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Seyfried: "The Dropout"

 Thieves fall out. There is no honor among thieves.


I'm writing in praise of my old classmate, Liz Meriwether, who oversaw "The Dropout," and who wrote its terrific final hour. I wasn't always a fan of this series--especially toward the beginning--because I found Ms. Holmes so tiresome. Also, I'm sure I envy Liz Meriwether. Some of my college classmates have surprised me with their achievements; Meriwether's career is *not* a surprise to me. She seemed sort of otherworldly and impressive as a college freshman--and she has remained dazzling from her undergraduate "Hedda Gabler" onward to the present.

The end of "The Dropout" is an exploration of subtext. Elizabeth Holmes and Sunny Balwani have imploded; they're trying to escape from their mess. They are like the Witch and the Baker toward the end of "Into the Woods." (It's your father's fault that the curse got placed and the place got cursed in the first place....) 

Everything that these two people (Holmes and Balwani) invent is a way of papering over a major truth: "I will throw you to the wolves the moment I have to...." Because the characters are extraordinarily awful, they veil their threats in appalling ways: "You've always been such a mentor to me....I wasn't even an adult when we began dating! Was I even eighteen...?" "I've just been reviewing our old text messages....It's so romantic.....to look at old text messages...."

Subtext also plays a role in Holmes's relations with her lawyer. Holmes struggles with boundaries: "You're my only friend," she says, and the lawyer visibly shudders. Later, Holmes seems to insist, without words, that the lawyer will continue to be a good--and unpaid!--soldier. The lawyer finally gets exasperated: "I helped you, and I have to live with that. But you steered this ship. You hurt people. You want to talk to me about your new boyfriend? You hurt people...."

Elizabeth has a startling response: "We'll pick up this conversation at another time."

I'm on-board with the Meriwether/Seyfriend fans. I'm eager to see what Meriwether does next.
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