Summary
The series goes from strength to strength as the whistle-blowers line up to take down Elizabeth Holmes and her fraudulent company. This is engaging and insightful drama.
This recap of the Hulu series The Dropout season 1, episode 6, “Iron Sisters,” contains spoilers.
Read the recap of the previous episode.
The Dropout season 1, episode 6 recap
At the start of “Iron Sisters,” Elizabeth Holmes is interviewed for a Theranos commercial. The filmmaker asks her to “tell us a secret”, in an attempt to break the ice. The entrepreneur hesitates a moment before saying, “I don’t have many secrets.” She’s right, she doesn’t have “many” secrets, she has lots. This is a CEO who continually commits criminal acts and somehow gets away with it. In episode six, Elizabeth’s luck finally runs out and the cracks start to show.
In 2013, Walgreens’ Wellness Centres are up and running, with the Edison actually in use by the general public. Bitter rivals Richard Fuisz (played by an unrecognizable William H. Macy) and Phyllis Gardner plot their case against Elizabeth, whilst a new employee starts at the fraudulent company. This budding star is Erika Cheung, a sincere individual who can’t ignore the injustices she encounters. With the help of fellow lab partner Tyler Shultz (Dylan Minnette) they start to unravel the mysteries within this business.
Richard and Phyllis hunt for some juicy evidence to use against Elizabeth and a source willing to go on record. First, they talk with Ian’s wife and then try to interview any current Theranos employees. As Elizabeth and Sunny repeatedly distance themselves from their staff, these elusive whistle-blowers seem more enthusiastic to come out of the woodwork. Tyler and Erika lead the charge in a powerful and tense sequence of events. The writers are clearly mapping out the good guys and the bad guys in “Iron Sisters”. Earlier entries blurred these moral lines, but now there is no denying who we’re rooting for. Sunny and Elizabeth have descended into villainous caricatures, whilst their enemies are obviously the heroes fighting for the truth.
The ending
As Elizabeth’s thirtieth birthday party begins, director Francesca Gregorini has a little fun with all the absurdity. Guests wear freakish masks with Elizabeth’s face on them and poor Tyler is forced to play a song he’s written about the much-loved CEO. It all pans out like some kind of living nightmare, yet perfectly highlights Sunny and Elizabeth’s mentality. They’re fast becoming delusional and power-mad. This peak of success has to come to an end soon and it’s certainly going to be a magnificent fall from grace to observe.
Episode six captures a series on a perpetual high, after laying some efficient groundwork the writers now have a clear endgame in sight. The show keeps on progressing and surprising in equal amounts, it deserves to be a hit. This is an entertaining and expertly made drama that illustrates the insanity of its source material well.
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