What to say on this one. *shrug*
Pretty typical and anonymous.
Not so much so as to call it a blip on the upward trend S7 seems to be establishing. Just not an episode that shone, and another that won't prove terribly memorable. Perhaps an overly Orchestrated, Ponderous and Deliberate hour of Storytelling. That includes the structure, using the final confrontation to intro and filling in the rest, the prefacing tag line "a lot can change in a day," the pacing, the compressed chronology and case progression to fit, the later sequencing of scenes w/team characters to arrive at the confirmation of the killer, the usual forfeiture of certain protocols for drama, the split screen format, the final take down(s), and even the story itself. I hate cliffhangers, but this all felt so surface based I think it mighta done well to have had more time available, or a larger build up scattered across a few episodes. That's also an odd thing to suggest, given that there were times where the show felt exceptionally sluggish. Not sure how to articulate this. The form was prominent. The content was such I wanted more; more depth, or more time, or more intensity.
Was still a decent ep. Just wasn't one that sucked me in to the point where such things weren't noticeable. I also rather felt left on the sidelines, external, un-impacted, which was a bit dissatisfying, given all that the show managed to broach, if that makes sense.
Also didn't get to see enough of Luther to feel conflicted about him, or for him, his motives and his methods, etc., didn't really get to feel enough resonating from the past & days in common between him & Mac, and therefore also not what their present interaction was really wagering. All the more cos I also didn't get the feeling that there was a barely suppressed likelihood that a gang-war could be provoked into erupting.
*shrug* I enjoyed the Luther/Mac scenes. But, for all the peripheral dancing by two key figures, it's like the surface had only been scratched, and then rubbed out altogether and too soon. On the one hand, it kept the ep a team based progression. On the other, it didn't seem to really take advantage of a Luther/Mac set up (not to mention EJO/GS). In that respect, perhaps a bit more material devoted mighta enticed me to invest a bit more. I shrug again. Tricky balance, for sure
. Was also admittedly disappointed to see Luther killed; there was part of me that wondered about the potential for him to be available as a somewhat undetermined & ambiguous recurring/revisited character.
Anyhoo. Just running thru it.
I liked that there managed to be infused a bit of flavor and grit, and less glitz and shiny than the usual.
It was impossible
not to suss out early on whodunnit & why
, but leaving off confirming it till later was still sorta engaging for the trip.
Was ridiculously happy to see Sid back in an episode
. Sid & Sheldon, additionally fun. Not enough, though. Plz to be working on that.
There were a few fun lines. Flack: "...this is why they take your credit card when you check in." Given SW's comments in interviews on script and sea legs, "2-bit three block drug dealer also got a smile from me. I also enjoyed the early Mac/Luther scene, "Every few months I found one of my men in the mess hall" / "I didn't want you to get lonely."
There were a few cheese lines. Danny: "Someone's gotta kiss and tell."
I gotta say, I <3 Jo and her oversized UnSmiley sticky tabs :lol:. Dunno why, exactly. Just, a Snickerlol there. In its own way it was a nudge similar to "Gooey" in its contrast
, and the show, somehow, resisted the urge to narrate the moment. Lovely
. I like it as an element of her personality, I like it as a NY fun tidbit to take or leave. (I've also just caught up on a few eps of Mentalist, and so couldn't help a certain lateral association in seeing red smileys :lol:. It did in one respect look as if Red John's second cousin's former roomate were a wee bit saddened and identifying those he wasn't able to get to personally. So Sry To Have Missed You. Have a Nice Day).
I also kinda liked that Mac was written to reference a bit of presumed old school and shades of grey with Luther. A certain dialogue and understanding indicated, down to "gifts" of Remorseful Young Shooters, one's word and a shake of the hand. What was also kinda fun was wondering which among them thought they were shaking hands with a respective devil.
...*sigh.* ...DL. Cut. The. Chord. Split up the convenient commute. Perchance one of these days we will be graced with an ep where Danny and Lindsay do not by default appear at all scenes together.
I thought it was odd and amusing that the whole mirror was brought in to process the lipstick print. I suppose if they could have they woulda chiselled out the wall to process the handprint. OgeeWait. I think they did. That whole, ridiculous, melting gloves thing wif Lindsay. Glad she didn't waste the nitrile ones. Not even cute. Just laugh out loud wtf :lol:
. Can buy a jug of liquid latext for a few bucks or myriad other casting materials, and she's melting gloves. My how clever & innovative :lol:. F*cking hell. I'd say that even if it were Adam who had done so. I'm just glad they didn't write him such an inane moment of Impressive Processing For The Sake Of It. It wasn't such an irresistable nugget that the show couldna done something other with the time. Un-necessity is the mother of a lab-based Montana-MacGuyver? Really? Just. Another shake o' the head on that bit.
Jo & Danny started to have a fun scene with the early ID of Purple Hazel. Dang but AB is really quite the buzzkill.
People may rightly pick on Mac's final scene w/o back up, and it certainly got a bemused tweak of an eyebrow and eyerolling shake of the head from me :lol:
. But I will equally say that Flack's scene with Hazel and the attempted hit in the street while picking her up gets a few similar nitpickings from me. Detectives have partners. Except where casting costs kill one off. Flack, as Mac, shouldna been on his own. Detectives get unmarked cars. Uniforms get squad cars. (I think. Could be mistaken). I also find it difficult to think Flack emerged utterly unscathed from the incident, 50+ rounds pumped into the car, at such short range. Not a nick or scratch. Even his hair remained firmly in place
. But. Evs. SuperMac we're used to. In his own way, Super(Lucky)Flack we're used to as well, given the chases and various leaping take downs he also manages
. Was still a nice ratchett scene to raise the stakes. Something that Jo's hospital encounter also did. And Flack scenes are always welcome.
Given that each had their moments, I also thought that the ep didn't scream ThisIsA!MacEp in the way I dreaded it might, after hearing about the past link between Mac & Luther in spoilers. I also think the final confrontation was so Moody & Orchestrated, past vs present, brother vs. brother, cop vs killer(s), Mac & Luther's link, meant that it was never gonna be a sirens blaring all out NYPD raid, or even Mac accompanied by one of the team, no matter how much more sense it woulda made :lol:. With such deliberate bookending, the earlier pattern of meetings between them, and how it was intended to conclude (as I read it), I wasn't as bothered by Mac being written to head in to see Luther solo as I otherwise would be. Was malleted to fit the Deliberate narrative & structure. Same again for Rick shooting Mac, Luther shooting Rick, and Mac shooting Luther. I'm sure some will revel and delight in berating Mac accordingly
. Meh. Luther always had an agenda and I also doubt he'd willingly return to prison, even in the hands of a Fair Man after accomplishing what he'd set out to. We'll never know. I'm glad that the writers resisted giving Mac a closing monologue, and I was ambivalent on Luther's. I liked that the ep closed in shades of grey, a place Mac hasn't been portrayed in awhile. The show's definitely dabbling in some less familiar waters where he's concerned, and all the more interesting for it. A point in NY's favor.
Guess Mac he won't be playing bass for awhile... :lol:
Adam and Fishzilla were fun. DL and Fishzilla weren't. What can I say. Just the weekly affirmation of irksome. I also love that Adam knows a guy. Who knows a guy. Who.. etc, etc. I'd just love to know how Adam knows so many people. He and Sid. Awesome :lol:.
As mentioned, I thought Jo and Hazel had a good scene in the hospital. I also think that the way Jo was written was also more restrained, in a good way. I do love her moments, and I'm mostly liking what SW has done with them, I appreciated that they've backed off the Uber a tad with Jo.
The 'splodey scene, and Mac's kaboom dive, looked on a shoestring and/or a few corners tweaked. A little oddly depicted, given the choice to do it. In that respect the street shooting scene won out on cutting & style points. Just, not seamless, is all. Nitpicky, mebbe. Just wot I saw. Stunt guy inna bathrobe at the start of the ep musta been another interesting night's work too
. Was smoother in the integration though.
By the time Lindsay was melting lab supplies, one unavoidably knew how the rest of the ep was gonna play out. Further confirmed by Fernando turning himself in and requesting Mac specifically, echoing Luther from atop the show. Leaving two brothers... yada :lol:. Not to mention the casting. Yancy's familiar enough I was expecting his character would figure significantly in the gang in Luther's absence. What was a nice change of pace for NY was that both brothers, Luther within his Code and Rick in his Business, were responsible/guilty for serious & substantial crimes, that their activities weren't polarized in Luther's return. Also liked that the end was visually shadowy as well to echo it.
The end sequence was striking, but while I did like the lighting and mood, I hafta say I found it slightly amusing to see watery reflections & fx, wondering how and where the sources of light and pools of water were supposed to be to produce them. But still visually really nice.
Coulda done without the end synopsis spoken by Luther, but NY must ensure we knew why he did what he did. It was nice that there was otherwise no Cute ending tacked on as subsequent commentary. I didn't feel left hanging for it. I did want to feel it had more impact, even if it was framed as a phyrric victory within a larger nihilism, yada.
Call it a
C+.
The ep touched on a lotta things, packed a whole lot in, still somehow managed to feel a bit boggy in places, and superficial, instead of intense and smoldering, if that's what they were going for. In one sense, I liked that the show came first, and that EJO/GS weren't front and centre at the expense of it. In another sense, the story and interaction weren't really quite what I was hoping for in the pair of them facing off.
I came away from this ep like Flack's hair, largely unmoved
. An average ep, but also I think a very ambitious one, which I appreciate. I still think NY is moving in the right direction.
