Into the Dark - Season 2, Episode 9: “Good Boy" TV Episode Review

I have to say that my appreciation for the work of Into the Dark grows and morphs as time wears on. It has proven to be a multifaceted storytelling outlet capable of being as light-hearted or as vicious as you’d like. The stories can be relevant and important, or they can be fun and twisted on principle. June’s episode, "Good Boy", comes at an appropriate time when we all need a little saving and a little sanity. I mean, I never would have thought of the concept of an emotional support dog something that would appeal to me, but a dog that feels your emotions and devours your enemies? Sign me up.

Maggie (Judy Greer; Halloween) isn’t getting any younger. She hears the thud of the second hands on her biological clock ticking away. She’s on the dating scene, but she needs a regular companion. On a trip to the pound, she finds a dog she ends up naming Reuben (after a ninja-style devouring of her sandwich). Reuben is a little standoffish, but if you’ve got food of any kind he’ll be there. Not only is Reuben a machine, but he’s developing a real link with Maggie. Wouldn’t you know it – people are missing, and the dog always seems to be nearby with at least a little (and often a lot) of blood on her snowy, white fur. What’s a lonely woman to do with her sweet and loyal companion when he won’t stop butchering everything in sight?

Do you remember the classically cheesy show Monsters? It was the junk food of the horror TV anthology genre featuring shockingly good creature FX, major actors in their extreme youth, and classic short stories adapted for the small screen (Robert Bloch, Dan Simmons, Stephen King, F. Paul Wilson). That’s what stayed in the back of my mind for the entire ninety-minute running time of "Good Boy"; I kept thinking that a modern-day remake of that show would be incredible, because that’s exactly what "Good Boy" feels like.

The simplicity of the premise and the bluntness of the delivery make a fast-paced, unpretentious, and straight-up fun episode. The kills have some variety and go from the subtle implication kill all the way to disemboweling. You don’t even have to see Reuben’s “final form” until the last possible moment. It’s that level of patience that keeps everything together and moving. The pacing of "Good Boy" is near perfect – if you try to stretch it out even a few minutes more, you lost the urgency, but if you shorten it any, it becomes comically fast.

Judy Greer is always a pleasure to watch. She’s a chameleon that can give you so many different looks and presentation…in short order, no less! Her unique qualities make her the perfect lead. You’ll be so into her general performance that you won’t realize who is really being examined and exposed in this tale. Did I mention this movie has an extended Steve Guttenberg sighting (Police Academy, Three Men & A Baby)?

We’ve all been there. Hell, many of us are probably there now as we roll through the third month of lockdown/pseudo-isolation. Sometimes, you just need a dog to make you feel better. I know; I have three of them (a Cockapoo, a Silky Cocker, and a damn German Shepherd/Dingo mix). Whether you call them “man’s best friend” or your “furbaby”, a good dog is an essential part of life. "Good Boy" gets you to think about your animals and question if you could live with the guilt and the consequences of your own personal Reuben.

I highly suggest that you take a good long look at your furry companion before you give an honest answer to that question. Some of us can’t say no to our dogs as it is. Is a little thing like intestinal mess really gonna be a dealbreaker?

Maybe you shouldn’t answer that.