There’s definitely a trend with Stephen King stories when it comes to seeing them on the big or small screen, and unfortunately, The Stand hasn’t disappointed in that manner. How many still remember the extremely disappointing way that It: Chapter 2 ended? The Losers submitted Pennywise, or the thing wearing the form of Pennywise, by ridiculing it and essentially weakening it, robbing the creature of all its vaunted power, despite the fact that it was something that had weathered millennia and was a type of entity that could devour people at will. One might have hoped that Randall Flagg, who appeared as an ominous and mysterious stranger that some called the Walkin’ Dude, or the Dark Man, would have put up more of a fight when all was said and done. But in this current episode, a few things happened. Some of those things were expected to be certain since Stu suffering at the bottom of the washout for the short amount of time he was depicted was bound to happen. But the fall of Las Vegas was another expected outcome, though the manner in which this happened was kind of awkward, to say the least. Oh yes, there are spoilers coming, so if you haven’t watched the episode yet it might be time to stop reading since I’m not stopping until it’s all out.
This is the end of the show apart from one final episode since everyone that needs to be dead or gone is just that, dead or gone. The manner in which some folks met their end though was a little perturbing even if it was somewhat satisfying since things have definitely changed from the book to the original miniseries to now. For one, Nadine is dead in much the same way as everyone expected. It was Larry who showed her what she’d become, somehow stripping the illusion that Flagg had pulled over her gaze and reminding her that she looked absolutely haggard. Her sudden fall from the penthouse was a bit confusing since the stone she carried, given to her by Flagg, was apparently imbued with enough power that it could shatter a thick pane of glass and allow her to go falling to a gruesome death so many stories below. That death was pretty nasty, and every bit as public as Glen’s execution by the hands of Lloyd in the courtroom, where the Rat Lady, played by Fiona Dourif, urged Lloyd to shut Glen up by shooting him, and then appeared shocked that he actually did it. Kudos to Glen though for getting under Lloyd’s skin and making him think twice about his service to Flagg since he planted a seed of doubt in Lloyd that continued to grow.
That left Larry and Ray alone to face a hostile crowd that wanted them dead, but their own faith didn’t waver as Larry remained strong, and in the end, gave Ray the strength to face the end. Trashcan Man managed to usher in the end of Vegas in a manner that people expected as in one of his rare appearances he drove his cart into the hotel, skin melting away from his body and all as Flagg stood stupefied, unable to believe that Trashcan had disobeyed his order and had instead brought the warhead directly to him. From there, the mysterious cloud that wrapped itself around the hotel and the ball of light that fried several of Flagg’s followers, including Lloyd, Julie, and the Rat Lady (who were blown apart actually), and then proceeded to blast Flagg into oblivion until he simply disappeared, swiftly brought the end as it detonated the warhead, eliminating Vegas in a blinding flash of light.
What’s really disappointing is the anticlimactic manner in which Flagg simply disappeared after being zapped so many times, and of course, the manner in which the ball of light tore apart his followers. Obviously they were all slated to be terminated in one manner or another, but it felt so rushed that one can’t help but think that it became a huge dodge that was meant to wrap things up suddenly and without any further fanfare, to create a sendoff that was more of a puff of air to show that Flagg was nothing, not even brief storm on the horizon when compared to the power he stood against. Perhaps it’s because of that lack, or because several characters felt under-utilized, or because the story progressed for so many weeks at such a rushed pace, that this feels like kind of a letdown. It’s been a great story up to this point, apart from the strange omission of a lot of storytelling, but this ending was one that feels typical of King and something that many of us are way too forgiving of on a regular basis. Yes, I am including myself in this, because King is a great storyteller, but his conclusions, as always, leave a lot to be desired.
Follow Us
