‘Hello Tomorrow!’ Recap: ‘What Could Be Better?’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the season one finale of ‘Hello Tomorrow!’ To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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When we last settled in to watch the wondrous Apple TV+ series, Hello Tomorrow!, we were left with quite the grand conundrum/question hanging over our minds. Specifically, what did Jack’s admission to his son mean from a growth and redemption standpoint. Simply because Jack Billings has made it clear through his actions, that he is a lost soul in this story, one that uses hope to heal and one that doesn’t seem keen on dealing with real world responsibilities. But seeing him speak to his son as a man instead of a salesman, truly changed that perspective for us and left us wondering if redemption was in the cards for Jack and if he was capable of growing into something more.
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Which is a puzzle that the season one finale of the series takes the time to explore. A feat that ‘What Could Be Better?’ accomplished… by once again making us worry about Jack and his fate. For when we caught up with him here, he seemed to not care all that much about redemption. In fact, he and Brightside were making final preparations to launch the rocket with a full complement of clients. Which was both bold and problematic since… the Brightside wasn’t completed from a lunar construction perspective. But there were no worries on his part, because the clients were happy as can be and the hope in their hearts was all he needed and he of course, forged ahead with plans to launch and he course, kept trying to make nice with Joey and oddly… caught him off guard with an honest gesture.

One that led to some powerful interactions between father and son, wherein Joey truly wanted to know what his father wanted in life and what kind of man he was. In part to decide whether or not to turn him in but also to just… learn about his father and feel the connection he never felt before, good or bad, and oddly enough… he came to have faith in dear old dad. Simply because for the first time ever, he finally saw a father in front of him. A man that wanted to not sell him on anything. But instead offer a chance at a future, at a life and a relationship they never knew. Thanks to the fact that Mister Billings revealed that he was playing a long con. The kind designed to curry the favor of investors and bring forth the dream in question, but get rich on the way, and to make that happen… no one was going to the moon. Instead, there would be an incident to keep the passengers on the ground to allow for the rocket to fly and impress those investors from afar. Which was a plan that worked, and that Joey helped execute instead of turning Jack in and in doing so, it seemed as though… karma rewarded Jack. 

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Because while this plan was coming to fruition… Marie opened her eyes and went home. All the better physically but a touch battered mentally, especially regarding her memories. But the understanding that she was awake and the reality that Jack could have that second chance, prompted him to just drop everything and head home with his son and be with her and be a family at last. In fact, we were even treated to a recreation of the classic Norman Rockwell Saturday Night Post painting in the Billings home, just with robots, since the family unit looked that wholesome once reunited at the dinner table. And in many ways, it seemed as though Jack had finally come to learn that honesty… and that genuine hope could bring forth the beginning of redemption. But that is when this series brought forth more of its trademark commentary on the duality of hope and how lies have consequences. 

An exploration made possible in part, by Lester. Who finally came to learn that rules weren’t always paramount, and that Myrtle loved him, and he loved her, and his desire to be near her… allowed for everyone to board the rocket, and for sins to hide in the cargo bay. Since Eddie and Shirl plopped Big Fred’s unconscious body on that rocket, and even the neglect that Betty and Herb dealt with came back to haunt since they too were on a rocket, that was going to the moon. As to what will happen when they land… who knows?  So, there will be consequences for that messy launch, no doubt, and for Jack’s desire to rush back into family life. Since he is using hope, alongside his son, to make Marie feel loved and as though the bad times never happened. Giving rise to the reality that mistakes are being made again on Jack’s part and that the delicate and horrific dance he loves to invite people into, might begin anew.

Which is an ending that seems bittersweet in many ways, since it hints that redemption is possible for Jack Billings, but it will be no easy task. Not when the plan he has in mind for it, is the only one he sticks with regardless of the mess it makes. But while one could call that a bleak and uncertain ending, for a show about our flaws and our sometimes-desperate push to find happiness… that is the perfect ending. One that is at times hopeful in nature, since there is a chance Jack could find the right path forward. But also because it reminds us that we are works in progress and will indeed make the same mistakes twice or thrice, until we finally come to understand how real change is impacted and what real happiness looks like and that… is something that leaves us eager for more of this tale. So we can see those flaws and perhaps recognize them in ourselves and fix them, and of course… to see Jack take his next big steps toward real peace and real stability so he can properly say hello to tomorrow in a wholesome manner… one where he is full with self-worth… and a desire to do good and inspire hope, not because it is a product waiting to be scooped up, but because… it is the right thing to do.  

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