Hmmm. Interesting. Seems that a new episode in better than a month didn't appease many. I think I'm one who liked it better than most here seemed to
.
I get the feeling this is gonna be a bit long. A) it's my curse, and B) in keeping track of the hour I suppose I'm being as methodical as it was
.
I liked the teaser a lot. Not just for the show, but for how it was in one sense the spoiler turned on its head :lol:. All the talk after the clip was available, and the car crash was just a dream... I got sucked in :lol:. I loved the opening, no dialogue, only sound, rainy, gritty grainy light, patched movement, dark, and that balloon. I was kind of suspicious, in wondering why a crime scene a CSI was visiting hadn't been cleared by responding officers. And then Stella was soooooo focused in her pursuit of the killer that she was blindsided... (Noooo, not hinting at anything at all, that
). I was taken aback in realizing the car chase was about to lead into the big crash, and wondered equally what temporal storytelling would reconcile Stella being injured at the outset of an ep. And then Marina appeared, rather ominously I first thought. And then she vanished, and Stella... woke up :lol: And I said, "you... you
bastards :lol:" Got me.
The hour wasn't inundated with an overt score, thought it fit rather well overall. It took until act 2 for the usual horns on cuts crap to surface again. Well, whaddayado. Liked the Liberty shots starting the first segment. The show was very methodical in setting up case, or what they'd thought was the lack of one, and it was also interesting to have that done without Stella there, to have her on the outside and distracted with her own internal rumblings. Her rumblings and the lack of a case met and because it's made such a prominent return of late, *bo0m*.
Was delighted to see Sid back. I actually liked the confrontation between Stella and Sid. And by that I mean it was good for the story and well played by Melina and Bob Joy. I thought Sid was both unaccustomed to being questioned in quite that way, but also had a dignity in the disagreement that matched Stella's unfocused and yet to be explained indignation. We later find out the disappointment Sid also felt, and the history both he and Melina had with Marina. I think I also noted that Sid had called Stella himself when Marina came in - and so to butt heads after that must have shaken him all the more. It did, because it also gave us another example in the realm of fantastic Sid/Sheldon interaction. I absolutely
luvs scenes these two have together :bolian:.
Wasn't sure initially, but I came to like the pretense that Marina, though dead, was not just a haunting presence for Stella but given her own voice in the show. I thought the casting was excellent, and the actress was great. Thought the writing for her dialogue in particular was excellent, and actually, that most of the dialogue and interaction between all characters in this episode was solid. Very refreshing.
I also wasn't as offput by Stella as others were. I also don't need to always like all that characters are doing and how they go about it to think it works well for the story, in fact makes the story. That's also something that makes them human, and not just Types to be adored. The show continued to be clear and methodical in explaining not only Marina's story but why they were not in a position to investigate. Stella not only against Sid, but also Sheldon, and Danny, and Lindsay, and apparently all common reason :lol:. Ya need evidence to get evidence, as Messer so aptly summed it up. The fuzzy one, not the not quite believably placating and irksome other half. The show was sooooooo methodical, however, that it wasn't until act 2, ie. nearly halfway thru the hour, that it could actually move forward.
...Dr. Aubrey Hunter says yer welcome, btw, and my what lovely labs you have here
. What's in the bag? It was what prompted Aubrey to bring the bag in the first place that got things moving again. Will come back to that. But first. A brief moment must be devoted to the following.
Speaking of adorable types. Adam. :lol:. Adam and Aubrey, fantastic scene, and a great, fun way to broaden her use in a minute that had nothing to do with hospitals or the usual ways one might expect to be contrived to have her involved in a case. It also had her interacting with people other than just Mac. I thought it was both funny as hell, and very well played by both. I thought it was smart, and smartly put together by the writers too. It would also seem that Adam's not particularly pining for Stella in any obvious way
, and that he seems to have a bit of a thing for, well, not older women, but women older than him, let's say :lol:. Why shouldn't it go both ways :lol:.
I thought Aubrey and Mac's interaction was also fun, was also in service of the story, and that what was shown rather than said (refreshing in itself) in service to hinting at things developing between them. The bruha over a character who's had a grand total of about five minutes airtime spread across a two episode appearance is rather amusing. I like Aubrey. The show's been restrained and careful with this so far. I don't know how the writing of the upcoming Bermuda Triangle will sway that, but I like her. Five minutes + bruha has me liking her all the more
. What can I say
. Additionally. The show, and possibly viewers, esp. with all the lulls, have needed some shaking up. Like it or loathe it, or throwing things in outraged indifference, just about everyone has an opinion.
Right. The Reason Behind The Bag. This week's Curvature Of Lettuce. Its Linguistic Shiny. ... ~ "Cadaveric Spasm." ~ Ta daaaaah. Cadaveric Spasm gets Stella and Flack into Marina's apartment. Where they have a great personal exchange. ...that was overheard by the step-father in the closet. Now
that's a plot coinkidink if there ever was :shifty:
. The fact that Flack and Stella's exchange was so good was countered in how odd and ...intrusive, I suppose a good word would be, how intrusive it was to realize that the guy had been there throughout.
Mirroring her dream, Stella was on the chase again, except Tony was hiding where Luke had been. (Noooo. Not hinting at anything at all, that
. Wait. Deja vu. Spooky
). So that set up the infamous chase, ActionFlack and PerilBonasera, both fulfilling their respective roles. The underwater sequence was impressive, the whack of Stella's head made me wince. Was also a gratuitous, and what did it get us, "omgwillStelladietwiceinoneepisode? ImeanIknozshe'srlytoughbut..." No, course Stella won't drown, not when someone else can save her. That and the floating yellow thingy. Which, btw, I was impressed Stella somehow noticed during the struggle.
Liked the structure again, act 3 started with a concussed Stella, close up, and Marina back again. The bit about her and her brother being twins, and how she was a reminder of his absence was another moving moment. Tough As Nails Stella also was another occasion to have Aubrey present, this time in hospital context, with another simple and not overplayed moment. A lovely brief smile with Mac after having treated Stella and she was off again. Not in the least an over-imposed presence. There followed a more typical brief banter between Mac and Stella as neither is the kind who would voluntarily accept Sick Leave. So, two thirds of the way thru, and it was pointed out that it still wasn't proven that Marina was murdered. Although most viewers had probably made their guess by this point, the hour was less about who, than how the team got there. The whole hour was spent trying to find ways to substantiate what they couldn't prove but thought they knew.
Brings us to Hawkes and Sid. Did I say already that I love scenes with these two? Yah, I think I did. Bears repeating though
. "...Sid, you ...brought me down here to confirm your discovery of a rash??" :lol:. Sheldon was his usual supportive and practical self in trying to allay Sid's self-doubt and second guessing. Was a very good scene. And one of three that Sid stood out in, the last being Stella's late return. And I will agree with Hill here. "We're not always right, but not always because we're wrong" was a good line, and as I'd hoped, proved to be better in context.
So. The pivot point here was the fast food the camera held such fascination with earlier on. Shake Shack trickling all over the carpet, fries scattered. And if Flack's disdain wasn't enough of a clue of the food's pedigree, a scorched foam wizzle was mistaken for a french fry (and probably vice versa
). ...When Lindsay was going off on her "I'm About To Be Brilliant" preface with Sheldon, I'd thought I'd heard her say "...and tell Adam to bring
his pillow - ...Adam has a favorite pillow at work? :lol: And the foam fry proves, finally, that Marina was murdered. Curious enough that I wonder (and doubt) that a foam fry would result from a pillow being used to muffle a gunshot, but hey, apparently that "hammer in a treetrunk" thing in a Vegas ep last year was based on a truth that was stranger than fiction :lol:. I guess I'll grudgingly swallow the remote possibility, even if it feels like a Shake Shack Menu going down :lol:. Smoking bullet indeed.
Another brief Mac/Adam scene. By the time we had Danny processing the fabric, I realized how much of a team-based ep it felt like, despite Stella being the most effected. And yet. We cannot escape. For one. Single hour. That Danny and Lindsay are married. Whuzzat? Oi, Lindsay Messer. Over the past month without a new episode (crammed with re-runs), we just might have had it slip our collective consciousness that Danny and Lindsay are together. Headdesk. Facepalm. NosePinch. Browrub. Long deep breath. And a *b0om* too, no less. Writers, I'm gonna hafta resort to quoting your Stella: "You guys are gonna hafta get to the razzle dazzle part..." ...cos that ain't it.
The pace had been fairly consistent as they compiled both the right to investigate and the proof to substantiate theories. But as it approached the final chapter, it was flagging. I musta been distracted, because the fabric stuff - um. Sorta fit. Sorta didn't care. Sorta didn't care either for the DL demo of it's wonders :lol:. Another installment of Marina talking of her step-father and speaking of witnessing her brother's murder, was nearly "I see dead people seeing dead people," repressed memories that explained (and somehow made extremely sad) the intervening decade and a half spent trying to find Luke. On a more serious note, I also felt a deep impact, to realize that Tony had killed both twins, fifteen years apart.
Very brief Danny/Flack scene. Sorry, kind of meh. Flack/Stella had more impact in this one. Did wonder briefly if Don had lent Danny his badge to pull off a near-unnecessary near-entrapment. They couldn't have arrested Tony without that? But hey, was a way to have a Danny/Flack scene.
Last grand reveal, that reading closure versus suicide is a matter of context - ie. Marina's suicide note wasn't.
The show closed with a sequence of scenes that felt as if they'd had half a dozen ideas and couldn't decide which would be best, and so included all of them. It did all feel a bit much.
Stella/Tony was pretty good. There was a helplessness or sense of pained futility in Stella, knowing then that Marina had found it in herself to move on despite realizing what Tony had done to Luke, and Stella also knowing what Tony had done subsequently to Marina, the hollow, bittered end of fifteen year saga that saw both twins dead.
Stella's scene with Sid was a great counterpoint to their earlier encounter, and was another of their more typical interaction that always speaks to me that they're long time friends and colleagues too who can push and pull with a certain elasticity.
The scene of Flack, calling up his "Marina Garito," couldn't decide if I liked that or not. I did, and ultimately it didn't feel too imposed, because of his earlier exchange with Stella. Was another opportunity for Eddie Cahill to play a bit different of a scene, one that showed, that though Flack may have donned a harder shell this year, just how much he still feels the work he does, deep down and shielded, and how much it still does impact him. He made a decision to open up to it again. Was nice to see. Mebbe it's a turning point for him too. Between Sid and Flack, the episode was also able to demonstrate the kind of hub character Stella is. The show could have easily ended after either of those scenes for me.
Buuuuuuuuuuuuuut. The writers and director were very structured and very methodical throughout the whole, and so, a desire for bookends was not unexpected. That would be Stella, no longer having nightmares, snoozing peaceably on her sofa. (...and I did think it was her couch in her office, not Mac's, just hadda say :lol
The bit with Mac, only forgetting to turn out the lights on his way out of her office, was thoughtful and gentle, let's say, but on the other hand he shoulda woken her up and sent her home, giving her some time off to avoid Peril for a day or three :lol:. I do also hafta agree with the Review, pointing out the disturbing prevalence of seeing strong female characters taken down a peg or two, often thru even more disturbing devices. Yes, Stella got this focus in part because she has always been the strong, and strong-minded female lead of the show. Mebbe someday there will be a story more proactive in both how she's placed in her Recurrent Peril (I mean it's almost like a hobby for her), how she gets out of it, and who else she might be able to aid in theirs from time to time.
Marina also got a final scene, ...and I kept wondering when the show was gonna turn off it's own light
. Just one more page, one more chapter, one more one more... I was only hoping that not each and every character was gonna get a coda. Thankfully, that was it. The show again could have ended with Marina, she'd been so moving and effective on her own. It felt an unsubtle rummaging thru one's chest cavity to search out heartstrings, with the final final final scene of the young twins, the imagery of the balloon, and a last nod to the opening dream sequence. > Could they have packed in any more to close the ep. With that accomplished, someone finally turned out the light, and for all I know, tucked us in as some had likely dozed off while all that was playing out :lol:
I liked the episode. I very much liked specific aspects of it, and was rather fidgety thru other parts. But on the whole thought it was a decent one. Worthy return after a month-long hiatus? Mebbe not. I think Redemptio will put paid to that. But not a let down either.
Call it ....hmmm. Above their average. B- , cos episodes I've thought were worse I've previously given a C+.
(</overlong review>)
PS psst.
Originally Posted By rahkira What is it with Jerry Bruckheimer and his insistence on pairing up forty - or fifty-something male leads with twenty-something females? Nothing like perpetuating stereotypes! Or perhaps it's wishful thinking on his part?
:lol: While I wholeheartedly take your point, especially about stereotypes, I might also point out that Mädchen Amick, the actress playing Aubrey is forty. Pardon me, 39. Whether or not Aubrey is supposed to be that age, I dunno
.
Also. Just a non-specific-general-poke-at-no-one,-honestly-just-sayin. Melina (in two weeks) is 43. Whether Stella is supposed to be the same age, well I'm sure others have put far more analysis and thought into it than me :lol:. Some have suggested in the show's realm that Stella's supposed to be
thirty-something, (however
that's supposed to work). Sooooo. How is it that pairing Mac and Aubrey could be seen by some as eye-rolling in respect of relative ages but pairing Mac with Stella would be soooo fantabulistic??
