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Tuesday, 06 May 2008 |
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By John Keegan
Visit Critical Myth for an archive of John's TV Review archives, with more than 1100 entries.
| Rather than rest on their laurels and limp into a potential second season, the writers (who are now in nominal control of the series) have chosen to use these extra post-strike episodes as a bridge between the first season arc and the future. The main hook is the idea that Mick might be exposed in the wake of Josh and Maureen’s deaths. Mick has his own way to deal with such a threat, but surprisingly, so does Beth.
I’m not sure that it makes sense for Beth to be so naïve about the truth of her chosen genre. Perhaps Maureen kept Buzzwire more or less respectable, but anyone with passing familiarity with TMZ or Perez Hilton is aware of the utter lack of basic human decency displayed. Someone in that general field should know if they’re the exception to the rule.
But perhaps there was simple a line Beth wasn’t willing to cross, even if it meant getting very close to it. As we see in her wonderful conversation with Josef in the final act, she’s willing to consider and even advocate some disturbing actions. She simply won’t dirty her own hands in the process of seeing to her (and Mick’s) best interests. That, combined with her more confident acceptance of vampires as a whole, brought home the strengths of the character for me.
I also liked the exploration of Mick’s weaknesses. Josef tries to get Mick to understand that a public presence is more of a danger than he suspects, but Mick seems to think he has everything under control. It’s a touch of hubris that has always been there since the beginning of the series, and it’s come back to bite Mick before (the second episode comes to mind). What it could do in this instance is force Mick to decide between staying with Beth or leaving town to protect himself.
While I’m hopeful that this possible threat to the vampire underground will last longer than the next couple episodes, since it would logically get Josef more directly involved with the story, the pacing of the series thus far suggests otherwise. If there is one complaint I have about the series, it’s the tendency to rush through plot points that would be better served by depth. Hopefully, if the series survives to a second season (and the SAG strike is avoided), the writers can make these minor but rewarding adjustments. |
