I Hate Suzie – Season 1 Episode 8 (Finale/Ending) Recap & Review

Acceptance

Take Me Home

The season 1 finale of I Hate Suzie turns the attention inward as we see Suzie reflect on the destruction caused in the wake of the big scandal. The episode itself begins with Suzie reflecting on her journey so far.

“Any home should feel safe and supportive.” When it comes to Suzie, those words happen to hold more weight than her personal situation. It’s also the lines for her new gig – a radio commercial. Unfortunately the sorrow and sadness in her voice is hard to ignore. Eventually she composes herself long enough to deliver the lines.

As we soon see, Suzie’s past has been racked with issues. As a coping mechanism for her parents arguing, she decided to narrate her own life. As she sits on a park bench, Suzie reflects on her journey from being a child star at 15 and then ending up in a newspaper scandal that caused her career to crumble. This is, of course, made worse by her most recent outburst against the random pedestrian.

Naomi rings Suzie and discusses the scandal in the paper. This scandal leads her to try and talk about their outburst but Naomi is having none of it. That familiar diner we saw before in Suzie’s fantasy ends up as their meeting spot. As they talk, the conversation turns to that of periods and PMS.

Not long after, Suzie receives a visit from the police about her incident. The man wants to press charges but it’ll go down as a minor offence and with her admitting guilt.

In the aftermath of this, Suzie heads to the hospital and does some charity work. All the while, her inner-monologuing continues to discuss what it means to be a good person.

The Marriage Ends

Eventually Suzie decides to take the plunge and messages Cob, telling him they need to talk. In bed, Suzie tries to get a glance of Cob’s phone to figure out if he really is having an affair or not. It turns out he’s not. Heading downstairs, she pours herself a glass of wine but Suzie smashes the glass. When Cob shows up, they start talking but it’s obviously their marriage is completely on the rocks.

As they talk, there’s a three-way conversation going on between Suzie’s outward facade, her inner-voice and Cob. It’s a fascinating dialogue and one that ends with Suzie deciding to leave Cob.

She’s not the only one who’s seen clarity either. Naomi decides she doesn’t want a child after all. She doesn’t want to end up trapped and be forced into a position of not making the choice herself. She also decides she doesn’t want to be an agent any more. She’s going to Iran. This, obviously, doesn’t sit well with Suzie who immediately blurts out that she’s left Cob.

In the aftermath of this, Suzie drops off Frank at the sleepover. Things take another turn for the worst when Suzie learns that she’s actually pregnant. As she phones Cob, he promises to make her life a living hell and he’ll never forgive her. I guess this isn’t a great time to admit she’s pregnant.

After taking a picture for a happy couple, Suzie laughs through her pain and asks them to invite her back home. After some thinking, they agree to do just that as the series ends.

The Episode Review

The constant talk about PMT and periods does really well to feed back into those ideas of losing one’s innocence and plays back on concepts of child stars being groomed to become perfect stars in the public’s eye. The big question here though comes from whether Carter took advantage of her or not in the wake of this big scandal. While it’s not explicitly mentioned, picking up bits and pieces across the season it definitely hints at this.

The real stand out gem here though comes from the commentary surrounding the dangers of the media and lengths they’ll go to get a story. The moral lines are broken and the vilification and pressure on stars must be unbearable – especially that transition from child to adult.

The ending certainly leaves the door open for a second season and based on this showing, it definitely deserves one too. There’s lots of potential for this to grow into new avenues and explore different topics as Suzie claws her way back up the showbiz ladder.

For now though, I Hate Suzie bows out with a decent finale and a strong Sky Original series worth checking out.