Overall: 8.3
If this show gets canceled just as it's getting good, it'll be a real shame.
Plot Synopsis:
The official recap can be found here.
Writing: 9.0
This episode compellingly highlights, more than any other episode so far, our tremendous disadvantage. Anna has the mainstream media wrapped around her lizard claw, an army of loyal infiltrators quickly erasing any evidence of her malfeasance, and zero compunction. We have -- Father Jack, whose ethical training leads him to reveal the Fifth Column's plans to precisely the wrong person. I've seen some folks directing hostility toward Father Jack for how he behaves here, but it wouldn't have made sense, from a character standpoint, for the cleric to do anything other than what he did. And personally, I really love him for his innocence and unbending principle; indeed, he's rapidly turning into this show's Vir for me.
Meanwhile, Lisa's evolution has taken a turn for the neat. Now that she has broken free of the Bliss and has completely fallen out of her mother's favor, it'll be interesting to see what she does next. She may turn out to be a most important new addition to the Fifth Column.
Acting: 7.5
Again, I love Joel Gretsch here. Some may think his half-sobbing before he runs out of the Fab Four's hideout is a little much, but I think it's quite appropriate to the circumstance - and the anguish he displays elsewhere is fantastic.
Definite weak spots remain, however. I don't find Logan Huffman's breakdown at all convincing. And Rekha Sharma hasn't quite mastered the art of conveying a cold and calculating V. At the very least, she hasn't reached Morena Baccarin's standard, which means her scenes fall oddly flat.
Message: 8.5
Yes! Finally! Father Jack stands his ground as a priest, defends the sanctity of human life, and manages to bring the others - minus Hobbes - with him. Though I have no doubt, based on my knowledge of warfare, that the resistance will be unable to avoid at least some collateral damage, thanks to Father Jack, we will not be like them. We will never deliberately target civilians as terrorists and V's do. Sorry, Hobbes - while it may be true that the mainstream media has painted the resistance as a band of terrorists, we should never accept that label. Instead, we should harness the power of the new media and fight back against Anna's relentless PR machine.
One caveat, though: please don't give in to fan pressure and make Father Jack and Erica a couple. You're worrying me again with your Thorn Birds jokes.
The funny thing is...Erica finally started to look almost like an actual actress for a second. Until she tried to do those jokes with Jack. :)
ReplyDeleteHer scene with Jack in the interrogation room was well done, as a matter of fact...stopping him from cracking without blowing her cover...I enjoyed that.