The Dropout has been an interesting series to watch. Ending on a literal plot arc that will make you think that the things have gone burning down, the series on Elizabeth Meriwether features a lot of thrills and drama.
The show is based on the life and the rise of Elizabeth Holmes, and her eventual fallout. The series creator wanted to make the story feel like a "rebirth" for the characters, and it is safe to say that she achieved that distinction in her work.
Her original vision for Elizabeth and her boyfriend revolved around the burners who set fire to the Burning Man and then roam around in the desert. Actress Amanda Seyfried and the Billy Evans actor stayed true to this theme in a pretty authentic way.
Even in real life, Elizabeth Holmes can be seen without a single care in the world, just as the festival-goers who witness the Burning Man. Her persona was seen to be quite shifted from her uptight, genius entrepreneur demeanor from back in the day when she was still running her business.
So as Meriwether decided to write these characters, she was challenged by the onset of the pandemic and was not able to write anything about the ideas she had about this series. She explained that since she had already procrastinated so much when it came to deciding the ending of the series, she couldn't create what the finale was supposed to look like.
Not only was the creative effort overwhelming, but she also revealed that writing the finale would mean that the project has been completed. In the end, she changed her original idea and decided that Burning Man would not fit in the series.
Needless to say, she managed to create another ending, which is just as symbolic as her original plan for the characters. The finale of the season was not only difficult for Meriwether, but also for Seyfried who had to enact the part in The Dropout. As Elizabeth Holmes, the character struggled with her life, Seyfried also had to put extra effort into retaining the authenticity of her narration.
The actress revealed that until the very end of the series, she still wanted to see a redeeming arc for the real-life Elizabeth Holmes. She believed there would be some justification for her actions. Unfortunately, the failed entrepreneur is now waiting for a hearing that would command her to 20 years in federal prison.
The series begins with Lizzy, Elizabeth Holmes, trying to right the wrongs she had committed and gaining the lost favor of her company's board of directors. She had only been recently uprooted as The Wall Street Journal revealed the incredible fraud her company was parenting.
Not only was Elizabeth Holme's startup a fraud, but it also inadvertently led to flawed technology for blood checkups. The technology was not what it claimed to be and the people who believed in the false test results suffered from the mistake, putting their health at stake.
Hence, this is where things start toppling down for Theranos but the headstrong Lizzy does not want to admit that things are drawing to a close. She vehemently denies the accusations, saying that all rumors against her company are "false."
She tries labeling the news as a sexist piece against her, while both she and her boyfriend, Sunny Balwani, try making things better at the office. Sunny is played by Naveen Andrews. Yet, Lizzy manages to shove all the criticism into a cupboard, hoping that it won't come tumbling down when she will finally open that door.
The entrepreneur had no one who was ready to believe in her at that point and there was no sight of hope in her immediate vicinity. She didn't have anything to hold onto and desperately tried navigating the conditions the best she could.
Seyfried's performance as Elizabeth Holmes has been garnering immense appreciation from critics everywhere as the scam drama took flight on Hulu. Meriwether did a great job at writing Holmes' character while adding the thrill and comic elements that would make it stand out from the others of its kind.
The series shows how both Holmes and Balwani could not manage the stress and while they were two peas in a pod earlier, the stress at Theranos got quickly to their relationship. Elizabeth was initially betrayed by her former lab-assistant Erika Cheung, played by Camryn Mi-young Kim, who decides to hand over the reports of the company to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Her objective is to shut down the startup and she is highly successful in what she intended. Having written down the crucial role Cheung played to bring down Theranos, the story focuses on how Sunny and Elizabeth fare when they learn about the reality of their company getting out.
Both try going back in time, when they had first met, or how they came by the idea for the firm. They say things that they prayed the other wouldn't know about and in the end, the two lovers are very well at each other's throats.
Seyfried recalled that the tension the two showed while confronting each other was an actual shock when she read the script of the series. The director of the series, Erica Watson also did a great job at catching the exchange between the two lovers-turned-enemies as they spat hurtful profanities at each other.
It would be amazing to see how things shift as the series turns towards its finale and how Holmes would work out the whole process.