Given the potential tough times ahead for the characters on The Get Down, I have to wonder if any of them will truly walk away with a happy ending.
The Get Down has only aired the first six episodes of its first season, but I’m already wondering how many of the characters are going to walk away unscathed. In the little we’ve already seen, we’ve witnessed dreams being crushed, clubs getting shot up, and friends betraying friends. When we last left the characters at the end of episode 6, we were riding strong on a high note.
But how long can that last?
The only character whose fate has been revealed to us is Zeke’s. At the top of each episode, we get Daveed Diggs as a grown up version of the character and he’s narrating what has already happened and what will come to pass. He’s on a large stage in front of a huge audience, with backup singers in tow, so we know he finds success.
But what about all the characters we’ve come to care about in the process? Will they be left behind in the wake of his stardom, or will they forge their own path in life that will lead to their own happy endings?
My immediate thought goes to Shaolin Fantastic. I don’t particularly like the guy — or at least I don’t like the decisions he makes when he’s involved with Fat Annie — but I am rooting for him. I want him to trust Zeke and I want him to realize he doesn’t need Fat Annie to achieve all his dreams. He’s so much better than the person she’s turning him into.
The way future Zeke speaks about his friend in a reverent voice makes me think Shaolin might not make it out of season 1 alive. I’ll admit this is jumping to a pretty big conclusion given there’s no evidence to support this theory, and at the very least he could be speaking about Shaolin reverently because he is a mentor and close friend, but I can’t shake the feeling something terrible will happen to Flash’s apprentice.
For the sake of the story, this would certainly drive the narrative forward. The Get Down Brothers would have to get a new DJ or hang up their jackets, Zeke would feel tremendous loss for his friend and his future, and Fat Annie would either be angry or upset, depending on if she (figuratively or literally) pulled the trigger on Shaolin.
I talked about the wavering tone in my review of The Get Down part 1, but there’s no denying that even as the show gets a little silly sometimes, it’s still quite violent. Between the shootout, the gangs, and the ever-present threat of brutality, I’m always going to worry one of my favorite characters will find themselves on the wrong side of a fight.
This is particularly true for characters like Ra-Ra, Boo-Boo, and Dizzee, who often find themselves backing up Zeke and Shaolin when they don’t quite know what the real stakes are. Boo-Boo, as the youngest, is probably the most at risk, given his bravado in times when he should learn to play it safe. But, really, any of them could end up in trouble thanks to their association with The Get Down Brothers.
Of course, not everyone’s lack of a happy ending has to be because they may potentially get shot. For Mylene, her fate to fall from stardom seems inevitable. It’s sad, really, because we just saw her fight her way to popularity. Everything was against her from the very beginning, but now she’s got a record and everyone loves it. If this were the end of season 6, I’d say she was safe. As it is, I think life is only going to get harder for her.
The Get Down is not only about the rise of hip-hop, but also the decline of disco. As a disco star, Myelene is entering into a fading industry that won’t have much time for her. She can only live in the glory days for so long before times change and she needs to find a new path to wander.
There is no doubt Mylene is a strong character. If she wants to do something other than disco, she may find her place among the up and coming pop stars of the world. But if she clings too hard to this one genre, she and her friends may find themselves on the down-and-out. Could Mylene’s story be not of a rise to stardom but a fall from grace for a once popular superstar?
I always worry about groups staying together, too. Both The Get Down Brothers and Mylene and the Soul Madonnas are closely-knit, but with that many moving parts, you just have no idea when something is going to happen to drive them apart. For Mylene and her friends in particular, the decision to stick with disco or go in another direction could be the catalyst for a potential breakup.
Mylene’s troubles don’t end with her music career. She and Shaolin don’t see eye to eye, and probably never will, which means that, sooner or later, one of them is going to get burned. Mylene also learned a lot about her father’s past, probably more than she wanted to hear, and there’s definitely something going on between her mother and her uncle. It’s possible that as Mylene’s musical life falls apart, so too could her love life and her home life.
Papa Fuerte is, oddly enough, probably my favorite character on the show. He’s not exactly a good guy, but there’s no denying he is loyal and caring, especially when it comes to his niece. That said, he does have his hands in plenty of honey pots, and I wouldn’t be surprised if one of these days he got stung. His mere association with Jackie Moreno could spell big trouble for him.
Of course, I don’t want anything bad to happen to any of these characters, but this is a turbulent time in New York City, and with a series with such a broad and sweeping story as The Get Down, there’s bound to be plenty of conflict.
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