The Franchise episode 7 doesn’t start with victory, but with chaos, which is a good way to start an episode where everything that could go wrong does. As the team starts a mission-critical scene—the explosive destruction of an Armenian bridge—the stakes have never been higher. They can’t mess up this one-take show. But things get worse when tempers flare, and the team faces a disaster that could ruin the whole production.
Let’s take a look at the turns, twists, and bridge collapses that make up this crazy ending.
The Fall of Eric and the Production
Eric, the film’s troubled director, starts the episode in a full-on meltdown. A new anti-superhero quote from Martin Scorsese makes Eric crazy, or maybe it’s just haunting him. Because he is creatively paranoid, tired, and obsessed with Tecto’s ending, he comes up with a strange idea for a different ending: the hero and villain having a conversation without any costumes.
As expected, Daniel’s crew doesn’t pay attention to Eric’s crazy vision and decides to stick with the original plan, which was for a big explosion on the bridge. Eric is having an existential crisis, though, and can’t see that his power is slipping away. Daniel takes over as director, which is backed by Pat and Anita because of how well he did with the fireball scene before.
Hubris and the Bridge That Wasn’t Meant to Blow
Daniel is focused on putting the scene together, and Dag takes the chance to show what she can do as 1st Assistant Director. But her ambition ends up costing her. To show that she is in charge, she talks to the Armenian demolitions chief in the wrong way, which causes him to wire the wrong bridge for destruction.
Things get even worse when the environmental coordinator on set finds a dead endangered bat—a species that could stop the whole shoot if it was reported. As the crew tries to shoot the scene before the regulators show up, chaos breaks out. For the bombs, Dag, Daniel, and Anita give the go-ahead. The crew throws rocks at a dying bat to avoid getting in trouble with the law. It’s a dark moment in an otherwise funny episode. The bat’s sad cries can be heard long after the scene is over, adding an unsettling undertone.
It will be clear that they blew up the wrong bridge when the smoke clears, which will make the day’s work and a big chunk of the budget useless.
Damage Control: Covering Up the Disaster
The crew goes into survival mode after realizing what a huge mistake they made. All of the video from the shoot is being destroyed to get rid of any proof of what happened. Bryson spent the day dealing with a teen visitor and his parents who weren’t interested. When Bryson realized the teen had recorded the explosion on his phone, he smashed it. In the meantime, Steph (Jessica Hynes) and the Mollusk Man’s relationship ends quickly after just one night together. As is typical for the Mollusk Man, he stays away from Steph after they meet.
At the end of the episode, there are still unanswered questions: Will their cover-up work? Will Maximum Studios be able to get through this mess? What will happen to Eric and the rest of the team because of this?
In the episode 7, the crew stands on the wreckage of the wrong bridge, and hints are dropped about how The Franchise will end. Will the truth about the explosion go public? Will Eric be able to get back on track creatively, or will his breakdown mean the end of his career? One thing is for sure: this episode shows how messy and unpredictable the show’s satirical take on Hollywood’s superhero machine can be. With the end of the season coming up, people are left wondering what else they will burn bridges for.
The Franchise airs Every Sunday at 10 pm EST
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