Nine Perfect Strangers – Season 2 Episode 8 Recap, Review & Ending Explained
Episode 8 of Nine Perfect Strangers season 2 begins this finale with Masha confirming that everybody has a connection to David Sharpe. All of these people have a history with him, as Masha points out the connections between everybody.
How is David connected to everybody?
David made the call to take money away from the scholarship programs for musicians (like Wolfe and Tina). He also made the call to take Brian off the air, and, of course, he's also got a hand in the satellite technology with the Russians that was responsible for the drone strikes. This same war that both Matteo and Agnes suffered from.
Victoria takes Masha aside to talk though, while David – still feeling the effects from the drugs – struggles to get up and go. The others sit nonchalantly though while Martin continues to spiral, hallucinating and galivanting across the hotel. He sees Helena, who berates him and encourages Martin to turn his anger away from her but across to those who have taken his power away instead.
How does David defend himself?
Tina is uncomfortable with Masha's psychedelic witch trial and calls Masha out for it when she returns. She turns Wolfe and Tina against each other with her comments, and informs them this is an optional experiment and they don't need to be here unless they want to be. The only one not up for this though is Tina, it seems.
David speaks up and decides to say his piece, much to Wolfe's anger. He brings up how he didn't directly cause all of these problems and brings up his past and how he's done great things too. Nobody is willing to give him the time of day, while Peter is pissed that Masha has put David in this position of being the main character in a morality play.
Things then escalate when Imogen brings up her dad, Jonathan Auclair. When David can't remember the name, she smacks him in the face. David suddenly switches and decides he's going to do a complete 180. Specifically, in redirecting everybody in the business from weapons across to charity.
Does Martin shoot Masha?
Heading out to grab his sat phone, David tries to get a signal. Masha follows, with Martin close behind, still brandishing the shotgun. On the bridge from episode 1, Martin confronts Masha and believes she turned Helena against him.
Martin is determined to make the world a better place and to take back his family's legacy. Masha decides they can 'go home together' and wants him to fire… and he eventually does.
Masha tumbles off the bridge and hits the ground, prompting Martin to flee. Masha is still alive though, and recovering. When she awakens, she's upset over not seeing Tatiana anymore. David is here and he's shocked by her words.
What happens at the end of the Wellness program?
Martin heads in to see Masha and she doesn't hate him for what he did. She wants him to change after his dark experience with his mum. Masha agrees that the Wellness Program should stay in the family, and Martin should be the one to take over.
However, they won't be benefiting from the funding from David. Seeing the risks from before, he's not sure it's the right way forward. He also sidesteps from his words the previous night, unsure whether to fully back out of weapons manufacturing or not.
Meanwhile, Brian decides he needs to go about life on his own, while Tina and Wolfe break up. Victoria and Imogen manage to patch up their differences, while Brian and Agnes surprisingly find solace together with their marionette dolls. Agnes wants him to help cheer up kids but in a different environment. Specifically, away from TV and more toward hospitals and schools.
How is the situation between David and Masha resolved?
Peter and Imogen decide to keep in touch, while Masha uploads David's drug-induced rant about getting out of the weapons industry to the news, who run with it and David is forced to follow through.
David promises to find his way out of this though and calls Masha, berating her.
One month later and David shows up at a McDonalds to meet with Masha in Bavaria. It's a mutual location and with a billion dollars slashed from his net worth, he's not particularly happy.
He shows off a corporate rebranding now that the company are free from weapon manufacturing, and he's going to get into psychedelic therapy. He wants Masha involved too, but similarly, also wants some protections. He offers her 100k and knows she'll sign it.
Two can play at Masha's game; David has CCTV footage from all the incidents at her Wellness Centers. He's offered a substantial cash sum to Martin to get this footage. She eventually signs but promises David that he'll regret it.
The Episode Review
So Nine Perfect Strangers crawls over the finish line with an underwhelming finale that shows that this whole Wellness shindig at Zauberwald was here as a way of making David suffer.
The entire episode revolves around pointing out what an awful person David is because he's a billionaire and used some of his money within weapon manufacturing. While the idea is ok, the execution is clumsy, with many rushed and sloppy elements thrown in for the sake of it.
The original worked because it had this air of unpredictability around Masha but in this follow-up, we already know she's seeing Tatiana and is unhinged so there's no allure or intrigue there.
The ending also doesn't really do much to entice you to watch a third season, and perhaps the only saving grace from this story is that of Brian and Agnes, who at least have a decent ending to their story.
However, Wolfe and Tina don't get to the crux of their issues and are seemingly going their separate ways, while Martin is still unhinged but gets what he wants in taking over the Wellness Center. Unfortunately, this has not been a season to remember, bowing things out with a rather disappointing season overall.
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