A gripping conclusion leaves Tangle fans on the edge of their seats as the season finale airs this Sunday. John Edwards, Imogen Banks and Fiona Seres created a series that saw two families sledging through the muck and mire of modern day family life. Ensnared in the trappings of drugs, sex, adultery, teenage angst, and grief, the characters have traversed many complicated storylines by this point.
Steadily building up throughout the course of the season, a teenage war between Romeo (Lincoln Younes) and a rival school gang finally reaches its evitable close. Christine’s (Catherine McClements) political ascendency also extends to her aspired levels where she can stick the same knife into Billy (Tony Rickards) that he stuck into Tim (Joel Tobeck, who was mostly in absentia this season). Having just found out of Nat’s (Kat Stewart) involvement with Chub (Dan Wyllie), Christine’s voracious wrath knows no bounds, and every former moment of reserve bursts out in an explosive display of behaviour.
Season three has seen tremendous growth in many of the relationships, especially with Ally (Justine Clarke) and Gabriel (Matt Day) finally getting together. The biggest question that is being asked is how will Gabriel handle actual commitment? With Joe (Kick Gurry) gone from the beachside home, little can figuratively go wrong.
Redemption also plays into the few final episodes. Nat has been continually trying to redeem her past mistakes with Max, only to be thwarted with the re-emergence of Chub. Romeo also continues to exhibits moments of redemption after nasty and calculated behaviour towards a slew of people. Characters are maturing, despite some being well into adulthood.
All the actors have given terrific performances throughout the season, but the finale is owned by three specific performers: Catherine McClements, Lincoln Younes and Eva Lazzaro. Christine’s explosion forces her patience to evaporate, leaving McClements to breakdown in every sense of the word. Younes and Lazzaro stand out in a tense shared scene, as well as within their own personal storylines. Series writer Tony McNamara and director Michael James Rowland work wonders with establishing constant tension followed by an eruption of sorts.
Mesmerizing until the very end, to say that the season finale simply ends on a high note is an understatement. It ruptures any chance of harmony and leaves numerous questions burning in the minds of those left with only credits.
Tangle airs 9.30pm on Sundays on Showcase. This review was first published on Onya Magazine.
Simply one if not the best ever dramas produced in Australia – Ever