Search Party Season 4 Review: Another Great Season, Though Uneven

HBO Max’s Search Party season 4 is a bit uneven, but still delivers. It is unclear if this is the final season of the show or not.

Search Party only came on my radar recently when I had a friend suggest it to me, telling me I would love it. One quick binge of seasons one through three later and I knew he was right! I was hooked! Search Party is the perfect mix of comedy, drama, and mystery. The fourth season is airing now, on HBO Max, and though it is a bit uneven at times, it pulls itself together in the end.

What Works With Search Party Season 4

Season 4 picks up right where the previous season ended, and the first couple of episodes are fantastic. The audience feels a sense of dread for Dory, who we saw kidnapped by her obsessed fan at the end of season 3. But as the season goes on things start to change.

We realize that a lot of time is going by and her friends very easily fell for the fact that Dory abandoned them. Sure, she doesn’t have the best track record, but I found it hard to believe that it took them so long to realize something was up. 

The comedy still hits in this season with several laugh out loud moments, and the suspense level is also heightened quite a bit. For me, this made for a great season, as I found myself on the edge of my seat a lot waiting to see what happened next. Luckily I could binge the whole thing, and go from one episode to the next — and I know not everyone has the luxury to do that.

Cole Escola (Chip) is a major part of this season and while his character really annoyed me at first, he ended up being one of my favorite characters. He delivers powerful performance after powerful performance, especially toward the end of the season.

While the middle episodes are by far the weakest of the season, Search Party season 4 pulls itself together in the end, with a great final two episodes.

What Doesn’t Work With Search Party Season 4

Which brings me to what doesn’t work about this season of Search Party. There are definitely some off episodes that feel out of place. I worry that some viewers will give up on the show not being able to binge the whole thing. 

The way that HBO Max is dropping the episodes on their platform for this season feels frustrating as a casual viewer. There are a lot of moments in this season that made me upset. I don’t want to give any spoilers but there were times I wanted to throw my remote at the TV or shake Dory and “the gang” until they understood what was happening. Having to wait a week to rectify this anger would have driven me insane.

Ever since season two, Dory has been a character that gets on my nerves. She isn’t a nice person. I feel that this is the intent with her, to make audiences feel passionate about her — not in a good way. I always feel bad for her friends. Her annoyance continues in season 4, and even ups itself. I am not too sure if that is a good thing or not.

Overall Thoughts

This season of Search Party is uneven. Some episodes are fantastic, some are just meh. None are bad, per se, but there are a few things we just didn’t need. Honestly I could have done without Chantal and her story line this season.

All that being said the final two episodes pull things together so well that I even found myself shedding some tears. While it is unknown at the time of writing this review if there will be a season 5 of Search Party, the entire series could easily be wrapped up with this finale. 

Search Party Season 4 Episode List

• “The Girl in the Basement” – January 14, 2021
• “Something Sharp” – January 14, 2021
• “Escape to Nowhere” – January 14, 2021
• “Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity-Jig” – January 21, 2021
• “Doctor Mindbender” – January 21, 2021
• “The Thoughtless Woman” – January 21, 2021
• “Kidnapping/Deprogram Dory” – January 28, 2021
• “Chantal Bottle Episode” – January 28, 2021
• “Fire Finale” – January 28, 2021
• “Denouement” – January 28, 2021

Watch Search Party on HBO Max!

https://youtu.be/ZbQFVZGFlwg