Titled ‘Kiss the Ring’, Episode 5 of The Offer (2022) ended with Al Ruddy (Miles Teller) being ambushed by Joe Colombo (Giovanni Ribisi) into making their camaraderie public. Colombo did so because he thought that would allow him to protect The Godfather (1972) until it sees the light of the day. And because he thought that backing the movie would bolster his Italian-America Civil Rights League movement. But since it happened while Gulf+Western was deciding to sell Paramount, the message that went out is the aforementioned two companies are in cahoots with the mafia; thereby making Paramount unsalable.
The Offer Episode 6 Review
Directed by Colin Bucksey and written by Nikki Toscano, in the episode titled ‘A Stand Up Guy’, smartly takes the focus away from Ruddy a bit and shifts it towards Charlie Bluhdorn (Burn Gorman), Robert Evans (Matthew Goode), Bettye (Juno Temple), Colombo, Francis Ford Coppola (Dan Fogler), and more for two reasons. One, to show that Ruddy isn’t exactly invincible and two, since Ruddy isn’t invincible but he’s the face of The Godfather, he needs to be protected so that the show can go on. Up till this point, The Offer has always shown that Ruddy can get out of any situation, all by himself. But this episode shows that he does that because Evans, Bettye, and Colombo are looking out for him and actively rooting for him. And by showing that, Bucksey and Toscano break the myth of the one-man army auteur which always robs a lot of people of their due credits.
Related: Recap of Episode 1, 2 and 3, Episode 4 and Episode 5
At the cost of sounding repetitive, the production design, hair and make-up, set design, music, cinematography, and VFX is top notch. And it must take a special kind of restraint to build a lot of the sets of The Godfather and then not recreate those scenes frame-by-frame. Because recreation is not the point of The Offer. What happens before and after every single one of those scenes are what forms the crux of the show. That’s what separates The Offer from any other nostalgia-bait product that wants to trick audiences into reliving moments that have deep-seated memories associated with them, without offering any new insight. In addition to that, The Offer’s approach towards unpacking the art of the filmmaking gives an idea about what goes into producing a single scene in a way that even someone who has never stepped on a film set can understand it. And that is yet another commendable aspect of the show’s overall direction.
Talking about commendable things, most of this episode belongs to Burn Gorman. The way Bluhdorn’s mood escalates gradually and then tips over is perfectly essayed by Gorman. You can say that anyone other than him couldn’t have nailed this role. And even if they did, this particular episode would’ve been their undoing. But Gorman truly gets into the skin of Bluhdorn and chews every single scene with so much confidence that it’s breathtaking. All that said, as soon as Matthew Goode enters the frame, like every other episode, he takes up every inch of the proverbial spotlight. He doesn’t need to show how good (pun totally intended) he is at this point in the miniseries. Who is going to stop him, though? Nobody, that’s right. Apart from these two juggernauts, Teller, Temple, Ribisi, and the rest of the cast deliver steady performances; thereby proving how well cast they are in their respective roles.
The Offer Episode 6 Recap
The Offer Episode 6 – opens with Charlie Bluhdorn , Robert Evans , Ali MacGraw (Meredith Garretson), and Al Ruddy watching the footage of Al getting on stage with Colombo. Bettye (Juno Temple) pays Al a visit in his hotel room to talk about what has just happened and the repercussions of it. Bettye advises Al to pay Bluhdorn a visit but Al wants to go to the set because he has promised Francis Ford Coppola to be with him while he’s shooting. At the Gulf+Western office, Bluhdorn and Barry Lapidus (Colin Hanks) are having a breakdown over their inadvertent association with the Mafia, that no one is willing to buy Paramount now because of it, and that Bluhdorn wants Paramount out by EOD.
While Bluhdorn makes it clear that he has lost his faith in Evans, Evans makes a last-ditch attempt to salvage the studio and the movie; going as far as to ditch his wife who is going to make The Getaway (1972) with Steve McQueen. Francis and Mario Puzo (Patrick Gallo) are on the set of The Godfather, preparing to shoot the scene with Al Pacino (Anthony Ippolito) and Diane Keaton (Maya Butler) and Ruddy is nowhere to be seen. Jack Ballard (Paul McCrane) and editor Aram Avakian (Geoffrey Arend) see this as an opportunity to talk smack about the production and how things are bound to go downhill because of the Mafia’s connection with Gulf+Western. Francis finds out about it too and goes into momentary shock.
Ruddy meets up with Lapidus and Bluhdorn to talk about the Mafia fiasco and Bluhdorn fires him on the spot. Ruddy wishes me good luck on finding a new producer like him, grabs a bunch of his cigars and walks out. Ruddy misbehaves with Bettye when she asks him what she’s supposed to do because she is her secretary. In return, Bettye gives Ruddy the lowdown and asks him to stop being selfish. Ruddy doesn’t budge and essentially tells her to get out of his face. Bettye does that but only after landing a solid punch on Ruddy’s face. Evans thinks about producing the movie himself. Bluhdorn decides to attend an emergency board meeting to sell Paramount.
Colombo and Carlo (Anthony Skordi) shake on the agreement that he’s going to escalate the situation with ‘Crazy’ Joe Gallo (Joseph Russo), especially since Colombo is on the front page now. And, well, it doesn’t, at least for the time being. Bettye meets up with Bluhdorn to dissuade him from selling Paramount, who is by the way already setting up a meeting with a guy from Texas with oil money in order to sell Paramount to him. Ruddy reaches the set of The Godfather to meet Francis and tell him that he’s out and that he should be looking out for Ballard because he wants to gut his vision. Francis tells one of his assistants to get Bluhdorn on the line because it’s an emergency.
Caesar (Jake Cannavale) meets up with Colombo and Colombo essentially prepares him for the mission to kill Gallo. Bluhdorn and Lapidus sit down with the oil guy, Andy Calhoun (Michael Gandolfni), who says that, given the headlines, he is going to take Paramount if Gulf+Western agree to a 50% discount on the price he had quoted earlier. Bettye meets up with Joe Colombo to save the movie and tell him that Ruddy has been fired. Ruddy thanks Bettye for bringing this information to his attention and he promises her that he’s going to look into this. Francis continues with his shooting. Bluhdorn shakes up Lapidus for trying to sell Paramount at a bad price.
Colombo halts the shooting of The Godfather by putting a random truck in the set and ordering crew members to boycott the film if Ruddy isn’t un-fired. Evans crashes the Gulf+Western board meeting to, you guessed it, prevent Bluhdorn from selling Paramount. And, both of those gambles work out. Bluhdorn doesn’t sell Paramount. Ruddy gets re-hired and gets the movie up and running again.
The Offer Episode 6 Ending Explained
Evans meets up Ruddy on the set of The Godfather to talk about Ruddy’s fate and they relish the fact that they saved the movie from dying yet again. Later that night, Bluhdorn arrives on the set of The Godfather. Ballard starts his usual spiel about not having faith in the movie. But before he can talk any further, the shooting of the hospital scene commences, forcing Ballard to shut up. As the scene goes on, Bluhdorn starts reminiscing about what Evans said earlier in the office. Something sparks in Bluhdorn and Evans miraculously shows behind him to talk about loyalty. Evans assumes that Bluhdorn’s presence on the set means he hasn’t sold Paramount. Bluhdorn says that after a performance like Evans’s, how could he.
Also Read: The Godfather Paradox
Evans says that Bluhdorn has to re-hire Ruddy because without him, the movie is not going to be made. Bluhdorn walks up to Ruddy and says that it seems like Ruddy has friends in high places. Ruddy makes a joke about but Bluhdorn warns him that if he ever goes to the press again, he is not just going to fire Ruddy. He will kill Ruddy. Ruddy acknowledges the warning. Ruddy apologizes to Bettye for his rude behavior before Bettye leaves with Bluhdorn for a drink. It’s only after Bettye leaves that Ruddy learns that she went to Colombo to save the movie. At the restaurant, Bluhdorn fires the board member who is so eager to sell Paramount. Colombo takes Ruddy to meet Sinatra and while they clink glasses, Caesar shoots up Gallo and Nicky Barnes’s (Derrick Baskin) place.
