‘Archie’ Recap: ‘Episode 4’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Dainton Anderson, Oaklee Pendergast, Calam Lynch, and Jason Isaacs as Cary Grant in ‘Archie’. (Photo Courtesy of BritBox.)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the Series Finale of ‘Archie’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
​
Over the course of the past four weeks, we’ve talked at length about how the BritBox series, Archie, has defied convention when it comes to biographical features. For not only has this story about the life and times of Cary Grant been expressed to us in a relatable and organic manner, but we’ve been treated to some raw honesty as well. Since Cary’s traumas and struggles in life have been showcased here as well, and it just so happens we will be discussing its revolutionary nature one last time. For the series finale of this story took the time to once again ignore tropes and the common clichés that biographical features tend to focus upon when it comes to the final chapter of life that a famous person endures.

Because so many of those stories focus on tragedy and pain in their final years, and understandably so, if that was what that individual was mired in, in their final days. But sometimes… a life ends happier than we give it credit and it isn’t filled with dark days and sorrow that leaves us in tears, as evidenced by the fact… that Cary Grant changed course when that became a possibility. Because despite having young Jennifer Grant with his new wife Dyan, which should have granted Cary immediate peace and given rise to real honest love between he and Dyan… heartbreak was all Dyan and Cary knew. For Cary stayed his stoic and cold course, and that prompted Dyan to leave him and start over anew with her own life, and well… that was the moment that Cary began to realize… he needed to change.

For if he did not, his love life would always be the same cycle of joy and sorrow he had known and well… the split, the passing of his mother and the understanding of cyclical pain, including the kind he could impart upon his own daughter… changed everything for Cary. To the point where he let Dyan live her life and forge a career and where he gave up his own… to watch over his daughter.  To be that present, to be that vulnerable and well… that brought about great change in Cary’s life. For he was suddenly able to enjoy the family dynamic he never had growing up, and he was able to be a good parent to his daughter and it also opened him up emotionally. Which in turn allowed for him to find the love he sought his entire life and find peace and reflection in his later years, the kind that allowed for him to pass with peace.

That means, this final chapter wasn’t mired in tragedy and sorrow and a reflection upon a life that went into a tailspin. Instead, what we can glean from Cary Grant’s long and winding journey through life… is that we don’t have to subscribe to generations of negative traditions, nor do our later years have to be bitter and sorrowful because of mistakes we made. Because with some real work, we can change, we can become the person we’ve always dreamed of being and transform our lives into nothing but good. And all it takes to make that happen… is to let the past be just that and embrace change and embrace the moment and the promise of tomorrow, and that made, for one satisfying and wonderful end to this story. 

One that was also inspiring in nature. Because if Archie Leach was able to overcome all that, so can we, and that’s really what a biographical feature should do. Teach us something, regardless of how someone’s life ended or was lived, instead of tugging on heart strings solely, and that is why this feature should stand as a pioneering one. Since it was devoid of bias. It merely presented to us, one Archie Leach, the man who would go on to reinvent himself into one of the biggest stars the world has ever known… in the raw, flaws and all. That made this a worthwhile adventure, one that truly was fascinating and engaging and offered up amazing insight into the life of a man that still captivates us to this day, courtesy of his incredible talent and now… an understanding of the incredible life he lived.

---

Watch ‘Archie’

Powered by JustWatch