is just brilliant. This performer is one to keep an eye on.

The last episode of You, Me and the Apocalypse left one with that bittersweet aftertaste so prevalent of series that never finish what they have started. Still, it was a great journey. One full of comedic and poignant moments and at least one viewer was delighted to have “discovered” the existence of Megan Mullally.

End of Days, The End of the World in England, may have been the last of the series but it did clear one thing up. Despite this reviewer’s smug assertion that it was Jamie who provides the intro to each episode, it was Arial all along.

Well played Sky, even if you did “bottle it” in the end and decide not to do a second season.

The trailer