‘The Franchise’ Ends With Hope – Though It’s Hard to Tell Who For

I’ve been convinced for weeks that the ending of The Franchise would be the catastrophic failure of Tecto: Eye of the Storm, since really, how else could this ill-fated movie turn out? According to Episode 8, “Scene 117: The Death of an Eye”, thanks to a combination of luck, fickle business priorities, and greed, it turns out rather well.

Not on a quality level, obviously – I’m pretty sure Tecto sucks. But in a shocking reversal of fortune, it won’t just be released but will be released as Maximum Studio’s summer tentpole in place of a shelved Centurios 2. Who’d have thought it? And how did we get here? Well, that’s a long story.

A lot of that story hinges on Daniel, who has been secretly repairing Eric’s outlandish auteur take on capeshit by directing the whole thing on the sly, sorting out his practical explosion in Episode 6 and destroying a bridge in Episode 7, albeit the wrong one. His decision-making has kept Tecto moving despite multiple meltdowns, mutinies, and production crises, and it’s about time that his efforts – jokingly referred to as “The Kumar Cut” here – were noticed by Maximum.

Despite the fact that Eric doesn’t know about the Kumar Cut, he has nonetheless begun to suspect that “things are happening behind his back”, which puts him in direct opposition to Daniel. This is teeing up one of the big conflicts of the finale, since while every change Daniel has made has invariably been the right one for everyone except UNESCO, Eric is far too arrogant and self-involved to ever admit it.

It’s inevitable, then, that Eric will discover that Daniel is once again working around him by getting the put-upon VFX guy, Dave, to rework the movie’s opening to be more comics-accurate, and The Franchise Episode 8 contrives a characteristically deranged means of doing this. While most of the crew mills around in a cavern set where Peter is due to have his climactic death scene – hence why the episode is titled “The Death of An Eye” – Dave has a breakdown, stabs himself in the leg, and threatens to go even more postal if the movie’s title isn’t changed to Emily: Eye of the Storm in honor of his daughter.

Richard E. Grant in The Franchise | Image via HBO

Since Eric won’t even compromise on this, under these circumstances, Daniel once again rescues the production by pretending to go along with the change. But Dave’s hostage scenario reveals Daniel’s meddling, leading to a big blowout between him and Eric. “I thought you were going to punch him,” Dag says afterward, to which Daniel replies, “What, and quit showbusiness?”, brilliantly calling back to the joke he told way back in the premiere.

Through an extraordinary turn, Tecto is not only saved but suddenly promoted. Remember the Gurgler who cameoed in Episode 4? Well, he was replacing a Centurios 2 character who turns out to have been played by an actor with worrying sexual proclivities who has been outed by Rolling Stone. That means Tecto now has triple the budget and double the production window – the nightmare isn’t almost over, it has barely begun.

Thanks to his interference, Eric doesn’t want Daniel involved. But Maximum Studios do. Watching the match with his son and having a beer in the shower goes from being a suddenly tenable future for Daniel to once again being ripped away at a moment’s notice – if the studio wants Eric out of the way, then who better to take the reins that someone who has proved he understands the material and can get things done?

And besides, what else is he going to do? Quit showbusiness?