05.30 Blood Ties
06.30 Kyle XY
07.30 Supernatural
Blood Ties. Episode 10. "Necrodrome" Another perfect episode. This show has found a great balance between fantasy and reality and created a very distinct world for itself. In the opening scene a corpse gets up and walks from a funeral home during the night. The owners catch it on surveillance video and are assured - by a recurring minor character in the series - that Vicki Nelson is the private eye for the job. So it's not one of those shows where only the hero knows that there are supernatural things happening, and it's not a show where there is any great big conspiracy to unite any of these events. No. This just happens to be a world where odd things happen and people do not to talk about it very much (or they will be locked up for being nuts).
So Vicki takes the case and Henry helps out. Last week, Vicki to go hassle him (basically) to get him to join her on the case. This time out, he's an eager beaver. Mike gets a lot of screen time this week, too, but the show devotes no screen time to the love triangle. This episode is dominated by the case-of-the-week: corpses brought back to life to fight to the death (again!). It's a really strong story and Ken Kirzinger gives a terrific performance as the resurrected corpse gone missing. Very strong, very dangerous and driven by the urge to see his wife one more time. Henry convinces him it's a bad idea, so (in the episode's wonderful final minutes) he pretends to be 'dead' again so she can see his body and say her final, tearful goodbye (while he listens). She leaves and he opens his eyes, waiting for Henry to step forward and send him back to final rest.
It's a goofy story idea, but the show makes it work with 100% success. The acting and the tone sell it. And it's a story moment I'll remember for a long time to time.
Worth noting, too, is the fact that this is the third successive episode to end/fade to black with a strong story moment. First it was Vicki holding on to a means to stop Henry, then it was Vicki and Mike side-by-side in the woods reflecting on unrequited loves and this week the show fades to black as the main guest character dies (a second time) and Henry backs away into the night. Great endings like this make me eager to see the next episode.
Kyle XY. Season 2, Episode 13. "Leap of Faith" Flawless episode. Kyle and Jessi team up and go searching in the woods. Their bond is strong now. They are basically brother and sister, right, so why don't they come out and say it? Bugs me.
Kyle phones Amanda to get her help at a key moment. She's having a hard time dealing with the while Jessi situation but the bottom line is: she trusts Kyle and agrees to help. Good character writing. I'm more interested in this type of storytelling. Having Amanda storm out when she thinks something might be happening between Kyle and Jessi is a bit too fake for my liking. This is more credible drama.
The stuff in the woods was good, but so was the stuff back at the Trager House. The family (kept in the dark for all of Season Two) start to put the clues together and ask questions about Kyle and his nature. These are some of the best scenes the show has ever delivered and so is the scene between Declan and Tom Foss (Kyle's Guardian Angels).
Supernatural. Season 2, Episode 20. "What Is and What Should Never Be" Wow. I admire the way this show can take standard stories of sci-fi/fantasy and bring them into it's own narrowly-defined mythos. When they were able to do the Zombies overrun the town plot and make it work I came to the conclusion that they can make any story work on Supernatural.
And, gosh darn it, I was right again!
This week, they have a go at doing the ol' Parallel World storyline: where the hero gets to see an alternate version of himself/herself and various other series regulars. Many shows have used this idea to shed new light on the characters and, even when it fails to have depth, the tales are usually a lot of fun.
The SN version is the best of both worlds. Because the 'world' that we are seeing is generated by Dean's deepest wish, we can surmise a great deal about him from what we see onscreen. And, of course, because everybody in it hasn't been scarred by the events of the real world we get to admire the coolness of all these people being shown to us in a new way. In the case of two of them, just being alive is what's cool. And in the case of Sam Jared Padalecki gets to present us with another version of the hero. He's played a couple of versions of Sam in recent weeks and this time out we get to see a Sam who has lived a normal life.
But the episode is not about Sam, it's about Dean. It's about what he wants and - in the end - it's about what he fears.
The first third is mostly light-hearted. Dean's reactions to the world are wonderfully funny. SN has started being funny, now, and I like it. There are many wonderful scenes/moments. My favourite is the lawn-mowing bit, where Dean waves to the guy across the street with unabashed glee. Then he sits and Jensen Ackles delivers an amazing look of self-referential 'knowingness' that speaks volumes for what is really going through at that exact moment.
By the mid-third things have started to go awry, as Dean learns that his dream world is not all that it is cracked up to be. For all that he has, there is something that he does not have: a close relationship with his brother.
Why, one wonders, can the genie (for it is a genie that is doing all of this) not deliver unto Dean a perfect world where is also very close with his brother? I have no easy answer. But I can surmise that because the world is a reflection of the man (and Dean is no fool) it must adhere to certain basic rules of common sense. Deep down Dean knows that their hunting days have brought them together. So in a world without that spark, their friendship lies dormant.
Of course, the episode could have taken it in another direction. Dean's fantasy could have had them as best friends. And Dean's intelligence could lead him to be troubled by that and question it. Thus leading to the same story resolution. Either version works. Bottom line: Dean it too smart to be fooled or - more important - fool himself.
Also, and this is a different take on things: Dean's never had it easy. There's always been a fly in the ointment. Why should his fantasy world be any different?
By the final third, the story has gotten truly cool. Dean realises that it's all a dream and sets about fighting his way out. If the episode has a flaw it's the fact that Sam was there waiting for him when he opened his eyes. Yes, Sam would obviously track him down, he knows - roughly - where he was so that's not the issue I have. I just feel it would have been more powerful if Dean had fought his way out and found himself alone and trapped. Briefly. Then, Sam could have arrived to the rescue. I would have liked to see Dean hit rock bottom (having left the perfect world behind him) before his brother (the real reason he left) showed up and lifts him up again.
But this is a minor quibble.
I loved this episode. And it cements my belief that Dean is an epic heroic figure burdened by choices that his brother does not have to make. This time out he chose to sacrifice an entire world of perfection because he loves, and wants to be with, his brother.
Highlight? Supernatural (No contest. As good as everything else was, this show was off-the-chart awesome this week.)
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Sun, Nov 16, 08 - Blood Ties, Kyle XY, Supernatural
