The Offer (2022) Episode 8 Review, Recap & Ending Explained: Seventh Episode of The Offer (2022) took an incredibly dark turn during Joe Colombo’s (Giovanni Ribisi) rally for the Italian-American Civil Rights League as he got gunned down by one of Joe Gallo’s (Joseph Russo) men. Things were just starting to look up as Al Ruddy (Miles Teller), with the help of Francis Ford Coppola (Dan Fogler) and the rest of the team had just managed to convince Charlie Bluhdorn (Burn Gorman) to keep Al Pacino (Anthony Ippolito) in the movie. They had also managed to find the mole in the production, Jack Ballard (Paul McCrane) and Aram Avakian (Geoffrey Arend), and got them fired. But now with Colombo hospitalized, the already controversial set of The Godfather (1972) is left open to all kinds of attacks that weren’t possible under Colombo’s protection.
The Offer Episode 8 Review
There’s nothing new to be said about the quality of the show that hasn’t been said already. Everyone from Miles Teller to Matthew Goode are so far gone into the skin of their character that you will forget that you’re even watching a show at times. The occasional needle drop will probably break your immersion but since said needle drops are a bop, you won’t really mind it. The production design, the VFX, the costumes, the sound design, all of it is fine-tuned to perfection so that you can focus on the main star of the show: the collaborative, labor-intensive, and stressful process of filmmaking. This episode focuses on getting the money to do the Sicily scene everyone loves and reveres. And now you get to see what it took to get to Sicily, let alone make the best short film with a feature film about the loss of hope.
All that said, this episode has my favorite frame from The Offer. Without giving away too much, it is a simple POV shot of Ruddy looking down at a broken orange. Everyone who has seen The Godfather (assuming that everyone who is watching The Offer has watched The Godfather, or else what are you doing here?) will automatically associate it with death. Because that’s the motif Coppola associated with the orange and it was beautifully realized in the scene of Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) getting shot. But in this scene, it also symbolizes another step in the blurring of the line between the real and reel stories of The Godfather. On top of that, that single shot encapsulates the weight on Ruddy’s shoulders as everyone else gets to romanticize death on the big screen while he has to face it head on, almost on a daily basis.
Major spoilers ahead for The Offer Episode 8
The Offer Episode 8 Recap
Ruddy wakes up to two FBI officers at his door who want to know if he saw Joe Gallo at the rally where Colombo was shot. Ruddy says that he didn’t and that the shooter was Black. The officers keep questioning Ruddy because of his proximity to Colombo. Ruddy keeps saying that they are/were close because of The Godfather and he has no clue what goes on in Colombo’s world. The officers leave Ruddy with just one warning. Given the magnitude of the attack on Colombo, he is bound to retaliate in kind. So, it’ll be better if Ruddy doesn’t find himself in the crossfire. They even leave their number with Ruddy and tell him to give them a call if he needs their help.
Robert Evans (Matthew Goode) talks to Chinatown (1974) writer Robert Towne (Ian Michaels). Francis and Ruddy bicker about going to Sicily. Ruddy keeps saying that that’s going to burst their budget and as per their agreement with Bluhdorn, anything that exceeds the budget is going to come out Ruddy and Coppola’s pockets. Coppola proposes a skeleton crew made of himself, Ruddy, Gordy (T.J. Thyne), Dean (Eric Balfour), and Pacino. After making some further calculations, Coppola says that they are going to need a maximum of $25,000 to do the Sicily section. Ruddy says that that’s tough but since Coppola is so adamant to shoot in Sicily, he’s going to come up with the money to get that done.
Bettye (Juno Temple) drops in to talk to Ruddy about Colombo and how he’s dealing with it. Ruddy thinks that he’s done with the mob, for now. But a conversation between Gallo and the mob bosses shows us that he is planning to extract money from The Godfather’s production and keep it for themselves. Lapidus (Colin Hanks) and Evans bicker about Ballard’s firing. Lapidus tries to complain about it to Bluhdorn but he brushes it off and focuses on how they’re going to make more money. Evans starts to pitch Chinatown and it starts to fall apart from the get go. Bettye plans a wrap party and notices Gianni Russo (Branden Williams) being a misogynistic a-hole because the little stardom he has received has gone to his head. Angered by his sexist comments, Bettye stabs him with a needle and tells the costume designer to do the same if he harasses her.
Ruddy pays Colombo a visit at the hospital and Caesar (Jack Cannavale) tells him something cryptic about crossing lines and whatnot. Ruddy then meets up with Bluhdorn to talk about the money that’s required for the shoot in Sicily. Since Evans was supposed to be present at this short and bitter meeting, Bluhdorn inquires about his whereabouts. Ruddy says that he doesn’t know what is up with Evans. Bluhdorn warns him that it’s better if Ruddy gets a hold of Evans before Bluhdorn. On the set of The Godfather, Ruddy learns that “in the heat of the moment”, Gianni actually hit Talia (Cynthia Aileen Strahan). When Francis learns about it too, he says he wants to fire Gianni on the spot. Ruddy says he has a plan for Gianni and while Coppola goes to check on Talia, Ruddy tells Bettye to look for places for their Sicily budget.
Ruddy enters James Caan’s (Damian Conrad-Davis) makeup room to give him some “notes” about the scene where he beats up Carlo Rizzi (Gianni Russo). The scene begins as per plan. But then Caan goes completely off-script to actually beat the living hell out of Russo. Coppola realizes that that’s Ruddy’s way of giving Gianni a dose of his medicine after hitting Talia because he was “in character”. The action director keeps saying that the scene is definitely going according to the rehearsal. The assistant director asks Francis if they should cut or keep rolling. Ruddy and Coppola, in unison, tell him to give Caan one more minute. The AD ultimately stops the scene and calls a medic while Ruddy and Coppola have a laugh over it. Bettye meets Russo while he’s sitting in the ambulance. As he revels because he got beaten up by Caan, Bettye adds to Russo’s pain by punching him. And Bettye says that every time Russo thinks about hitting a woman, he’ll remember this experience.
While discussing the Sicily situation, Ruddy comes up with the plan to buy stocks in the companies that are providing equipment for the production based on the promise that they’re going to keep using their equipment for his movies. That way, when the stocks go up, they are going to make money which they can then put into the movie’s production budget. And they’ll get a discount on the current equipment that they’re borrowing from the company. One of the companies Ruddy goes to is Excelsior Grip and Lighting and he seals the deal and gets a discount of just about $25k. Ruddy goes back to his hotel, hoping for a good night’s sleep before going to Sicily and finds Gallo and his men waiting for him there. They beat Ruddy up until he agrees to pay up whatever he’s earning from The Godfather.
Ruddy immediately meets up with Bettye to come up with a solution to this problem. Ruddy says that he has run out of options and he needs to talk to Joe if they plan to survive. Ruddy goes back to his hotel room and has a mini panic attack. The following day, Evans finally shows up while looking like a hot mess. Ruddy advises Evans to rest up before going anywhere. Coppola arrives at the office, excited to go to Sicily and Ruddy immediately shoots him down because Ruddy knows that now the extra money he is saving for Sicily is going to go to Gallo. Coppola explains why Sicily is important, again. Ruddy says that he just can’t find the money. Coppola leaves and says that he knows Ruddy is going to find a way.
Ruddy goes to meet an unconscious Colombo. Caesar takes him aside and when Ruddy tells him about Gallo, Caesar suggests him to do whatever Gallo tells him to do. Ruddy says that he doesn’t have any more money left to give to Gallo. Caesar says that he has no choice. Caesar requests Ruddy to deliver a gift from him to Bettye and also relay the message that she can wear it anywhere in the world, except for Miami because that place is no good. Ruddy asks if he can sit beside Colombo for a while and Caesar lets him be.
The Offer Episode 8 Ending Explained
Bettye opens Caesar’s gift and it turns out to be a watch. Bettye reminisces about their journey, which started with them getting shot at by Mickey Cohen (Louis Mandylor) and now she’s getting gifts from gangsters. Ruddy says that that is better than the alternative. Bettye tells Ruddy to give Gallo the money because this is just a movie. Ruddy says that he has a feeling that giving the money is not going to be the end of Gallo’s torment.
The following day, Ruddy and Marlon Brando (Justin Chambers) talk about the scene where Vito Corleone gets shot. Their light-hearted banter is interrupted by Gallo and Ruddy rushes to meet him. Ruddy says that he needs more time to deliver the money. Gallo gives him till midnight. Ruddy asks if they will be straight after delivering this batch of money. As Ruddy feared, Gallo says this is just the beginning of a transactional relationship. He even invites him to his birthday party.
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Ruddy sits in silence while everyone gets prepared for the shooting scene. This is intercut with Gallo and his friends going to a diner for his party. Caesar and his gang interrupts Gallo’s celebrations and shoots everyone up. The actual gunshots and the gunshots in the scene from The Godfather blend seamlessly. When the bread falls in the diner, the episode cuts to the oranges falling in the scene from The Godfather. One of the oranges rolls up to Ruddy’s feet. Ruddy looks down and we get an overhead shot of a dying Gallo. Caesar tells Gallo, “Joe Colombo says goodbye, f**khead.” And then we get what’s probably the best frame in The Offer: a POV shot of Ruddy looking at the broken orange on the black, wet street.
Coppola talks about wine, which for the uninitiated is a reference to Coppola’s love for wine, which then turned out his winery. Brando and Bettye have a bonding moment. Bettye takes to the dance floor. Evans gets drunk. Ruddy arrives at the scene and tells Coppola that he can’t make Sicily happen. Coppola appears heartbroken. Ruddy reprimands Evans for his absence and says that him being at the meetings could’ve helped them a lot. Evans and Ruddy get into a verbal battle. Evans throws a tantrum and then borderline faints. Bettye pulls Lapidus’s leg at the bar and Ruddy shows up to usher Bettye away. Caesar arrives (Bettye returns the gift he gave) and gives Ruddy the news that Gallo is dead. Ruddy realizes that he can now use that money he had to give to Gallo and use it on the Sicily trip. Ruddy relays that information to Francis; thereby lifting his spirits through the roof.
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