Writers: Lisa Zwerling and Ian Goldberg
Grade: A
First of all, surely that’s not the last we’ll see of Callum Keith Rennie’s character? If so, that was a waste of a great actor, because he was only in about three minutes of the episode. If I’m remembering right, they still have him in custody, so he might reappear, but it was also established that each Blue Hand gathering has a different “Dr. Raynaud,” so he could be completely useless.
I care whether Dem dies or not, and in general, I care how the anxiety about his death affects him, but I don’t care about his relationship with Zoey. At all. They have no chemistry because they have no scenes together (seriously, we haven’t even seen the woman between the third episode and this one). I thought the scene where he tells her he didn’t have a flash-forward was well-done in an “Oh wow, now I really see why he had such a hard time telling her—that would suck” way, but that’s it. It’s also worth mentioning that Zoey says she and Dem have “two conflicting visions,” but that’s not technically true. She says, “I know you were there,” not “I saw you there.”
Obviously Al’s suicide was the heart of the episode, and it worked well. I liked that there were sad little “clues” throughout that slowly led viewers toward the realization of what he was heading for: the Russian roulette game, his attempt to help Fiona save the bird, cooking his favorite meal for himself (and trying to invite Fiona over to share it with him), and finally, slo-mo-ing into the office and leaving the envelope on Dem’s desk. That’s when the feeling of impending tragedy really solidified for me and I realized with genuine horror that he was going to kill himself.
I understand the tragic twist of “the gift” here—his death will not only save a woman’s life, but also bring hope to millions of people—but I’m not sure average viewers want their entertainment to be this much of a downer.
This was a fabulous episode, probably the best of the season so far, but it was nowhere near as exciting as last week’s post-episode trailer made it out to be. The Blue Hand guys were just a typical bunch of nihilistic douchebags listening to shitty “heavy” music and slumming it with various types of drugs and fucking. You don’t need worldwide blackouts and visions/lack of visions to find that crap. Personally, I was fine with the episode being more emotional than exciting, but for many viewers, the difference between the trailer and the actual episode may not instill much confidence in the show’s entertainment value.
Miscellaneous Stuff
-It still hasn’t been explained why the Blue Hand minions shot Janis. Do they just go around committing random acts of violence on people who did have visions? Am I just supposed to figure this out without being told? Is there more to it than that?
-Heh, I knew Aaron would get Tracy’s military pal Mike a job as soon as he said he was having trouble finding one—Aaron knows firsthand how difficult readjustment is for vets, and he’s just… that kind of person. Will we ever see Mike again? I’m thinking yes, since the writers were smart enough to make him accessible to Aaron in the future.
-Please, please don’t make Genevieve Cortese deliver military lingo ever again—that was awful.
-Is this the beginning of a Nicole/Bryce/Japanese Girl triangle?
-Speaking of Tracy… Tracy! And just because she’s back with Aaron already doesn’t mean the events of his flash-forward can’t still come true. We have no idea what’s in store for them between now and April 29th.
-Near the end, we see Simon looking sad and contemplative, holding a bracelet that says “Annabelle” in little plastic alphabet cubes. That leads me to think she’s his dead daughter, but we shall see…
Quotes
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