All right, done.
On the last two eps:
The White House imagery was great. The desolation of the landscape and the emptiness of the rooms made a good metaphor for his isolation as President.
The contrast between Charles's death and Nabby's was well-executed.
Sally Hemmings's presence in this episode does a lot to dispel my complaints that she didn't show up in France. She still should have been there, but now I can't exactly accuse the miniseries of skirting the issue.
The plot, in episode 6, of Adams giving up his reelection to avoid an unnecessary war, and in episode 7 of his concern for his legacy, both had clear significance to the current administration, without being overbearing about it. The closing voice-over where he breaks the fourth wall and speaks directly to the audience runs dangerously close to overbearing, but given that it's actual text from a letter to Abigail it just misses that mark. It's preachy and lacking in subtlety, but so was he.
His verbal abuse of Trumbull for the painting's lack of historical accuracy is over-the-top and seems largely unnecessary, but makes for a good bit of metacommentary, not least for the fact that the rant itself is an example of artistic license rather than historical accuracy. It also serves as a meditation on the fact that history is imprecise and the revolution is now, in many ways, the stuff of legend. My first reaction to Adams and Jefferson both dying on the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Declaration is that that sounds more like legend than fact -- but I'm sure the biographers have the records to back the claim up.
All in all, a very satisfying miniseries and a good, if not wholly accurate, bit of historical dramatization. Great cast, with few false notes throughout the series. It's out on DVD now, so I advise anyone who hasn't seen it to give it a rental.
