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Expats Series-Finale Recap: As Years Go By


A grand finale that overcomes its own overwrought trappings.

That’s a tough pill to swallow for any viewer and an even tougher target to hit creatively, but the sixth and final entry of Lulu Wang’s limited series wraps up moving ways by having its lead characters reckon not only with each other but with the lack of closure in their lives. Despite overflowing with overwrought, expository dialogue and voiceover verging on preachy, its images deftly capture the feelings its words often struggle to convey, thanks in no small part to a unique narrative flourish that blurs the line between conversation and wish fulfillment. Characters like Essie and Puri have tragically faded into the background once more, and TV screens in the corners of the frame tell stories of the Umbrella Movement protesters — who’ve now set up numerous tents — being raided and displaced by police.

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