Capsule Review: Medium 2.2

[entil2001.livejournal.com]

I wasn’t happy with the season premiere, largely because I felt that the need to wrap up the cliffhanger in a relatively predictable way impeded the more character-driven aspects of the show. This episode is closer to the format and balance of the best episodes of the first season, and for that, I am thankful. The misdirection in the plot was well-executed, and the tension between Joe and Allison was believable.

I mentioned after the previous episode that I was able to predict the killer’s identity after Allison’s first vision. This episode was the exact opposite. I really had no idea where it was going, and yet in the end, it all came together. I find that rather impressive, especially since the case itself was only a small part of the whole. The promos really made it sound like the entire episode would be about the repetitive song and Allison’s response to it, and that was far from the situation.

One very interesting side to the episode was the discussion on religion. Allison’s experiences run counter to a number of the teachings within Catholic dogma, and clearly, she has a lot of reasons to have a negative opinion. Joe doesn’t seem particularly pleased with the idea of going to church either. But Allison’s interaction with the priest gave the episode an unexpected strength, because there were no easy answers.

I should have known that Allison’s vision of the plane wouldn’t actually intersect with her family’s fate, but when Joe was “outnumbered”, I figured that was a safe bet. I’m still not sure why the visions would have included Joe, given how they eventually worked out, but it brings up an interesting question. Did Allison have the original vision, incorporating aspects of her own world into the vision, which was then passed on with the additional elements intact?

The use of the looping song was interesting, especially when it became something of a homing beacon. The writers were smart enough to know that it was something that would get annoying rather quickly (and by the time it was over, it was close to that line!), so it was used effectively to get the story going and to provide the link to the priest. It was a very good use of a gimmick!

One thing I didn’t like was the abrupt ending. That was something I didn’t like during the first season, and it shows up again in this episode. The jump to credits was far too abrupt, and it left open too many loose ends. I understand that the plot points of the episode were resolved, but a couple extra lines of dialogue wouldn’t have killed anyone!

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4

Final Rating: 7/10

Comments

[diatonically.livejournal.com]

[planecrashdream.livejournal.com]

awww.. F&G. They're so adorable.

[kosmickway.livejournal.com]

i agree with you on a number of things ... the looping on the song was quite effective and indeed the homing beacon bit was good.

The little animated bit at the beginning with Allison dancing in her red background across the musical notes was completely jarring to me. It was like nothing I'd seen on the show before and even struck me as corny ... too much for the show, almost. I wonder what your opinion on this is.

I felt there was almost too much going on in terms of plot ... it took me a while to see how everything was going to wrap together (Allison's visions AND the song AND the priest AND the tension between her and Joe) and though it did wrap itself together, I'd rather have seen the focus rest on a few of those things, rather than all of them ... it might even have been better to craft the episode without Allison's dreams and fear of flying not only so that we could explore more of the recurring song as a warning but also really flesh out the priest and his morals and that story. I just felt watching it that there was a bit too much. Opinions there, too?

[entil2001.livejournal.com]

Well, I like my narrative to be dense, so that wasn't so much of a problem for me. But I can see where you're coming from.

As for the teaser...it did grab my attention, and honestly, I was working on "Serenity" projects beforehand, and that got me to stop working and pay attention. It was a little corny, but effective!

[planecrashdream.livejournal.com]

LOL @ your icon.