By John Keegan and Henry Tran
Based on the few episodes that have aired after the pilot, there seems to be more interest in the events of the Rex world more than the Hannah world. I really wouldn't have noticed until this episode, when the police worked the serial killer case in the Rex world, while the primary conflict in the Hannah world was if she was going to move to Portland, Oregon. I don't want to underestimate the importance of that decision, but the amount of focus on the police cases in the Rex world may suggest that it is the correct reality and that the Hannah world is Michael's dream. His job as a police detective may also become untenable if he and Hannah move away from Los Angeles. There is just no telling what will happen to the realities when or if that big decision is made.
Based on the few episodes that have aired after the pilot, there seems to be more interest in the events of the Rex world more than the Hannah world. I really wouldn't have noticed until this episode, when the police worked the serial killer case in the Rex world, while the primary conflict in the Hannah world was if she was going to move to Portland, Oregon. I don't want to underestimate the importance of that decision, but the amount of focus on the police cases in the Rex world may suggest that it is the correct reality and that the Hannah world is Michael's dream. His job as a police detective may also become untenable if he and Hannah move away from Los Angeles. There is just no telling what will happen to the realities when or if that big decision is made.
Lost Girl, which was recently acquired by Syfy, will be airing the season one finale next week, followed shortly by the season two premiere.
Coming on the heels of the emotionally charged previous episode, it’s perhaps understandable that the writers would want to follow it up with something a little more light-hearted. They do eventually manage to give the episode far more heft with its final moments (even if they telegraphed the reveal to the hilt), but the core of the episode is a mixture of terror and outright hilarity.
Much of this season has felt like a return to some of the concepts of the first season, now armed with the improvements and layers that were added in the interim, and this episode is a perfect example of that. It’s also another great example of how the changes between original and overlaid timelines have led to different results.
It’s telling that we’re this close to the end of the season, and yet I still feel like this series/season hasn’t figured out where it wants to go or how to wrap all the various threats and problems into one manageable package. Some attempt is made in this episode to combine a few plot threads, but it’s not particularly convincing.
This has been a rather disappointing and troublesome season of "Merlin". Despite obvious efforts to move the show in a new direction and build upon past strengths, this season has been nowhere near the improvement that I hoped it would be. Chief among the show's many flaws is its inability to properly integrate the serialized storytelling into its episodic structure. With so much of the season having underwhelmed me, I pinned the remainder of my hopes on the finale, knowing that the premieres and the finales tended to be stronger than most episodes.
Jeremy LaLonde is the writer and director of the upcoming independent film Sex After Kids, which is about how couples' relationships change after they have children.
Fox's hit series Bones returns Monday in its new timeslot, with the episode "The Prisoner in the Pipe." In the episode, human remains of an escaped fugitive are found in the sewer. When evidence indicates that the murder occurred inside the prison, Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz) and Temprance Brennan (Emily Deschanel) turn to the inmates for answers. Meanwhile Booth wants Brennan to take it easy because she is near the end of her pregnancy, but being stubborn, they end up with an untraditional birth of their new baby girl.
Due to the steadily falling ratings of this show, I would not be surprised if this was the last episode to ever air. As a result, the finale is just not going to resolve anything. If the show does somehow get a reprieve and another season, there are some interesting questions that could be explored.