Overall Rating: 5.5
We're heading for what should be a SPECTACULAR crescendo...this would be the episode where the writers are tasked with putting forward their real agenda so that it may play out in all its' pleasing glory on D-Day (next week)...instead, we get wishy-washy non-committal scenes where characters say nothing when they should be screaming what they believe and plots that feel rushed and jumbled.
Spoilers below the cut
Plot Synopsis:
The official (very complicated) recap can be found here.
Writing: 4.0
I don't want to mislead the reader with the relatively low rating I've given the writing here. It was still enjoyable to watch the episode, just because it's so well made and I'm so invested in the running plot. There is still entertainment value...but I am starting to run into too many scenes where I am muttering to myself "Come ON (insert character's name)...you can't think of something more complete to say in response to that? Really?"
Two such moments: first when Demitri asks Mark (whose very actions define my philosophical belief that there is no such thing as fate) straight up, "Do you believe there's anything to it? That the universe is somehow controlling the outcome?" and all we get from Mark is "you're screwing up a lot of things, Demitri, but the Universe has nothing to do with it." Demitri is alive...whether he dies tomorrow or not is irrelevant...he has irrevocably changed the future. Logically, morally, and philosophically, Mark should have been all over that. And oh yes...even if one were to buy into this idea that there's an outcome that's "supposed" to happen...that outcome appears to pretty much suck ass - eventually leading to the end of the world in 2016 and resulting in a lot of good people dying. Mark should have at least said "Dem, if you're screwing up the master plan, I say GOOD!! The master plan friggin' SUCKS!"
A second such moment occurs when Mark is talking to Gabriel. He asks about an earlier moment when Gabriel called Olivia "Olivia Simco." He wants to know if that's what always happens in Gabriel's FlashForwards and Gabriel confirms this. He asks what would happen if the future were changed and Gabriel claims that such a thing would be impossible. And Mark ACCEPTS THIS?? Since WHEN does Mark accept any such thing?? The next moment is sweet - he asks if Olivia will be safe and Gabriel says she will. But the sweetness is all blown to hell in my mind because it should never have gotten to that point. He should have been barking angrily that the future hasn't happened yet and he's going to change it. He should be shouting that to the rooftops...and frankly...he should be PISSED at Lloyd and deeply wounded by Olivia...and he's shown NEITHER of those things at any point.
Basically, I feel that the writers' dramatic choices are starting to read like character assassination and I don't buy into it anymore. So, although the action continues to be engaging, I think the series is starting to veer away from the things that were holding my interest in earlier episodes. The existence of a cult of people who believe the future cannot be changed - that's very believable and would serve the dramatic purpose of keeping Demitri and Mark on their toes and keeping us in suspense. There is no need to make the regular characters buy into that crap when they've shown no indication of believing it before.
Acting: 8.0
Whoever plays the pet shop lady is a darned good character actress...she makes my skin crawl delightfully away from the screen whenever she appears...she's just so evil and creepy...LOL Fiennes has a bad day this week...he hasn't really bowled me over too often in the past, but this week, he is flatter than Twiggy or Olive Oyl and far less interesting to watch. The rest of the cast does a well above average job of hiding his suckitude though. Courtney Vance, Dominic Monaghan, Brian O'Byrne, and especially Christine Woods were the acting stars here. Janis is by far the most interesting character at this point, and I was not entirely sure the Gabriel sting was a sting until it actually happened, which is big time creditable to Woods' portrayal of Janis making the call. Her scene with Mark near the end of the episode in which she is told no one will ever trust her again was sensational as well.
Message: 4.5
Adultery is OK, as long as a savant says it's fate. No one - not even the jilted husband - questions this at all. I've already dealt with the issue of the writers pushing material determinism on the viewers, so I won't rehash that again. I am going to get harder and harder on this show morally...I'm giving them some slack here, because it is possible that they are having everyone doubt the nature of their free will just to set us up for the big celebratory "HA! We CAN change the future, bastards!!" finish...so far, the ones spouting that the future cannot be changed are all either crazy, evil, mentally challenged, or have a psychologically vested interest in believing that their FlashForward will come true. There's been no resistance to the idea amongs the other regulars, which is bad, but the show can still redeem itself. If there is no such recovery, the series will quickly move from treasured addicting favorite to long-forgotten travesty.
Despite some of my concerns over FF's direction, I am still greatly saddened to report that the show has been canceled by ABC - likely in lieu of some piece of crap reality show.
ReplyDeleteThey have renewed V, but, if you asked me, they picked the wrong show to continue. I'm guessing FF got canceled because the cast and writers were more expensive (the only big name actor in the V cast is Marena Baccharin, whereas FF has several guys with movie credits and whatnot. And perhaps because the show's plot concept was sometimes harder for non-sci-fi type fans to follow (you have to know enough about quantum mechanics to buy into the cause of the FFs).
The cancelation of FF likely means we'll never know what their ultimate message was going to be...and I think that's a travesty.