The final episode of the series opens with the disarray that resulted from the leak of the nonsensical S-1 that Adam and Rebekah created for the eventuality of WeWork becoming a public IPO in last week’s episode. They’re met with pushback about the number of photos (of them, of the company, of the woods?) used in the document as that is not something that this legal document is meant to contain. In doing so, Adam and Rebekah have essentially turned the document, that is supposed to represent who WeWork is as a company to the world, into a picture book. They argue that no one reads the legal document anyway, so why does it really matter? That’s when their team drops the bomb: the Wall Street Journal has gotten a hold of the S-1 and is planning on running a story about the company and its environment. You know, the environment where Adam uses company funds to pay for parties instead of giving employees raises, all in the name of creating a fun workspace. With this news, the confidence their investors have in the IPO begins to dwindle, and the company’s valuation drops from 47 billion to 20 billion, essentially meaning that the company is scamming its investors.
The way the series chooses to explain this is by having Rebekah and co watch a clip of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez during a congressional committee meeting and it results in one of the funniest moments of the series when a distressed Rebekah quips, “I donated to her campaign.”
In an attempt at damage control, Adam decides to make a video that explains to all the investors what the company is and how important its employees and the world are to the company. In the midst of filming this video, the Wall Street Journal article drops and the company’s board is simply not having it. This is the straw that breaks the camel’s back and Adam is finally on the way to being ousted as the company’s CEO.
Adam meets with Bruce (Anthony Edwards) to discuss how to move forward and to let him know he’s willing to make a few compromises as long as he gets to continue being CEO. His compromises? Reducing his voting control from 20 votes to 10 per share, appointing a lead independent director to the company’s board, and most importantly? Rebekah no longer gets to choose his successor. This fails to appease Bruce, and rightfully so, as he then threatens to break Adam’s arm if he doesn’t resign, which albeit an empty threat, you can’t really blame him if he did follow through. In a last-ditch attempt at a hail Mary, Adam reaches out to Masa (Eui-sung Kim), trying to convince him to tell the other investors to let him stay on as CEO. Masa firmly tells him to stand down or he’ll use everything in his power to block the IPO and financially ruin him. Adam, not wanting to be left with nothing, backs down. When the company’s board meets to vote on whether or not Adam will remain as CEO, it’s a unanimous vote to oust him, with Adam himself being the final vote.
Through all of this Rebekah remains at Adam’s side, his steadfast supporter, even losing her marbles when an article is written about him walking around barefoot to try and further damage his reputation, because really? That’s newsworthy? Unfortunately for her, as Adam is no longer WeWork’s CEO, it means that her passion project, WeGrow, which she refers to as her sixth child and proudest achievement after her own family, must close. Not all is lost though, as, at the end of the episode, Adam surprises her with the rights to the WeGrow curriculum, meaning she’ll be able to start a whole new school under a different name.
With Adam out as CEO, Masa circles back to him and offers him 500 million to sell his shares of the company to him. Adam turns down the offer, confident that Masa will make another one. He eventually does — but it’s not what Adam’s expecting. While the Nuemann’s are vacationing in the Dead Sea, Masa gives them a call and lets them know that they’ll never get their buyout package from him and the next time they speak will be through lawyers.
Overall, the WeCrashed finale ends on a lackluster note, fumbling the bag both literally and figuratively. It is a shame as it seemed as though events were leading towards an explosive finish where everything would blow up in our leads’ faces. While Adam and Rebekah lose some money, it doesn’t leave them in financial ruin as it was earlier made to look. Perhaps if the series were longer and focused on the multiple lawsuits that came after this, it would have made the story more interesting to follow. The one constant of the series was Leto and Hathaway’s performances, which made the series as entertaining as it could be. Whether they were sharing the screen with one another or in individual scenes with other cast members, they were always sure to get a reaction out from the audience — no matter how good or bad the reaction was.
Rating: 5/10
