Lara's Review - Blame Game

I liked this episode, but not in the same way and not as much as last weeks. While the storylines were somewhat lighter than Death Toll, there were some powerful and important undercurrents.

My favourite thing about this episode was Miguel Ferrer’s directing, he has the ability to create an immediacy in the direction. It is not hurried or rushed, but there is a sense of urgency and movement in each scene, this moves the various storylines along quickly and efficiently, without compromising the integrity of the storylines.

The cinematography was fantastic; the CGI effects were very realistic, especially the bushfire coming down the mountain. So often fire looks extremely staged, and moves in an unnatural way, in this episode I felt that the movement of the fire was fluid, but at the same time unpredictable, for me this is what made it real.

The music was perfectly matched with each scene, the Shaft theme was perfect for the opening, as Bug drove in, and it is a classic song and worked. The Lizz Wright song at in the last scene really pulled the various themes of the episode together, it is a beautiful ballad, and I recommend it to anyone.

I felt that Bug’s story was the most important of all the plot lines in this episode. The changes Bug has undergone, which were articulated in Death Toll, could be seen in this episode, he new car, new clothes, and to some extend a new attitude etc. But I felt that the story was more about Bug’s wrestle with the duality of his past self with his present self. Bugs initial reaction to ‘Mr Superhero’, compared with his final reaction and his steps to complete ‘Mr Superhero’s’ list, was a perfect illustration of how Bug seeks to be someone ‘new’ but maintain his own integrity.

Which brings me briefly to Lily, her reaction to the ‘new’ Bug was interesting. If the writers want to enhance a possible love triangle, then Lily’s reaction to Bug was a good way of building some ‘tension’, I felt that her reaction was more of the old Lily. I don’t know if the storyline will work for me, but if the interaction between the two characters continues in the same direction then the more I will be convinced by it.

Miguel Ferrer is doing a great job with Garret as he continues to walk the ‘dark’ side, the character is still attempting to battle his own demons, while attempting to fix his daughters. I did feel that the final scenes between Garret, Maggie and Abby were a beginning of a resolution for Garret.

Lu continues to grow on me, this week I felt she was more part of the whole cast rather than a ‘guest’, she had a place and a role to fulfill. I enjoyed the banter between Woody and Lu, and felt that the scene where they tossed the keys at each other was a symbolic representation them being in sync with each other. I can see the chemistry between the two actors. It is different from the chemistry between Jordan and Woody, but it is there. The kiss between them in this episode felt a lot more comfortable and natural than last week, this enhances the reality their budding relationship for me and I am looking forward to seeing how it plays out, and how Jordan reacts to it.

It seems as if every other person has commented on how much they love the robots, for me, it wasn’t that I didn’t like them, I more enjoyed Woody’s reaction to them, that was what made them work for me, I felt that having them there was a real throw back to season 1.

I enjoyed the case storylines in this episode; it was back to the standard Crossing Jordan format that was formed in season 3. The cases took precedence while interpersonal storylines played in the background. The name of this episode – Blame Game – fitted so well with all the storylines in the episode, as Bug assigned blame to the man for destroying his car, Garret, Jordan and the fireman’s wife looking for who to blame for the deaths of the firemen, and finally the need to remove the blame from the Garret, Maggie and Abby relationships.

There were so many throw backs to the first season in this episode, particularly Jordan offering Garret advice in his office, these have always been some of my favourite moments, when two stubborn friends come together to give each other a much needed kick in the behind! They have always been a touching way to conclude the episode.

Overall, I did like the episode, I just felt it lacked the power of last weeks, but then, you do need some lighthearted relief occasionally, and this is what I felt this week’s episode was. In the end, I felt it was a run-of-the-mill episode, not forgettable but not powerful enough to stand out.