In the dark comedy Search Party, Alia Shawkat plays Dory Sief, whose life is flipped upside down when she chooses to go into the disappearance of Chantal Witherbottom, a college classmate (Clare McNulty). She involves her two closest friends Elliott (John Early) and Portia (Meredith Hagner), as well as her lover Drew (John Reynolds), in the investigation. In 2016, Search Party made its TBS debut. The show transferred to HBO’s streaming service for two further seasons after three seasons on TBS. HBO’s fifth and last season debuted in January.
Seasons 1 – 4 Recap
In Season 1’s search for Chantal, Dory runs across Keith (Ron Livingston), another private eye who is also seeking for Chantal. As Keith and Dory start dating, things become complicated. In the season’s climax, Dory “accidentally” kills Keith in order to save Chantal.
The coverup begins with the start of Season 2. As it turns out, concealing a murder takes a toll on both your soul and your relationships. As April, played by Phoebe Tyers, blackmails the gang and claims to know everything, paranoia begins to set in. On the Staten Island Ferry, she encounters Dory and threatens to follow her and her friends around forever. In a fit of rage, Dory pushes her over the edge and she dies. She is detained upon her return to the city on suspicion of killing Keith, with the implication that one of her pals must have turned on her.
As Drew and Dory are placed on trial for Keith’s murder, Season 3 transitions into a season resembling a courtroom drama. Elliott ends up selling out to a right-wing news network in exchange for a sizable payout. Due of Portia’s testimony against Dory and Drew in exchange for their immunity, she feels very guilty. Portia attends the judgement to stand by her friends following a spiritual awakening with a Christian group and a close call with a stalker. Even though Drew and Dory are ultimately found not guilty, all of the friendships have been irreparably damaged. Dory gets kidnapped at the end of the season and awakens in cuffs with her head shaved.
The same obsessive fan, Chip Wreck (Cole Escola), who attempted to kidnap Portia in Season 3 is holding Dory captive in Season 4. They all part ways in a rage toward their ex-friend, believing that Dory has abandoned them all. Portia has been chosen to play Dory in a film about her life, while Drew is skulking in a theme park far from New York City. Elliott warns the friend group that Dory’s “journey around the world” might be a hoax after seeing an Instagram photo by his ex, Marc (Jefferey Self), showing them together in Upstate New York. To determine whether she is really in danger, the buddies reunite. It is already too late by the time they locate her. At the conclusion of the season, Dory seems to perish in a fire, and all the previous iterations of herself attend her burial. She is restored in the last seconds of the season, though.
Season 5 Overview
After having a near-death experience, Dory finds herself in a mental hospital because she believes it has given her newfound insight. When Dory is able to leave the hospital, she makes the decision to seek out and pardon her pals. She becomes a viral celebrity and the object of her fans’ cult-like obsession thanks to Instagram Live. Using money provided by tech millionaire Tunnel Quinn (Jeff Goldblum), Dory brings together a team of researchers to create the “LYTE” medication.
The happiness that society so sorely wants will be provided by enlightenment in the form of pills. In an experimental setting, Dory gathers a group of followers who will learn her message and spread it via their massive social media following. The Tik Tok scientist disciple chooses to pursue the development after the chief scientist Benny (Aparna Nancherla) exhibits an odd reaction to the pill sample. What possibly could go wrong?
In other news, Elliott and Marc have chosen to adopt a kid after Elliott and his ex-girlfriend reconciled. When they use a specialised adoption agency managed by Sheffield (John Waters), they are given Aspen, a boy who resembles a Care Bear more than a horror movie demon child. Chantal, a lost soul, has been influenced by Liquorice Montague, a conspiracy theorist (Kathy Griffin).
Portia, who has always been receptive to whatever is popular at the time, develops an obsession over Dory’s awakening and starts dating her. Additionally, Drew rekindles his love for Dory and starts an affair with her. The three joyfully practise polyamory while maintaining a free love attitude.
The End… of the World
Do enlightenment pills actually work? Not quite. They actually bring on the zombie apocalypse. (You read that correctly; The core four pals are given placebos at the last minute by Elliott after the group decides to take the tablets. The influencers become flesh-eating zombies one by one. The tablets are given out to Dory’s supporters by Drew and Dory, who are unaware they are taking a placebo.
They are saved at the last minute by Chantal Witherbottom as they attempt to flee Brooklyn, which has now been overtaken by zombies. It might have all been worthwhile in the end to save her in the first season. The only issue is that both Chantal and Dory are blaming each other for the destruction, demonstrating that nobody has learned anything. Because it’s all about those likes, even as the end of the world draws closer.
The post-apocalyptic society we live in now. The family resides in one of the safe zones that the government has constructed, and Drew and Dory are married. As she did when she first saw Chantal’s flyer in the first episode, Dory can be seen starring at a board of missing individuals near the end of the series. Had Dory imagined everything? At the end of Season 4, did she indeed pass away? Or was the zombie apocalypse actually brought on by her? We are left wondering as that is where the series finishes. The entire season incorporates a variety of topical genres, including influencers, cult documentaries, horror, and cult documentaries. Even the references to the “Jesper Society,” a covert organisation with members including Illeana Douglas, Lou Diamond Phillips, Denise Cormier, Michael Ian Black, and Scott Adsit, are amusing nods to the film It.
Every season had a new focus and took the cast to out-of-the-ordinary locations. It certainly kept us on our toes; that much is certain. They never shied away from taking chances, which resulted in a superb satire on numerous contemporary themes. It is also quite realistic that they may bring about the end of the world after watching these self-absorbed characters repeatedly fail to learn from their mistakes and develop as individuals throughout the series.
