Throughout its first three seasons, Miracle Workers has done a superb job of sending up the way humans have behaved over the course of history and how little progress has truly been made over the centuries. Season one presented a lighthearted view of the “mysterious ways” in which the gods people believe in work with a look at angels with very little tangible power. Season two took things back to the dark ages, which looked disturbingly like today, while season three traveled the Oregon Trail and the establishment of much of America. For its fourth season, Miracle Workers chooses an appropriate subtitle, End Times, to parody post-apocalyptic cinema and how eerily close humanity might be to that point in the present moment.
The core cast returns in different roles, with Road Warrior Sid (Daniel Radcliffe) and Warlord Freya Exaltada (Geraldine Viswanathan) starting a romance and then settling down in the suburbs long after civilization has crumbled. Sid begins working for Morris Rubinstein (Steve Buscemi), better known as “The Junkman,” and quickly becomes conflicted about the ethics of the people Morris does business with, while Freya must contend with unexpected roadblocks to her conquests like the HOA, with the loyal help of her dog Scraps (Jon Bass) and her android pal TI-90 (Karan Soni), also known as Tai.
This show has always been eager to poke fun at various conventions and cinematic tendencies, but season four feels like it’s more explicitly targeting specific projects. The opening scene in which Freya and her war party come upon Sid in the desert is a clear recreation of Mad Max: Fury Road, and early episodes of the season make direct nods to Dune and The Matrix, among other notable science fiction and post-apocalyptic fare. Like previous seasons, it’s fun enough at face value, but those who recognize the cues and references will appreciate those scenes even more.
Given its futuristic, unoptimistic setting, this season leans into that darkness without holding back. Morris’ uncertainty about attending his high school reunion takes a surprising turn when he learns he is the only one still left alive, and rather than leave things there, he instead spends the evening with a room full of skeletons propped up to look like they’re having a party. It’s a device that could be disturbing and off-putting yet works so well given this show’s delicate balance of comedy and drama that always comes back to the ridiculous aspects of phenomena found all the time in film and television that are just that much more fun when looked at through a humorous lens.
It will be rewarding for fans of the show returning for this newest iteration to see Radcliffe and Viswanathan’s characters together from the start rather than struggling to find an unlikely path to romance together. Rather than flirting uncertainly or developing a friendship despite one of them being a preacher and the other being married, they’re already a couple, and navigating other relationship growing pains tied in to their situation. That makes for particularly delightful entertainment when they are pushed by Tai to imagine and indulge in their fantasies, which turn out to be remarkably contradictory and require some fine-tuning for them to find a way back to their groove.
The cast continues to be one of the best reasons to come back and watch that show. Radcliffe shows that he’s game for anything and, just as with his man of god in season three, wants to see the best in everyone and is easily worried by those who indicate nefarious tendencies. Viswanathan, who is set to have a breakthrough year with upcoming film roles in The Beanie Bubble and Drive-Away Dolls, is terrific as usual, and she enjoys a fun dynamic with both Bass and Soni in creative roles that allow them to use their talents very well. Buscemi is effortlessly good as always, speaking his mind as Morris and offering excellent, honest commentary on what he sees around him. It’s been two full years since season three, which has been far too long a wait for this very worthwhile season four.
Grade: B+
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDjZP4lTmaE
Miracle Workers: End Times premieres Monday, July 10th with new episodes weekly at 10pm.