![Image](https://i.imgur.com/00HUgTB.jpg)
I loved Dougie Jones. It took me until the ending of Part 5 to stop viewing him as a carrot on a stick, and start enjoying him for what I, at that point, came to conclude as the emotional center of season 3. I remember feeling very strange about him the first time I watched Part 5, being entertained, but continually asking myself what actual purpose it had, beyond the slapstick humor that it brought. But seeing him with the statue was, and really remains the most poignant moment with Cooper in the series to me. He brought the most beautiful, and most comedic moments of Season 3. The supporting characters of the Las Vegas storyline were all great as well, which certainly is key in what helped make this as enjoyable as it was.
I also found it really impressive how they were able to celebrate the more fanservicey elements of the show, without it feeling like they're retreading past glories. I think that's something most revivals get wrong, they just regurgitate old material thinking it will have the same magic it once did, but it never does. Pointing at the audience and going "Remember that thing?" is never a good idea, this was almost the inverse of that, the audience pointing at Dougie and yelling "HEY! REMEMBER THAT?"
At first I thought it would be far more cynical than it ended up being, that him going by unnoticed would serve as some hacky message about people being too self absorbed to notice when someone is in need of help. But it ended up taking the complete opposite direction, instead being full of warmth and positivity. Seeing his positive influence on the people around him, and the kindness they gave in return, Bushnell Mullins in particular.
Maybe it is really hard for some people to reconcile how far this farce was taken and how unrealistic it is that people around him would just go with it. I think a legitimate criticism of it could probably be that so much of it is just happenstance, and if it had been any other character it would certainly feel like bad writing, but given that the "happenstance" is so deeply woven into what the character represents, it never ended up feeling contrived to me.
Voice your opinions, I'd love to hear them.