Soundtrack Recap: Working Together

This recap of Netflix series Soundtrack Season 1, Episode 10, “Track 10: Finale” contains spoilers. You can read the recap of the previous episode by clicking these words.

Soundtrack Season 1, Episode 10 “Track 10: Finale” ties all the story strands together. As the series has progressed, it’s clear that the story is about the power of love and bonding together for common goals. Nellie and Sam have always been the crux of this story.

And the Soundtrack finale starts off with Sam, who breaks into “Timebomb” by Beck. He’s getting ready for the day ahead in his fight for custody of his son Barry. Meanwhile, Annette and Leah meet a beaten up Dante in hospital and Barry looks a bit depressed as he is dropped off to school.

Joanna comes over to help Sam prep for his lawyers — once again, he thanks her. Sam ends up mocking Joanna for being an astrology type. He opens up about his history of fortune cookies and said it was Nellie’s thing. One day, he opens a fortune cookie and it said “your luck is about to change” — Nellie was then diagnosed with cancer and within a month she was dead. In front of Joanna, he opens up a fortune cookie and the paper is blank. I felt this was a sign; to write your own story.

Soundtrack Episode 10 then reverts to Nellie — she’s writing a pros and cons list for graduate school. Sam tries to encourage Nellie to have a plan. Sam and Nellie go property hunting and find a wonderful house they cannot afford. Regardless, Nellie wants to put an application on it. When Nellie meets her father, she gets a call from Rebecca, the owner of a publisher. She rings Nellie about a ghost illustrator position. When she finishes seeing her father, she throws up in a bush.

Sam rings Nellie up with good news; despite a lower offer, they got the house. Nellie, holding a pregnancy stick, breaks into “Once in a Lifetime” by Talking Heads. She tells Sam she is pregnant. Sam asks what she wants to do. Nellie replies, “I’ll go to grad school and we’ll have a baby and we can have the house of our dreams”.

It’s back to Sam in the present day and he is going through all the paperwork with Joanna. She gives him a piece of paper that says “there is no such thing as luck”. There’s a lot of intimate tension between them. As Sam heads into his bedroom to prepare for the settlement conference, Joanna breaks into “For Sure” by Carly Rae Jepsen and imagines being romantic with Sam.

At the midway point in the Soundtrack finale, Sam meets Dante in hospital. Dante tells Sam to go to the conference and prove he is the father and that he deserves Barry. Dante wonders whether he should still be in prison — Sam lets him know that he will get Barry back and that he will see him once he leaves the hospital.

Sam meets his lawyer who is confident that the facts will work in Sam’s favor but that Dante is still an issue in this legal situation. Joanna lets the lawyer know about the HBO miniseries that Margot could be signed up for which may hurt her care. Sam tells Joanna in private about a famous music artist who wants to work with him that could also hurt his case as he’d have to go on tour. Sam holds Joanna’s hands and asks if she is going to be there for him.

Before the conference, Barry screams about wanting to go home. In the meeting, Sam and Margot sit across from each other with their lawyers. Margot raises in the meeting about Sam’s dreams to tour with a favorite musician. Sam brings up the HBO miniseries. Sam goes off course slightly, stating that he misses Nellie and says, “I can’t get my dreams again, not really, I just want my kid”. When Margot tries bringing up Dante as a danger, the mediator states that Dante will be returning to prison, and Sam suddenly leaves the settlement conference to speak to Annette. More drama builds up as Margot rushes out and claims that Barry has gone missing — the nanny lost him.

Finale pops up on the screen in Soundtrack Track 10 — Sam is at the police station with Nellie’s father helping him with bail. Frank asks Sam not to tell Nellie about what happened and then lets Sam know about Nellie’s job offer with the publisher. Meanwhile, Nellie is drawing at Margot’s house and speaks to her mother about her future — “when one thing clicks into place, another thing falls in the sky”. This seems to be a common theme with Nellie — her life is constantly a rollercoaster. When Nellie meets Sam at the house, he is outside and plays on the piano “The Folks Who Live On The Hill” — Nellie is truly moved by his romantic gesture.

While Sam’s piano piece continues to play, the police, Margot and Sam look for Sam. They find him at the house where Nellie and Sam used to live and he is in the treehouse. Barry is emotional, missing his mother and cries “you said mom will always be here for us”. It’s clear that the settlement conference won’t remove all the problems. This scene demonstrated the power of grief.

Back in the past and Sam tells Nellie that he knows about the job offer. He asks why she turned it down. Sam insists that they should always follow their dreams — “All we need to be happy is enough.” I kind of rolled my eyes at this line, as in reality, that’s not entirely true. It was quite whimsical.

Back in the present and Sam tells Margot that they cannot keep fighting over Barry — “he needs us both, just work together until we figure it out”. Sam asks Margot for help, and in return, she asks Sam for help as well. They both admit how much they miss Nellie and agree to form a plan for Barry to put forward to the lawyers.

With Track 10 nearing an end, Sam delivers a monologue about songs and love — he questions why every song is about love. The following scenes show everyone working together over Barry and scheduling. Dante says goodbye and tells Sam to “write your songs, man”. As Dante walks outside to enter a police car, De’Andra walks up to him and hugs him.

Soundtrack Season 1, Episode 10, “Track 10: Finale” closes with Sam jumping on a coach to follow his dreams. He says he will be back in March for Barry as Joanna wonders if he will see him again. In the coach, the famous artist wants to hear his music. He grabs a guitar and calls the song he is about to play “Nellie and Sam”.

Roll on Season 2?

You can read the season 1 review by clicking these words.