If there’s such thing as a record for most meta jokes ever constructed in one television episode, Delocated’s Season 3 finale, “Reunion Show,” might have shattered it last night.
It was an impressive display.
The apex of the journey down the rabbit hole was the final scene featuring Mirminsky toady Mishka describing his new life in the witness protection program. Mishka is played by the same actor who plays “Jon”— that would be Delocated star and creator Jon Glaser. So we’ve gone from a show about a suburban asshole who enters the witness protection program because the Russian mob wants to kill him, to a show about a Russian mob lackey, once intent on killing the suburban asshole, entering the witness protection program himself. And, it’s worth noting again, the same person plays both roles.
Apologies if your head just exploded.
It’s doubtful that the show will now center on Mishka since “Jon” is the lifeblood of this series, but who knows with the creative minds behind Delocated. Stranger things have happened. And at this point, we don’t know what will happen to “Jon.” He’s on a speedboat with Sergei perhaps halfway to Russia by now for all we know.
So how did we get here?
“Reunion Show” began as a pitch-perfect parody of, you guessed it, reality show reunion shows. Funnyman John Hodgman, who’s become an omnipresent guest star on seemingly every television comedy filmed in New York (that’s a good thing), assembles the whole cast to air dirty laundry and reflect on the last season. We’re treated to some amazing behind-the-scenes footage that cleared up unanswered questions like what was “Jon” doing when he learned that his ex-wife Susan was murdered. Answer: taking a shit while simultaneously eating a hoagie, which we should add, he continues to eat after hearing the news. Hoagies provide “Jon” comfort; they are his safety blanket.
We also learn that “Jon’s” life coach, The Glaze, went ahead and married “Jon’s” girlfriend Eun Mi while “Jon” was locked up in prison. This provides a stinging assessment from John Hodgman in what was my favorite line of the episode: “Let’s face it ‘Jon,’ as of this moment, you are completely alone in the world, and you’re in prison.”
You’ll remember that “Jon,” Sergei and Qi-Qang are in prison for their involvement in the botched drug deal between the Mirminskys and Wang Cho. That occurred in last week’s episode, in what would have made a more traditional season finale.
But back to the reunion show. Just as we’re about to settle into a light-hearted montage of FBI agent Greg and his diligent flossing habits, a bomb goes off in the studio and all hell breaks loose. John Hodgman is killed, and Yvgeny rattles off a list of his TV credits in despair that was a nice nod to the Paul Rudd episode in Delocated’s pilot.
When the smoke clears, we find “Jon,” Sergei and Qi-Qang escaping in a getaway van en route to a Mirminsky safehouse. There, Sergei dispatches with Qi-Qang, then in true villain fashion, slowly describes to “Jon” how he plans to torture and kill him. But he took too long, because acting on a tip Mishka provided, the FBI storms the safehouse. Sergei flees with “Jon” as his hostage, and commandeers the speedboat to a location unknown.
So there you have it. Another outstanding season of Delocated in the books. There’s really nothing else to take out of it other than that the show continues to be the strangest, most absurd and funniest show on television. Bring on Season 4!
