Diane Lane as the de facto President is as good as ever, noble and kind but never West Wing preachy in her rectitude. ... Ultimately though, this is TV machine-tooled for the times we live in. It is trying to build a “world” populated with multiple characters whose interlocking stories can run and run. It looks like a Marvel movie and it shares those films’ amalgam of astonishing narrative efficacy and yet total fatuousness.

“Y: The Last Man” works in pieces and with the establishment of its first season it’s easy to see where things could be stronger as it goes on. Episode 3 is a great piece of television. Lane, Tamblyn, and Romans are stellar and worthy of anchoring this show on their own. If only there could be a stronger balance between the authenticity and the action, then we’d really be cooking.

The show has so far proven to be a complex, engaging, and even thrilling work of adaptation. But if the writers and artists bringing it to life can’t properly grapple with the questions they seek to illuminate or push its visual dimensions further, the series won’t touch the hem of greatness within its reach.

While there’s nothing especially groundbreaking about Y: The Last Man, there’s nothing truly awful either. It’s pretty much exactly the show you expect it to be, right down to its puzzle box conspiracy theories and pedestrian idea of post-apocalyptic politics.

The series is often provocative, generally compelling and almost never quite as entertaining as it should be. ... Clark’s serious-minded approach to Y: The Last Man gives it grounding and thematic richness and sets up several terrific monologues to underline its speculative choices. It also makes the show talky and murky, and although the storytelling doesn’t exactly lag, it never finds the right balance with action-fueled adventure.

All of the up-to-the-minute gags may seem gratuitous to some. But most of them come off clever and resonant, often better thought-out than some of the show’s thudding emotional and action beats.

There’s just not enough here to distinguish it from any number of post-apocalyptic entertainments we’ve had in previous years, other than the gratingly single-minded protagonist. A world with almost no men has so much potential, but this one is squandered on its mostly lifeless characters.

When the series isn’t busy focusing on what-if politics, Y: The Last Man offers a thrilling but gritty post-apocalyptic adventure following the last biological man on Earth amidst a world waiting to get its dirty, blood-ridden hands on him. FULL REVIEW HERE: ****/the-blue-critic/post/y-the-last-man-2021

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

This review is based on the first three episodes. I'll update this critique after I view additional episodes. This is a series loosely based on the comic books of the same name. The series updates many of the basic elements to something more like 2022 - within a PG-13 context which might be enjoyable to teenagers and young adults. Themes are lifted from MSNBC and CNN with a little bit of Fox News for balance. If you do not enjoy the apocalyptical genre then you probably will not enjoy this series. Before you roll your eyes at the thought of yet another apocalyptical genre video - in my opinion, the apocalyptic tropes and themes are handled in this video as well as or better than most of its genre. The main character - Yorick Brown (Ben Schnetzer) - is a 27 year old, failed to launch, immature young adult. His two primary hooks are performance magic and a pet monkey - things I'm not particularly interested in. The casting and writing are good and mesh well. The editing and directing are professional quality. In regard to the plot and premise of the series, I think most thoughtful individuals will find them intriguing. It will be interesting to see how the series develops over the following episodes. The issue of post generation Z male ethos/pathos in the modern society is worthy of attention. The floundering petulant males looking for their "passion" while unemployed is sadly a literary trope in 2021. Cast in a world where all but one male has died makes the issue more poignant. But, obviously where all the other characters are not male, necessarily means most of the plots are going to be female driven. The potential seems good for a lot of interesting material. And, yes... wait for it - gender identity issues realistically could not be ignored within the context of the overall theme - like it or not. Subplots I think work: The mother/daughter relationship dynamics of the US president and her daughter Hero. Mother/daughter and mother/son relationships. Female identity and motivation (from my perspective as a male). The overall impact of the pandemic on US society. The series has a good take on that. The main character's (Yorick Brown's) struggle with his Gen-Z perspective of purpose and identity. The problem issues I see with the series: The pet monkey is not interesting. Yorick Brown chasing his monkey is used to fill minutes when the writers hit a creative wall and induces incredible boredom in the viewer. Yorick Brown recklessly and stupidly exposing himself to problems while chasing his pet monkey is stupefyingly boring. Performance magic tricks has little to offer as a plot point. Watching Yorick Brown perform magic tricks is boring. Yorick Brown (Ben Schnetzer) character is problematic. His emotional immaturity and lack of intelligence do not form an interesting character. As a side plot point it might work - but, as the main character of the series it will be problematic. Watching low intelligence, emotionally immature characters quickly becomes tiresome. Gender identity issues are a pretty narrowly focused subject and aren't going to offer much in the way of engagement for most viewers. For example, running out of injectable testosterone just doesn't substantiate a lot of emotional investment for most viewers. Plot holes that will potentially be filled later in the series: There should have been several hundred thousand human female pregnancies in progress in the US at the time of the "event". What happened to the male babies born after the "event"? The impact on human sexuality is not covered.

Everything is like moving in slow motion. I literally had to ramp up the speed to x1.38 just to keep awake. I can normally tolerate a serious slow burn but this just smolders without really catching fire. It took 2 full episodes to even catch on to the central premise of the show it tells its story in such a slow, plodding way. Then it starts to reveal its ugly underside. Agenda. Not only is this a showcase of a lot of misandrist ideas, apparently being sourced from a comic book it takes extensive liberties with the source material. It is also a vehicle to focus on a portion of its attention on a basically non existent trans character.... for reasons? Aside from its agenda which immediately kills 5 points, the show is shot well, dialogue is solid and even its agenda is subtle enough for most of it to not be overwhelmed by it. The performances by most of the actors are satisfying enough even with such a hard sell of the slowest of burns. It suffers mostly from having a pretty run of the mill, generic plot that after all of the dystopian future TV we grind through this is a path so worn we can mostly follow it with eyes closed. A little known comic, minor variation for its central premise, slow grim dark world that is fleshed out slightly better than average and solid enough performances from a competent cast. I think 4.25/10 rounded down to 4 is a fairly accurate score, if you critique it on only its merits or even if you critique it on its message. Its literally a filler show at best. Just entertaining enough to make it through an incredibly boring day.

Another woke **** cancelled, thanks God. Even an episode of Derrick is less boring.