'The Bullet That Saved The World' - Fringe, Season Five

Fringe

Season Five

Episode Four

'The Bullet That Saved The World' - 7.5

That is a nice ass. 

The indicator for a good thrill ride is how you feel once it's over: if you are tingly in the extremities or full on shaking it was pretty damn fun, but if there is no leftover feelings then it was average or less. 'The Bullet That Saved the World' is the former, and has another definitely positive indicator; the death of a major character.

Ok, perhaps Etta Bishop is not the most important person there, and she is certainly not the one that I would say we were most attached to, but the very fact that she is the main characters’ respective child or grandchild would often be enough to ensure her survival. Not so in the final season of this crazy masterpiece, which sees Etta die the heroic death she deserved. 

Before we get into the fantastic climax I should mention the best part of the first thirty minutes: the numerous references to past fringe cases. So far this season we've been engrossed in a story that had little to do with what we'd seen in the first four years, but when Walter opened his secret cold storage in which he'd planted the many specimens he'd collected over the years, it was like a Fringe fanboy's wet dream.

Olivia looked up at the worms that pulled themselves out of refugee's stomachs in 'Snakehead', Etta unknowingly fiddled with the ambering device invented in '6B', Walter marvelled over the porcupine man from (I assume) last season's 'Nothing As It Seems' and best of all, the face-growing poison from 'Ability' is used to give our heroes the upper hand in the assault on the subway. These allusions to a largely ignored past are what we've been waiting for over the last three episodes, so it was almost relieving to know they hadn't simply been forgotten. Luckily the group manages to throw the loyalists off the scent of the lab by re-ambering it, meaning that we get to explore the room-of-references more in the coming weeks - unless Peter and Olivia go off the deep end following their daughter's death. 

Broyles appeared again tonight, and had a terrific meeting with our heroes, with Olivia giving him a legitimately warming greeting. For the character I was surprised, as Olivia rarely looks happy to see anyone ever, but she had tears in her eyes as she embraced her former boss. Too bad she was about to lose her daughter in all of about five minutes...

A character doomed to die is often remembered solely on how epically that came to pass, and for Etta I was pretty fifty-fifty. I was enthralled and tense as it was happening, but afterwards I have little to say that's either positive or negative. It wasn't particularly memorable since it was just a point-and-shoot, leave-me-to-die sort of event, and in the end the emotion that could have been explored was squandered as the bereaved trio is forced to make a run for it after the dying girl activates a bomb.

What was better than her actual death was the scene immediately before it, which tied in wonderfully with what we'd seen over the episode. In the first scene, Peter had been caught buying a replacement chain for Etta's necklace, and the Observer present had managed to retrieve thoughts of the girl from his mind. Ever after he'd been inquiring about the purpose of the necklace, only realising once he'd grabbed her and thrown her against a wall that it for 'love'. Awwww, shucks. The wonderfully edited sequence in which the generally unreadable Etta was mind raped was beautiful, as it cut together her adult self being assaulted by the Observer with her younger self in the happy, pre-invasion days with her father. What's even better was the failed attempt to stab her attacker, as it was possibly the most tragic and heart wrenching part of the whole scene, mostly because of how desperate it ended up looking. 

Her death is not in vain, luckily, as they had managed to attain some more plans (even if Walter doesn't understand them) as well as confirmed Broyles' involvement in the resistance and taken out a whole mess of Observers with an anti-matter bomb. 

Surely the next episode will be mostly devoted to exploring how the trio will deal with the loss of Etta, and I sincerely hope that the 'Oh god, she's dead!' moment goes to Astrid, who isn't aware that the girl has been killed. I couldn't even tell at which point Etta actually died, as it held focus on the as-normal stoic Olivia, who clutched the eponymous bullet while looking conflicted. She was actually the one of the three who ended up ditching the post-loss pity party, walking away so she can sulk in typical solitude. It's all very characteristic for her, so I'm not complaining, I just don't think she's going to win any points with the viewers.

They had a few minutes at the end there that they could have explored the impact of the baby Bishop's demise, but for the most part 'The Bullet That Saved the World' is a terrific ride that quickly reaches season highs then plunges to distressing - but still awesome - lows. I adore the inclusion of past Fringe cases to aid our heroes, and I implore the writers to have that be the deciding factor in the coming battle. I mean, they did save the world a whole bunch of times, they have to find something they can beat the observers with. What about that poison that could be made to kill only people with a specific genetic trait, as seen in 'The Bishop Revival'? Of course that would require a fully functioning lab rather than a half-ambered one, but it would be worth it, right? 

Anyway, goodbye to young, short-lived Etta and to her Australian portrayer Georgina Haig, who ably gave the role a sense of knowledge and experience while also tinging it with sadness and youth. Still, she did have a role that seemed to require death, as she not only gave the show an imbalance (Olivia and Peter went from new lovers to having an adult daughter in all of about five episodes) but she will also force the characters to leave their largely safe and cautious existence and properly move to the offensive against the all-powerful enemy. 

'The No-Brainer' - Fringe, Season One

Fringe

Season One

Episode Twelve

The No-Brainer - 6.0

There's a masturbation joke here somewhere. 

When I decided to write these as a series of blog entries, I originally intended for them NOT to sound like the review section of a half-arsed university newsletter. I don't mean five star quality literature, I mean I wanted to add a little personality to what I write, while ensuring that they were only reviews on the surface, and could double as a blog entry underneath. Sadly, my life is exceptionally boring so in the end, it is far more interesting to focus solely on what happens in the television I watch and how it made me feel. Well, you might think it's sad, I don't really. For the time being I am an aspiring film maker who is doing something I actually love to do; watching TV.

Fringe is one of the many shows I love to watch, and to be honest I'm not good enough at analysing media to tell you why. I enjoy the characters, the story, the acting, the special effects, yatta yatta yatta. It'd be great to say that I love how thematic it is or whatever, but I'm not the artsy type you might think an aspiring film maker to be, generally themes bore the crap out of me. I like fast, I like action, violence, sex, bright colours and shiny things. Does that make me shallow? God I hope so.

'The No-Brainer' is the twelfth episode of Fringe's premiere season, and so far we've come to know and love FBI Agent Olivia Dunham, mad scientist Walter Bishop and his son-with-a-colourful-past Peter, along with the secondary cast Astrid Farnsworth, Charlie Francis, Philip Broyles and Nina Sharp. By this point in the show, we have learnt too much and seen too much to be able to sit down and allow an hour of this wonderful sci-fi 'procedural' to go by without advancing the greater plot a little. Does this episode give us that? I don't really think so. We get a better look at antagonist Sanford Harris, who continues to impede Olivia's attempts to do her job, and we are led to believe Walter receives closure for a devastating event from his past, but in my opinion neither of these events constitute an adequate leap forward.

I've decided to be a bit lenient, mostly because of the previous two episodes which shot the story in the right direction with a freaking cannon, and it is strange for a semi-procedural to have three important episodes in a row, especially right in the middle of a season. I didn't expect this to be a game-changer, and it wasn't.

It started relatively simply, with some teenager talking with his friend over the computer. In typical Fringe fashion, everything goes pear-shaped pretty damn fast and a couple of viewer-minutes later we come to know that the kid had his brain sucked out of his head by a program his computer had downloaded. The scene itself didn't really enlighten us, it only confused us, but I guess I'm cool with that. There was at least a nice visual with the hand slowly reaching out from the computer screen and grabbing his head, all the while the suspenseful score dramatises the brain-suck moment. Yum.

What is kind of a surprise is exactly how many different instances there are of the programming cranial assault - the boy, a car salesman, some woman's new husband and nearly Olivia's own niece and the programmer himself. And the episode didn't even seem filled! I was a little impressed, sometimes that many separate events can leave one exhausted or desensitised, but not here. Each new death and almost-as-such is handled differently, and we don't suddenly come down with a case of been-there-done-that. Still, it wasn't particularly interesting at the start. The best sequence by far was Peter's discovery that the program was being downloaded at Olivia's own apartment, where her sister and niece, Ella, were staying. There was a thrilling race interspersed with Ella playing what is undoubtedly the best computer game of all time - 'Paint a Pony' - which reinforced the notion that we had only known the young girl and her mother since the last episode, and there were by all means expendable. Of course, a show like this wouldn't cover the main character's apartment in the brains of her young niece, and we were at least a little aware of this. When Olivia rushes in and manages to distract Ella from the screen, we aren't really surprised, but we are relieved.

At episode's climax, it is revealed that True Blood's Chris Bauer is the perpetrator of these horrible acts. I don't mind True Blood, but Bauer is the most annoying SOB on the entire show, and he doesn't really break character here. The acting was off and unbelievable, and I wasn't upset by his kind of accidental suicide, even when his kid found him like that. Eh, he killed your step dad and your best friend, I'm sure you'll come to understand the justice served here. Is there anything else that really needs to be said about the week's bad guy?

You know what was more annoying than Bauer? Walter's dead-lab assistant sub-plot. Look, Fringe, I know and remember why he was in the mental institution, I just didn't care that much. Don't spend ten minutes of the episode building up a mystery then revealing it to be the dead girl's mother. Yay, emotion. Sometimes a little softer plot is great, but when the main plot isn't that action-packed a saccharin story about redemption is a not gonna enthral me. BAH. And was anyone else a bit disturbed when Astrid performed a serious invasion of privacy on Peter by reaching into the trash to pick up his letter? I don't even really know you, you scheming wretch, stop messing in the affairs of important characters!

So why does the episode score relatively high? It's simple really, because while the episode's entire plot verged on boring, it never went over the edge. The acting from the main cast was exemplary as usual, and I did enjoy the episode's aesthetic with the hand and stuff. I also really like the moment where Olivia was looking into the security camera when our bad guy pulled a gun on her - you'd have to see it, I thought it was a striking image.

As a final note, I'm going to suggest that it be made a law that unnecessary Beyonce on television should be a crime. I don't mind the woman, but her music was pointless and distracting. I'll Single Ladies you Ms. Knowles, don't try me.

'162 Candles' - The Vampire Diaries, Season One

The Vampire Diaries

Season One

Episode Eight

'162 Candles' - 7.0

Yes, I am Lexi. Yes, I am awesome. Yes, I am about to be defeated by a vampire a good three centuries younger than me.

This fucking show infuriates me. They finally introduce a compelling and nearly original character, and then they kill her. IN THE SAME FRIGGING EPISODE.

'162 Candles' is all about Stefan's birthday, because it is something you take seriously when you realise you could have like five hundred, if you wanted. For whatever reason, along comes Stefan's oldest friend Lexi, who is awesome. She's witty, cool as a cucumber and older and stronger than Damon. It didn't click, but that right there was probably why she never would've survived the episode. Damon really is the main character isn't he, even if he is also the antagonist? We can't have a good guy who can easily take the big bad in a fight, where's the drama in that? Dear gods, Damon isn't even interesting, people. I'm sick of hearing how clever it is that we are manipulated into liking the villain - screw off, he is barely a villain and television shows have been pulling that trick for decades! You've probably just come from kid's shows, so you most likely aren't quite use to the tropes and clichés of 'adult' TV.

Sorry, I don't mean to full on insult the viewers of this show. I mean I don't mind it later, but at this point none of the characters interest me, they are all boring, uninspired and cardboard cutouts of the standard mix of television stereotypes. And yes, I probably am going to complain about them in every review, because these plain-flavored treats and making this a very uninteresting meal. Personally I can't see what compels people to watch this garbage!

Hold on, let me breath... OK, the characters suck, but '162 Candles' wasn't actually that bad an episode. This is all because of Lexi of course, so no doubt the next episode will suck so much ass I'll probably throw up, but tonight I was more interested than normal. I'm gonna let you all in on a little secret; in about half of my 'viewings' I have this oldish dog sitting in the room - her names Daisy - and she snores like a freaking bear. My logic is that if I am able to ignore her bellowing snores then that means I am really enjoying watching whatever is on. It's like a rain gauge for fun. In this episode I had my moments where I wanted to go and smother her with a cushion, but for the largest part of the forty minutes I didn't hear her, which is definitely in the episode’s favour.

And despite the fact she actually died, I did think Lexi's final scene was pretty badass. She had a syringe full of vervain - which seems to act like potent valium or something - and still managed to throw two policemen metres away, as well as take a barrage of bullets from Sheriff Forbes. At the same time, Damon's plan made sense (although he really didn't have to explain it later), he was going to frame Lexi for the murders the town had experienced since he'd arrived. Duh, it's so obvious! I was annoyed when he jammed his stake into Lexi's chest, but it made perfect sense and (as you can see) got a pretty strong emotional response from me. That's always a good thing in television, there is nothing worse than boredom.

There was one more exceptional scene, and this one involved Bonnie interestingly. See, despite us not getting a good look at what she was doing with her grams, it turns out she'd learnt to harness a few of her witchy powers. Since Elena is her best friend (poor Caroline), she decided to come out the most elegant (and kinda bitchy) way possible - eviscerating Elena's pillow then making all the feathers float around the room. Yeah, that was pretty cool, and pretty well shot, and just pretty.

Now, Vampire Diaries, what I really need from you are some captivating and out-of-the-ordinary characters, some snappier and funnier dialogue, and you should stop treating me like an idiot. I get what you are doing most of the time, soon you're gonna start having the characters talk to themselves just so that we know how they're feeling. God help us if we should make an incorrect assumption. 

'Haunted' - The Vampire Diaries, Season One

The Vampire Diaries

Season One

Episode Seven

'Haunted' - 5.5

To accept this show you must accept that it works within a parallel universe in which Jeremy Gilbert is attractive.

It is nice to see the Vampire Diaries move along at a faster pace, and 'Haunted' seemed to accelerate and finish a major character arc of the show. Vicki, who became a vampire last episode, is killed, Stefan and Elena kind of got back together (after what, twenty four hours apart?) and Damon proves he has a little humanity left in him.

As you have probably deduced, I have issues with most of the characters of this show. Damon pisses me off royally, and this episode was no different. He pulled his whole I-have-no-remorse routine the entire time and I just wanted him to leave. He only gets in the way and stuffs things up, he's not an antagonist he's just an irritant. Useless. I'd be alright if Ian Somerhalder would start acting rather than making eye twitches!

Anyway, Damon actually wasn't in this episode as much as the other antagonist - Vicki. Vicki spends 'Haunted' hungry, consistently a step away from tearing any of the other character's heads off, though it was mostly all talk until the final few minutes where she accidentally tasted some of Jeremy's blood.

So something I notice about the Vampire Diaries is that they like to spring parties on us - Not long ago we had the Founder's Ball, there was the Bonfire in the first episode and they had the football thing in 'Friday Night Bites', and this episode we had some Halloween do. I don't know what it is really like in America, but I think these constant parties are just lazy. For some reason media believes that when bad stuff happens at parties it is more dramatic, and the number characters conjugating in one location means we think they're all in danger, and yeah it does, but only for so many times. I swear only about three or four weeks has passed in this universe, that school must be made of money.

As you'd have guessed, everything important occurs at this party, and all the main cast members are in attendance, even a hungry Vicki. Now, the Halloween party looked good, but there were points where someone would walk through the decked out sets under the blinking strobe lights and it would look awesome, but these moments were too brief. Man, it could have been like a horror noir, confusing flashes, artistic shadows, all that, but I think this show doesn't want to look intelligent. Maybe it doesn't want to scare off idiots?

Eventually Vicki finds Jeremy and takes him out to the School Bus sleepy place to make out, only to accidentally bite his lip and taste his blood. We've all been there right? Anyway, she goes pretty schizo, as you do when you are a new vampire it seems, and Elena and Stefan intervene.

Don't let the sarcastic tone fool you, the fight between the four of them was pretty fantastic. Elena gets thrown around, there is a brief period where we didn't know where Vicki was, Elena gets bitten. It was fun, and just what should have happened at the climax of the episode, yet I couldn't help wondering - why did they have to be at a Halloween party? Regardless, it all ends with Vicki attaching herself to Elena's neck and then Stefan sticking a broken plank right through her heart. Hooray! A meaningful death!

In fact, her death was commendably handled. It was slow, and the acting from Vicki and Jeremy was pretty heartbreaking, needless  to say I was surprised and impressed. What pissed me off was that the show effectively vetoes the death by Damon wiping Jeremy of his memories of vampires and the emotions he felt when his girlfriend died. Even Elena's anger at Damon was kind of cleaned away when she asked him to compel her little brother. UG! Make something matter!

The Vampire Diaries often looks good in a typical dark, teenager-orientated sort of show, but it seems frightened of breaking barriers or taking risks. What really lets the show and this episode down is this fear, and the bad decisions the crew makes in order to maintain the status quo that isn't particularly interesting to begin with. Still, Vicki's death is well played and action-packed, with the actress doing a great job in the character's final scenes, as well as Steve McQueen pulling more than his far share of the weight as Jeremy deals with his grief. It could have been great, TVD, but somewhere, somehow, something is wrong and needs to be addressed.

'Bound' - Fringe, Season One

Fringe

Season One

Episode Eleven

'Bound' - 8.5

'So comfy right now... What's a spinal tap again?'

It seems like this episode and the preceding episode are two parts of a greater one, as the story in 'Bound' jumps straight into where 'Safe' left us. Olivia has been kidnapped, and at the current time no one is aware of it. It is almost unnecessary to say that she escapes before the end of the cold open, and this pretty much sets the pace for the entire episode that seems to end the Mitchell Loeb arc and usher in a new type of obstacle for the group.

Olivia's capture and escape sequence was beautiful and painful. I was impressed how Anna Torv showed her anguish as the men in their creepy-ass masks performed a freaking spinal tap, cause you know, of course. The sets and the fast, jolting camera work were almost nauseating - in a good way - and they definitely made the entire ordeal seem more realistically strange (oxymoron? maybe). I was a bit irritated at the bogus way she got off the bed, I mean if I were a kidnapper I'd never untie my prisoner, even if they begged me for a glass of water. You've only had her for like an hour mate, she isn't gonna die of dehydration on you. Don't you have like an IV or something anyway? Regardless of ignorant mercenaries, once she was free her beat down on a whole mess of bad guys was pretty fun, and it made the fight scene from 'the Equation' seem tame. There were guns, surgical trays, the old push-'em-into-the-table-from-behind routine, it was terrific and I loved it, even if it was only two or three minutes long.

Another positive of this whole escape-thing was that it actually made Olivia seem like a competent and very active agent; she thinks fast, takes some evidence and hides it. Often in cases like these on other shows, the characters will always get really dumb, mostly so that the writers can add more conflict and make it harder for the characters later. Luckily, Agent Dunham doesn't appear to be as useless as most television law enforcement professionals. In the end, however, she still got tasered again, though this time she ended up in the hospital. I actually thought that twist was fantastic, I swear my heart skipped a beat when the other agents pulled a gun on her.

I'm not one to usually enjoy the romantic storylines in shows like these, but I really did enjoy Walter's numerous and obvious attempts to set up his son with Olivia. Being aware of where this will lead in the not-too-far-distant-future, it is kinda fun to see the beginnings come about here.

What was kinda surprising, was how quickly Olivia turned from stoic and recovering FBI agent to loving and doting aunt. I'll admit it was sweet to see her being genuinely happy for once, but I'm not sure I completely believed how easy it was for her to forget what was going on and act the way she did. Of course, this is Olivia Dunham, she's not the most emotionally capable character of all time. Anyhow, her sister and niece are very nice and very clichéd, with their own problems being absolutely miniscule and completely uninteresting when compared with the epidemiologist who was killed when a slug scampered up and out of his oesophagus.

Did I fail to mention that? Ah, well, this slug grew in this guy’s stomach - while he was teaching a class at University - then totally just climbing out of his throat right in front of everyone. Hooray children! Diseases! Don't get them! Walter discovers later that it is a giant version of the common cold, which is a horrendously creepy thought, but also illogical. I thought viruses were non-living, as in not organisms and therefore incapable of movement? Either way, the virus came from eggs planted in the guy's water, and these eggs turn out to be what Olivia stole from the guys who took her. See, the cases did end up linking! In all though, apart from when it happens to a second epidemiologist in the FBI interrogation room, this storyline didn't amount to much and was far less interesting than Olivia's kidnapping. To be honest I don't know why a good part of the episode was devoted to it.

A great moment was when Olivia - who had recognised Loeb's shoe from when she was taken - goes to his home to investigate further. His wife happened to be there though, so Olivia did the old 'Can I use the bathroom' routine then went about ransacking the place for evidence condemning the rouge FBI agent. Meanwhile, Mrs Loeb contacted her husband, simultaneously alerting Peter and Charlie to the new plot to kill Olivia before she left the house. I love these suspenseful scenes, and I thought from that moment to when Mrs Loeb ended up with a hole in her head was some of the best stuff we've gotten from Fringe. I was pretty much on the edge of my seat, even though I knew they weren't gonna kill off Olivia.

I didn't really like Loeb himself much, he was very military, everything was orderly and precise, he had a little army and they didn't know anything much about their mission; it felt a bit clichéd, so I am happy to see him off the main scene, by the looks of things. Sure he's not dead, but I'm sadistic enough to be happier with incarceration, it's just a more long-term punishment. I thought the end of his story couldn't have been more satisfactory - he's caught, so hopefully we'll get some information out of him, and his wife is dead. Everything worked out for the best here.

However, with the loss of Loeb we get a new, different kind of villain. This one may not threaten the lives of our agents, rather he threatens Fringe Division itself. Mr Sanford Harris has some bureaucratic job that involves doing reviews, commandeering entire departments of the FBI and acting like an utter douchebag. He's a sex offender in some way or another, and that always means evil on television - there never seems to be some sort of reprieve for those guilty of sexual crimes on TV. It's just too naughty. In any case, he didn't get up to too much mischief in 'Bound', but it does look like he may just be around for a while to shake things up, and oddly, I'm looking forward to it. Bring it on, bitch.

'Bound' is just as good as the episode preceding it, managing to continue the plot at an incredible pace, while also adding new elements to the story and keeping us on our well-worn toes. Keep it up, Fringe, because it's just been getting better and better.

'Safe' - Fringe, Season One

Fringe

Season One

Episode Ten

'Safe' - 8.5

You just know one of our heroes is going to cave this smug face in with their boot. 

So we are clearly in the thick of it now - 'Safe' is anything but its namesake, pushing Fringe out of its normal week-by-week procedural genre and into lightning-speed action drama. By episode's end a presumably formidable opponent is on the loose and our protagonist is kidnapped by a dangerous group of scientific terrorists.

Everything just happens so fast, it was easy to forget how simply it started. A bank robbery perpetrated by Agent Loeb and a bunch of mercenaries, using technology that allows them to simply phase through the bank's safe's walls goes wrong and one of the gang ends up stuck halfway between. The scene is only about three minutes long, and yet it has to be one of the most filled and absolutely enthralling cold opens the season has brought us. The presence of Loeb automatically forces us to acknowledge the episode as integral to the show's mythology, and we are not wrong to do so.

Turns out that they are stealing safety deposit boxes which Walter placed years before he was even institutionalised, and contain a device he created that would pluck someone or something from somewhere else in the space-time continuum. A time machine crossed with a portal essentially, I believe. However the second we learn this we know what is coming, since our English friend David Robert Jones had been making almost irrelevant appearances throughout the episode. Obviously the device was for him, and I found his scenes unnecessary and a bit belittling, even if they were intriguing nonetheless (he totally murders his lawyer for a suit).

Despite his clear preference for evil, I do enjoy Jones' presence. He seems to bring an air of class mixed with absolute insanity - a bit like Hannibal Lector, in a comparison I'm sure I've made before - that fits this show like a tailored glove. Since this episode is the end of the first half of the season, I'm excited to think that we may get to spend the next half hunting and defeating this big bad, as well as excited to think what he may do to avoid his inevitable fall.

It is apparent he wants something from Olivia, telling his Lawyer that he wants her 'procured' by his associates. Her kidnapping scene at the end of the episode was fine, but I did feel that it was slightly rushed. One second everything's cool, then she is chased by some black SUVs and is caught the second she tries to make it on foot. It could have been a truly action-packed sequence, but I guess a quick bang-bang approach makes the twist seem more sudden and to-the-point, which isn't that bad. Hopefully we learn more about what Jones has in store for our heroine as soon as next week, though I can't see how she'd be able to escape a hostage situation without learning a little bit about her kidnappers. Of course, this is Fringe and I can't make assumptions.

A surprisingly good moment offered by 'Safe' involved Peter performing an impromptu interrogation of one of the mercenaries, caught at one of the robberies. Seems that the process of phasing through walls is a little radioactive, and Peter is able to deftly persuade the poor man with the promise of treatment for his radiation sickness. The dialogue is clever and cruel, and the acting from all parties involved is first rate, even the guest star who performs well as desperate, but proud. I do wish that Peter would cease to be portrayed as a tough guy, cause Josh Jackson just doesn't act like the rebel Peter's supposed to be, and every time his troubled past comes up I basically tune out or get huffy. We get it writers, he was a bit of a confidence man. I just don't care anymore, so stop referring to it.

I will say at least one more thing in favour of 'Safe', it has left me wanting more Fringe; I am pretty eager to get going with the next episode so I can rediscover how Olivia can get out of this mess and defeat David Robert Jones. An extremely solid and action-packed episode by the crew and cast.

'Lost Girls' - The Vampire Diaries, Season One

The Vampire Diaries

Season One

Episode Six

'Lost Girls' - 3.0

Of the three faces here; one can't act, another's Paul Wesley and one's a statue. 

Apart from talking about what actually occurred in the episode, I'm really at a loss as to what to talk about here. It gets that way with nearly all the Vampire Diaries episodes so far. They are actually pretty bad, especially for the first part of the first season. While many would argue that a show is only just finding its feet, I argue it is just finding its audience. Of all times, the first few episodes are what should hook the viewers in and keep them captivated. Why did this show start so awful?

So, why is 'Lost Girls' just no good? I mean it is not the worst the show has given us - hello, Pilot episode - but it definitely a failed attempt to be dramatic and eventful. Yes, Elena definitively discovers the existence of vampires. Yes, Vicki Donovan is killed and turned by Damon. I'll admit, it is two big events for two characters, but what about the others? Tyler, Caroline and Bonnie don't even make an appearance, instead we get to see Nina Dobrev play two roles surprisingly badly while Stefan attempts to explain why vampires aren't all evil and Damon runs through the supporting cast. Not even likable supporting cast members either! He just kills the ones we don't like - now that's an emotional hit, seeing Logan Fell get sucked dry. You know, I'll weep into my pillow over this. Notice sarcasm?

Damon, who actually does some shit, doesn't get any better. He just whines about Stefan having his ring and then spends a good part of the episode dancing half-naked with Vicki - pre-vampirism. I'm sure that sequence was supposed to be funny, but it wasn't. I didn't want to see Ian Somerhalder's chest thrown at me for like five minutes,  I'm sure girls would, but not me. Screw you, Somerhalder. I don't like you.

The death of Vicki occurs at the end of the dance number, and I'll admit that it was... pleasurable? I don't know, I enjoyed that bit, even if the preceding dialogue cemented Vicki's 'death', entirely ridding her subsequent 'death' of any shock value. I mean, I don't like Vicki, she's a depressing, slutty junkie who needs to be removed as soon as possible, but her transition could spell good things for the show as a whole, as now the weak down-trodden girl can take some vampire vengeance. Hoorah! Stake Damon, Vicki. Do it, you know you want to.

So, what else happened? Oh yeah, Elena moaned about Stefan being a vampire, acting all scared and disturbed, but we all know she'll get over it, and it looks like so does Nina Dobrev. She was taking Elena's shock realising about as seriously as you take Barberella. There was so little emotion going on back there, I had trouble caring one iota about her. Although, I have to give her some props for the break up scene with Stefan at the end of the episode, it was well acted and her tears look genuine, though I can't let it make up for the shit she had trodden through the episode earlier. You know what else she did? Entirely ruined Katherine's big introduction! We spend the last five episodes building up Katherine as this manipulative force to be reckoned with, and sure she's a vampire which is kind of a shock, but Dobrev failed on every account to bring her to life. Ha, pun. Anyway, I know that she will improve as the vampire vixen, but in 'Lost Girls' she was pretty horrid.

Anything else? No, not really. Nothing worth mentioning at all. Screw you Vampire Diaries. GET GOOD ALREADY.

'You're Undead To Me' - The Vampire Diaries, Season One

The Vampire Diaries

Season One

Episode Five

'You're Undead to Me' - 5.0

I don't think I've used Sara Canning yet.

I've got to give The Vampire Diaries its props - they managed to have the main character realise the big truth at about the time I thought they should. Many shows have a habit of forcing their protagonist to come to a million incorrect conclusions before finally seeing what is right in front of them. Not TVD, which chose to have Elena make a revelation I thought would take a lot longer than five episodes. Kudos, because that was a pleasant surprise.

Ok, I hope I haven't got ahead of myself. She seemed pretty sure, but she hasn't really confronted Stefan about any of it yet - though if he can give a believable explanation that isn't 'I'm a vampire' then I'll be incredibly impressed; although hella annoyed.

This episode was about coming to terms with irrationality I guess. Poor Caroline may not have fully grasped what happened to her on account of Damon, but she made some decisions that will definitely impact on the two of them in the times to come. Bonnie decided to approach her Grams about her growing abilities after causing hilarious chaos at the sexy car-wash, which in my opinion was strange. These kids are supposed to be jail bait, like the ages of sixteen or seventeen, yet they are doing a bikini fundraiser. Is that normal in America? God, I sure hope not.

Regardless of what could be child porn, this episode on a whole was... alright. It wasn't boring, but until the end nothing really happened. Damon moaned around in his prison, killed Zach (oh, no. that is sad. i don't think i'll ever be happy again.) then went and seemingly killed Vicki - that was more shocking, and will have definitely cause some repercussions. Yay! A mildly important character is dead! Conflict shall arise!

I was a little annoyed by the manipulation of Caroline, though I can't really fault it. The idea kind of makes sense, though I thought Damon would be too weak to pull tricks like that.

Bonnie managed some tricks though, first taking some water revenge on a mean bitch, then setting fire to a car because she didn't want to clean the pavement. After the initial magical prank, I was impressed to see that Bonnie almost relished her power at that point. For a second there it looked like we were heading slowly towards a Willow Rosenberg scenario, however after the small bout of pyrokinesis our resident witch went crying to her Grams. I never get this in television shows with magic - what teenager would not love to be powerful like that? Seriously, tell me! I mean, who didn't feel a little disappointed when they turned twelve and hadn’t yet received a letter from Hogwarts? I sure did, but maybe I'm weird.

You know what else I don't understand? Jeremy. First few episodes he's all 'buy my narcotics' and 'I'm so high, dude' and 'you don't understand my pain' (not real quotes) but now he's complaining about having too many drugs, and talking about spending sober-time with girlfriend Vicki. Next he's all uptight about stealing Elena's medication. To me, this is lazy characterisation, and is really just the writers attempting to make an unlikable character less of a dick. It's not working. Just stop. There was probably more potential in a drug-storyline anyhow. Maybe Jeremy can do some interesting things now Vicki's kicked the bucket.

On a final, Vampire Diaries-you-have-issues note, what is with the family ties? Has every Fell been a journalist in Mystic Falls? Is that the only occupation they can have? The Forbes clan too, what is with the bloody sheriff's department? I'm pretty sure sheriffs are elected, so it doesn't really make sense that a Forbes was always a sheriff. I hope they have some sort of reason for this, and not just the whole 'brought-up to do one thing' nonsense. This show is dumb.

'Diabolical' - 666 Park Avenue, Season One

666 Park Avenue

Season One

Episode Six

'Diabolical' - 7.5

For four episodes there, this is kind of what 666 Park Avenue reminded me of. Are they being ironic?

After the wrath of Hurricane Sandy laid waste to the sets of the newest horror drama, the future of 666 Park Avenue is looking as bleak as the realm Gavin sends his traitorous colleague into - before decapitating him and delivering the head to his enemy. Honestly though, that would just make me sad, as 'Diabolical' actually brought the show that little step closer to actually proving that it is a GOOD show. There weren't any chills or any surprises, but there was a bit of suspense, some nice developments and a little acting magic that combined to make the episode almost as fun as last week's jarringly enjoyable instalment.

Much like American Horror Story, 666 Park Avenue is a loving testament to the horror movies of old, presenting the cold open as a pointless, but quite adequate redo of the famous Psycho shower scene. I was appreciative of the shot showing the slightly obscured axe-wielding psychopath moving towards Jane in the reflection of a shaving mirror, it was well done. We got a very similar sequence to that of the Psycho murder, if slightly stream-lined, and I was definitely impressed. The not-so-long-ago remake of the 1960 masterpiece showed that faithful frame-by-frame remakes kind of suck, so the beautiful montage that opening 'Diabolical' was a much more affectionate and praise-worthy. Even I can simply reshoot Psycho. 

I called it when I said that tonight would feature Jane's sanity coming into serious question, but I didn't realise the exact extent that that would go to. In just one episode she seems to lose Henry, gain a friend in a trusting and open-minded copper as well as discover her links to the ill-fated family from 1929. Turns out the little girl is her grandmother, which is no shock at all. In fact, I kind of assumed she worked that out a few episodes ago.

For Jane though, her storyline was improved by one thing; Rachel Taylor. For the first REAL time (screaming doesn't count) I can see why she was cast as the lead; she was damn good with Dave Annable as the two really fought and Henry eventually walked out. It had clearly been where the episode had been heading, and people outside of the relationship had been either intentionally or accidentally turning our heroes against each other. Henry's new advisor Laurel Harris worries that Jane will not be able to understand his ambitions, while one of the  detectives investigating the attempt on Jane sows seeds of doubt in her boyfriend's mind. This is of course aided by the fact that the Drake has hidden all evidence that the crime occurred, with even the dumbwaiter being made to look unusable. 

The theft of Gavin's box is handled as well as I hoped it would be, with the contents being hinted at being the soul of Olivia's abusive former lover. It isn't confirmed or anything though, all we know is that whatever is inside like sucked the essence out of the first guy who opened it, forcing the real big bad - Victor Shaw, one of Gavin's former victims I believe - to burn the resulting catatonic body, just as its eyes go funky. There is something very mysterious inside the box, something very powerful and very evil, and I am definitely excited to discover just what it is; if the show isn't axed.

The unfortunate fate of Gavin's colleague was enjoyable, with his soul at first doomed to traverse the never ending corridors of some hellish realm before Gavin simply shows up and cuts his head off, presenting it to Shaw as some warning. Honestly if I was the director I wouldn't have shown what was exactly in the gift box presented to the villain, because it was damn obvious. I guess that Shaw's reaction was worth it though, as all he did was give a very sly, confident smile as he looked at his co-conspirator's severed head. Very suitably creepy, and Nick Chinlund is very effective in the role, even if he is playing a typical, powerful and cold foil. He's still cool.

Perhaps the improvement in quality stemmed from the complete lack of Brian, Louise and Alexis, and the story managed to be more focused, with the main plots concerning only Jane and Gavin. Louise's dodgy doctor pal also gets some scenes to himself as he too falls prey to the Drake's conniving landlord and takes a $50,000 loan which he immediately squanders on a gambling habit. Unnecessary? Definitely, but he's forced allegiance to Gavin did put an old player back in the game, with Kandinsky apparently being freed by the manipulated doctor to help with Victor Shaw. This could be great, considering how unpredictable the Soviet maniac is.

So in the end 'Diabolical' didn't actually cause any sudden changes or make me shocked, as it was really an in-between episode that is sure to set up many massive plot developments down the line. Kandinsky's return will have violent implications for everyone, I'm sure, and now that we've met the perpetrator between the last episode's shenanigans Shaw will probably bring all kinds of hell down on the Drake, but I'm honestly more excited to see Gavin retaliating. He's already locked some guy in an eternal prison then chopped his head off, as well as releasing an unstoppable psychopath. Fun! 

'Hold Me in Paradise' - Boardwalk Empire, Season One

Boardwalk Empire

Season One

Episode Eight

'Hold Me in Paradise' - 8.0

The stakes are high! (ha...)

'Hole Me in Paradise' actually managed to get by without being entirely devoted to its characters. The status of the plot has finally lurched forward a little, with one major player out of action for a while, one back into the game and another side character appears to have taken a step up.

Eli is the most obvious place to start tonight, and as the episode starts he is in control, since his brother Nucky is in Chicago for some political convention. The treasurer's younger brother is forced to take the reins of a very complicated business, and it is blatant that the people of Atlantic City respect him far less than his brother. Not a great deal happens to the guy until about half way through, when he goes to get the earnings from the casino. Only the episode before in 'Home', we'd seen the D'Alessio brothers organising a heist at the joint with Charlie Luciano and Meyer Lansky, so when Eli finds the place under siege it wasn't shocking. What was, however, was when the robbery is over a couple of seconds later, with Eli carrying a bullet wound to the abdomen and the crooks hightailing it out of there with one hundred and fifty grand. It doesn't look great for Eli, who up until this point has had little relevance to the plot, aside from being a Thompson. It's pretty clear that his death would make the character an important former presence, and would have lasting implications for the storyline. Nonetheless, I have nothing against the guy, he seems like an alright bloke born into the wrong family. Eli turns out fine, in the end, just bed-ridden, possibly for the next few episodes. The shooting does have one important message anyway; there's a war out there, and there's been one since Chalky White's driver was lynched at the end of the third episode.

For Nucky in Chicago, everything's coming up roses. This is before he learns of his brother's near-death experience of course, but Nucky is enjoying having politicians clamber over him, trying to get a bit of his powerful influence to rub off on them. After discovering that Senator Edge is going to hand Nucky's road appropriations money to Mayor Hague, he is determined to ensure that Edge does not receive the Vice-Presidential bump that he very much desires. He even organises with another generic political player to have a new guy - future President Warren Harding no less - nominated as the Republican candidate for the coming election. I'll be entirely honest in saying that I don't really understand American politics, and I don't really want to. It has little relevance to my life, and seems pointlessly complicated and open-ended for my tastes. What happened to old fashioned, fight-to-the-death for power, eh? Anyway, Nucky ends up having to leave Chicago early because of his brother's shooting, but not before giving Senator Edge a piece of his mind and - probably more importantly - reconnecting with his estranged protégé; Jimmy Darmody. Nucky goes so far as to invite Jimmy to return to Atlantic City under a business deal, believing that Jimmy would be instrumental in protecting his power over the city.

Margaret has a pretty boring time, though the show hints that she will begin playing a more integral role to the show. I mean, she's always had a sense of spunk and intelligence not seen in many of the other women on the show. In a truly enjoyable scene, Margaret is interrupted during a meal by Madame Jeunet, who wants her help to deal with Lucy Danziger, who is attempting to buy expensive clothes despite the end of her relationship with Nucky. Margaret is composed and confident, easily talking down the bratty Lucy, but she loses her cool when her intelligence is called into question, slapping the slut all in the face. Ha! Oh, how I laughed. I would be happy if these two got more angry, jealous scenes together, Margaret's witty and quick while Lucy is just insane.

Margaret's night is ruined when Nucky calls her up to inform her about Eli's big day, but rather than looking for support and comfort, Nucky wants her to go to his suite at the Ritz. It was by far the most subtle admission of criminal activity ever - notice sarcasm - with Nucky going so far as to tell the woman to take a ledger out of his desk and hide it in the cupboard. Of course she struggles with the temptation to read it - who wouldn't? - but we've always been taught by the show that Margaret is made of stronger stuff than the average curious cat. Alas, she gives in during the final few moments of the episode, opening the ledger and reading about all the wondrous deals her boyfriend's been making.

'Hold Me to Paradise' threatens to kick the story into high gear, establishing that there is a war brewing beneath the surface in Atlantic City, while simultaneously creating obstacles out of Eli and Margaret. Plot wise, Jimmy could go either way, helping his father figure like he promised or choosing to try and take him down with the Luciano. I'm definitely excited to see the plot coming in thick and fast, and it is a joy to see something shocking happen to a character we already know well, but I still wish that it had all happened much quicker than this, and that we hadn't wasted so much time meeting those who have little to do in the long run.

'The Pony' - Boardwalk Empire, Season Three

Boardwalk Empire

Season Three

Episode Eight

'The Pony' - 8.5

How awesome is this?!

To say we just entered season three's climax would be an understatement. The murder of Jimmy Darmody aside, the explosion and thus destruction of series-long hang-out Babettes is one of this show's more audacious and dramatic manoeuvres, only furthered by the fact it clearly - well, hopefully - takes out a seemingly important recurring character. 'The Pony' looks to be the last hoorah for new girl-on-the-block Meg Chambers Steedle, who's role as flapper-girl Billy Kent comes to a fiery end. 

I definitely didn't have an issue with Kent, and considering she was an obstacle for Nucky and Margaret's relationship, I probably liked her. Relatively. In fact, her character is one of only a few that deserves to have great amounts of exposition devoted to them, an exclusive list that includes largely unexplored characters like Owen Sleater, Gaston Means and Gyp Rosetti, all of whom appear tonight. Anyway, Kent actually gets a nice focus in the lead up to her death, with 'The Pony' doing what shock-death episodes do best; making them seem important so we don't expect them to die, as well as building up as much sympathy as possible.

It does that perfectly. Really, by episode's explosive end I had come to respect Billy as strong, outspoken and occasionally hilarious, with her stand-out scenes being her terrific audition for her first motion picture and her handling of Nucky's violent introduction to her possible co-star. Together the scenes didn't just prove the character as successful, but also made Steedle out to be damn good in the role. She is almost the perfect flapper girl, as seen during her audition where she acts out a silent movie-scenario with comedic grace and 1920's slapstick. Very nice.

There was something very majestic about her eventual loss, as hers is the last face we get a good look at before the building explodes out across the boardwalk, with Nucky's perception of sight and sound being focussed onto only her; the voices of Rothstein, Baxter and Luciano being reduced to static murmurs, before flames erupt from within Babettes and everything happens. It was filmed and composed largely without originality, as from the second we see the group walking together and the dialogue is in that pre-catastrophic state of pointlessness I could tell hell was about to break loose. Nonetheless, when it does actually happen it was spectacular and highly devastating.

It will come as no surprise that the bombing was a result of - probably - Gyp Rosetti, as he's alerted to the meeting by none other than Gillian Darmody, who is bitter after receiving a visit from her son's killer. I think I've said it before so far this season, but I don't think Gillian's going to make it out alive, as she's already done the sort of acts that earned Jimmy a bullet in the brain. I'd be sad to see Gretchen Mol out, but at the same time her character has served a brilliant tenure on the show and is pretty much dead weight without Jimmy. 

I appreciated the fleshing out of Van Alden's Norwegian wife, who establishes herself as something of a criminal thinker as she prepares to go into the liquor business for her and her husband's livelihood. At first the character was almost a racist joke, but I've decided I don't mind her. She's a bit of fun. 

Van Alden, or Mueller or whatever, also has some fun tonight when he goes absolutely INSANE at his place of occupation. After running through a few mocking jokes while doing a practice sales pitch, an unlucky colleague of Nelson's gets one of these fancy irons pressed against his face and left moaning and groaning on the floor as the former Prohibition agent goes schizo throwing papers about and breaking office equipment. It was both cringe worthy and hilarious, and not many other actors on this show can manage that, though I have to wonder if the writers are going to explore the consequences of his assault or not. 

There was actual plot tonight as well, as Nucky manages to avoid being arrested again by getting the secretary for something-or-other to arrest George Remus instead. I guess we won't get to see anymore of the third-person-speaking whacko. No big loss there.

So, yeah. That was a pretty fantastic ride for everyone involved, and I will definitely be sad to see Billy Kent lost from this show, though I am happy to see that she got to go out with an extra special bang that should have repercussions for the remainder of the season, if not the entire show. Though I shed not a tear, I still feel the pain. 

'The Children's Crusade' - Revolution, Season One

Revolution

Season One

Episode Seven

'The Children's Crusade' - 2.0

It's not a good sign when I end up feeling sorry for the good actors caught up in this mess. 

Ok, so perhaps last episode's enjoyable experience was a one-off event. 'The Children's Crusade' returned to the predictable, politically correct, horribly written shit that perpetuated the first five episodes of the season. 

To be simple and - hopefully - concise, there are kids who have no parents and they are cute and no one dies. The kids’ leader is taken by the Militia and a guilty Miles decides to let his idealistic niece infiltrate some recruitment ship and rescue the leader. I'm sure I've said it before but these idiots deserve to die horribly, even though they won't. Hell, even Grace isn't dead after being kidnapped by 'Randall'.

On that note, the bright light of this episode came from Elizabeth Mitchell getting some more screen time. Mitchell has always been fantastic, and Rachel's pregnancy woes gave her plenty of room to stretch her muscles of actingness. Her reaction to her unborn baby's malady was realistic and touching, and I believed the performances of both her and of Ben Matheson. I also appreciated her initial collapse, as Rachel falls to the sidewalk with her hand to her belly begging desperately for assistance, and it just goes to show how great the actress is at portraying a woman dealing with her own or someone else's pregnancy. It's a very bizarre typecast, but it definitely works for her.

In the modern time, we also get to see Mitchell portray a morally ambiguous character once again, as she tries to trick a former friend into giving her the location of the pendants. It was a very well filmed sequence, as was the reveal of the prisoner's daughter later on, which establishes this poor guy as a less fortunate parallel to Rachel. Her break down as she realised what she'd brought about was pretty damn depressing, and a testament to one of the two strong actors on the show. The other is Giancarlo Esposito, by the way.

A weak actor is Billy Boyd, or whatever, who continues to fail his deliver and conviction in playing a troubled anti-hero. I don't believe that he has the sort of fury and determination that allows someone to be that good at fighting and swordplay. There's just no fire, nothing that makes me accept that this guy got a job without sleeping with somebody or paying someone a whole chunk of money. I can see that Tracy Spiridakos is able, if not always willing, to play the role of Charlie, I just wonder if she relates better to the more badass side to the character, as when she's being moral and typically heroic she can't sell it well. For the good of the show they clearly need to make Charlie an anti-hero like her uncle, and then they can get rid of Miles and get on with the story in style.

Putting children in the middle of the action is ultimately an easy way to evoke an emotional connection, similarly, Rachel's pregnancy troubles. At least the latter was well executed, because the actual 'Children's Crusade' was horribly acted and presented. I just didn't care, I could see that it wasn't real and I knew that the children would succeed. They're fucking children in Revolution, they aren't like sweet little girls in The Walking Dead. They are in absolutely no danger whatsoever. I don't think I can stand this predictability! 

And that's pretty much how I feel about Revolution. Shit. I don't like it anymore, the episode wasn't any fun, the characters suck ass, the plot is uninteresting and a promising premise is wasted by worthless writers and directors. Why don't you do something? 

'Sex and Drugs' - Revolution, Season One

Revolution

Season One

Episode Six

'Sex and Drugs' - 7.5

Star prediction: Should Tracy Spiridakos' career take off, it will likely be filled with her boobies, ala Anna Paquin

And so, after five horrid episodes that came disconcertingly close to shredding my patience and trust in television, JJ Abrams' newest epic serial Revolution delivers an episode that didn't make me want to kill myself. In fact, it was a down-right - dare I say it - fun instalment. Not just 'fun' in the dumb sense, but actually respectable and enjoyable. I'm serious!

The aspect of 'Sex and Drugs' that differentiates it from past outings was all in Charlie, who was mere inches away from breaking the boundaries of the average television protagonist to become a tough, capable girl who is able to do the hard things when they are required of her. Sure, Miles fucking swoops in and saves the day at the last minute, preventing her from killing a somewhat likeable and honourable man, but the intention was there. She even started the final descent, bringing her knife down towards his eye, only to have her arm caught by her retarded uncle. 

There are always logic holes in this tale: why couldn't they have killed him? Ok, this isn't so much logic, but I don't see why Miles couldn't have come in a few seconds later to discover his niece covered in innocent blood and eye jelly, then whisks her away to safety like he does? Normally I wouldn't call for such life to be lost, but I just think by preventing her from doing the deed the writers have purposely and idiotically outdone the progress the character made during the episode, turning her back into the moralistic whiney bitch she was before.

I do have to say though; Tracy Spiridakos really came into the role tonight. After five episodes coming across as largely non-committal, she seemed to relish being able to play a character with strength and questionable morals, an anti-hero rather than a straight-up good guy. It's the smarter, more relatable protagonist, and though when you watch the scene with the farmer you don't want him to die, you realise afterwards what a great story was squandered just to maintain the status quo. Despite what many previews have claimed, Revolution is not a show that has the balls to do things any differently. It's about war, yet what collateral damage have our heroes caused?

In another surprising twist, I actually enjoyed the flashbacks, which this time featured the largely unexplored Aaron. Zak Orth, who at first played a standard background foil, has come to be the voice of reason for the group, and that has been endlessly irritating. I have always despised the voice of reason, as their reasons are always stupid. 'Don't do this cause it's wrong!' 'Yeah, well what about the people who'll fucking die if I fucking don't do it you fucking ass'. Luckily, he also grew in my eyes, but only because he goes back on his word by killing the episode's antagonist; Drexel. Anyway, in the flashbacks we see that Aaron was always a punce, but he was a punce with a beautiful wife who - despite my initial judgements - loved him, and didn't just want him for the money. However after a group of bandits raid their post-blackout camp, he realises how utterly useless he is to everybody and leaves his poor wife alone, venturing off on some suicidal solo journey. We don't learn the wife's name, but she wasn't a bad actress, so something tells me we will see more of her.

It was only an episode or so ago that I actually realised that the flashbacks were here to stay. I thought that JJ Abrams wouldn't have the audacity to pull two flashback-heavy shows - A successful and boundless gimmick in Lost's case, a tired and limited trope in Revolution's - under his own name. I honestly think it was a stupid decision, and he could have had the gonads to try and pull a few spoken expository moments, rather than inundate us with generally boring footage of unimportant events. Characterisation is a yay, definitely, but only when the character is worth building upon. Yes, Aaron's flashbacks were successful, but he isn't particularly enthralling. 

The dramatic gun play between Nora and Aaron at the end was the best part of course, as I definitely didn't expect Aaron to shoot himself, let alone shoot Drexel. Good show, and good shot. I did think that he was going to die, and for a moment there I was so proud of this show, but then he had a fucking whiskey bottle in his pocket. It all turned out for the best, and we did get an awkward 'you did, but she didn't?' scene between Aaron and Charlie at the end there. 

I actually really, really liked Drexel. He was a fun, sadistic drug lord with a harlem of whores, heroin and adrenaline - God knows where he got the later - and he was played with complete abandon by Todd Stashwick. I was a bit put off by his death, but probably more so by the complete indifference of his guards. That one dude was pretty much just 'yeah, whatever man. My drugs now!' before letting Nora and Aaron go. Rightio.

Drexel, a better Charlie, a well aimed quick shot and some adequate flashbacks made for a fun experience which for the first time brought me whiffs of The Walking Dead or any other superior apocalypse dramas. Hopefully the edgy villains and the questionable heroes are going to come a bit thicker and faster - and no, Miles' quasi-mercenary style doesn't count as a 'questionable hero' - and we can really see this show emerge from its already withered bud to reveal a brilliant and unique flower. Look at that, metaphor. It was shit, yeah, but riskier than anything this show has done. Kill Miles!