The final episode of Hulu’sPam & Tommyhas finally premiered, after over a month of weekly drops. Did it live up to expectations? The show, as a whole, had its bumps and pitfalls — but it also had some glowing moments. Episode 5 “Pamela in Wonderland” took an amazing deep dive into Pamela Anderson’s psyche, leaving Lily James to pull the entire episode. It included short flashbacks and a harrowing courtroom scene where Pamela was forced to confront the content on her leaked tapes and her modeling career in a room full of sleazy men.
But some episodes left more to be desired. The split time between Pamela and Tommy Lee’s life and tape thief Rand Gauthier was a bore, as the show continued to show the petty criminal in a sympathetic life. While adding nuance to characters, especially antagonists, tends to enrich television shows and movies, this one came off as an inauthentic part of the show. Due to the attention constantly diverting to Rand, he became a pivotal part in the show and was required to tie up some loose ends, meaning he never went away. As expressed in previous reviews, the show’s main flop was its refusal to center its title characters in the series. Its constant back and forth made some of its most impactful scenes to fall flat.
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Episode 8 doesn’t do anything to change that: while its timing and conclusion was fulfilling, the end product made it obvious that the show, as a whole, didn’t deliver what it advertised. The episode started off with Pamela and Tommy facing the plateau in their careers, given the distribution of their leaked sex tape. Viewers finally seeSebastian Stanin his fullest transformation into the Mötley Crüe rocker as the band is seen playing a set to an unenthusiastic audience.
Throughout the scenes, it is revealed that they are no longer on the top of the music chain— specifically, they were bumped from being a closer and offered (not an opening set) but a pre-show set to make room for Beck. Pamela isn’t facing any more luck, she finds herself losing two movie projects to Kim Basinger and Elizabeth Hurley. Of course, Rand’s troubles are inserted into these scenes. In the previous episode, he was recruited as a hitman to pay off his debts which doesn’t align with his spiritual beliefs. He begs to be relieved of his duties after successfully pulling off a few hits, but he is told that he has to pull in $10,000.
This all quickly becomes forgotten as the couple discovers that their tape has made its way onto the internet. In the predictable fashion of the show, rather than letting viewers unpack that, it jumped back to Rand and his hardships being a hitman. He eventually makes his way to a psychic who insinuates that karma is working against him because of his crime against the celebrity couple. This encourages him to go right some wrongs, he finds Pamela and Tommy being harassed by paparazzi and smashes himself against their car, saying, “I’m Rand! I’m the carpenter.” Tommy recognizes the man and drives off aggressively.
The couple meets with internet start-up bro Seth Warshavsky who asks for the rights to stream the tape behind a paywall. He shares that the content will see a drop-off in views if they sell the rights as fewer people will pay to watch it, and they can copyright strike illegal streams. Tommy instantly tells him to “go f*** himself” whereas Pamela is visibly intrigued by the offer and contract. This illuminates another divide between their perspectives— it’s clear that Pamela wants it to be contained whereas Tommy doesn’t want to “sell their love.” Pamela argues that they should give Warshavsky the tape for free. The two go back and forth and Tommy is hurt after Pamela expresses interest in selling the rights without him.
This was the high point of the episode, in a blur to conclude the episode, Rand apologized to his ex-wife and finalizes their divorce, and as history has already revealed, Tommy signs the settlement papers. The downfall of the celebrity couple’s relationship and Tommy’s aggression is also teased after a failed vacation to get out of L.A. which leads to Pamela leaving Tommy stranded at a hotel.
What savedPam & Tommywas the news that broke earlier this week of the real-life Pamela Anderson (who has refused to give her approval to the series) getting a Netflix deal for a documentary, produced by her son Brandon Lee. This made fictional Rand’s “I feel terrible for the women who have to deal with us [men]” line less of an eye-roll scene. To echo a similar sentiment from an earlier episode, was Rand’s comeuppance in the seriesa result of Seth Rogen’s stardomand involvement producing the series? The sympathy the show gives towards him continues to not make sense, but is a consistent among the show’s other inconsistencies.
Pam & Tommyis streaming on Hulu.
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