Just like the second season opener, the second season finale "Goodbye for a While" boasts an extended runtime of 70 minutes. And just like with the opener, the additional 15 minutes prove to be more of a curse than a blessing. Oh, "Goodbye for a While" is nowhere near as talky and slow as "The Man Who Talks Too Much" but it sure takes its sweet time to get going.
The first half of this episode is a fairly meandering affair as we follow the preparations for the recital. The world of Japanese flamenco dancing flower arrangers is not one I was familiar with so this was the aspect of the episode I found to be most engaging. Sadly, I learned little about this bemusing discipline since the episode dedicated more time to Shintaro's bad makeup than explaining who its characters were.
But once the episode does get going, "Goodbye for a While" proves to be an entertaining if unexceptional "Furuhata Ninzaburô". It has a few tricks up its sleeve. For one, I enjoyed the relationship between Furuhata and the killer, the charming flower arranger well played by Tomoko Yamaguchi. They have a more jovial and amicable chemistry than usual and there is far less adversity between them. Consequently, however, there is little suspense in this episode which proves to be a more laidback affair. I also enjoyed the fact that Furuhata isn't quite sure she is the killer. The scene in which he finally figures it out, through the help of some truly bad puns, is one of the episode's best. Another wonderful scene is the tense funeral which the killer attends with the support of Furuhata and Shintaro. The little flamenco dance they all do is absolutely hilarious.
For most of its runtime, however, "Goodbye for a While" feels like "Furuhata Ninzaburô" on autopilot. The method of the murder is taken from "Murder Express", the alibi from "Sayonara DJ", and Furuhata's presence in the audience is very similar to him witnessing the murder in "Magician's Choice". There's a little slapstick thrown in for good measure (Shintaro dancing the flamenco is genuinely funny though) and there is a little bit of mystery around how the killer found the victim in the dark. It's all very familiar stuff and unlike the two episodes that directly preceded it, "Goodbye for a While" offers no surprises.
An additional minus is a rather disappointing finale. Again, Furuhata solves the mystery a little too easily, especially the matter of the mysterious red light requested by the killer shortly before the murder. How he figured that one out is a much more confounding mystery all on its own. Maybe Furuhata is psychic... Now that would be a twist!
The first half of this episode is a fairly meandering affair as we follow the preparations for the recital. The world of Japanese flamenco dancing flower arrangers is not one I was familiar with so this was the aspect of the episode I found to be most engaging. Sadly, I learned little about this bemusing discipline since the episode dedicated more time to Shintaro's bad makeup than explaining who its characters were.
But once the episode does get going, "Goodbye for a While" proves to be an entertaining if unexceptional "Furuhata Ninzaburô". It has a few tricks up its sleeve. For one, I enjoyed the relationship between Furuhata and the killer, the charming flower arranger well played by Tomoko Yamaguchi. They have a more jovial and amicable chemistry than usual and there is far less adversity between them. Consequently, however, there is little suspense in this episode which proves to be a more laidback affair. I also enjoyed the fact that Furuhata isn't quite sure she is the killer. The scene in which he finally figures it out, through the help of some truly bad puns, is one of the episode's best. Another wonderful scene is the tense funeral which the killer attends with the support of Furuhata and Shintaro. The little flamenco dance they all do is absolutely hilarious.
For most of its runtime, however, "Goodbye for a While" feels like "Furuhata Ninzaburô" on autopilot. The method of the murder is taken from "Murder Express", the alibi from "Sayonara DJ", and Furuhata's presence in the audience is very similar to him witnessing the murder in "Magician's Choice". There's a little slapstick thrown in for good measure (Shintaro dancing the flamenco is genuinely funny though) and there is a little bit of mystery around how the killer found the victim in the dark. It's all very familiar stuff and unlike the two episodes that directly preceded it, "Goodbye for a While" offers no surprises.
An additional minus is a rather disappointing finale. Again, Furuhata solves the mystery a little too easily, especially the matter of the mysterious red light requested by the killer shortly before the murder. How he figured that one out is a much more confounding mystery all on its own. Maybe Furuhata is psychic... Now that would be a twist!