Prodigal Son 1.10: Silent Nightby Wolfen MoondaughterReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Network
Credits Grade: 9 An investigation into the death of a squeaky-clean cop leads Malcolm to the door of a man who had been involved in the investigation into Whitly -- and further down the trail of the Junkyard Killer, in turn. Also, a rival profiler literally moves in on Malcolm's territory, impeding his efforts.This was a really intense episode, making for a fantastic mid-season finale cliffhanger! I like how effectively they blended a killer-of-the-week story with a story concerning the long-term arc. There were a few of downsides: no fresh Whitly scenes, they went a bit overboard in the effort to make the new profiler an antagonistic, and there were some logic leaps that didn't quite work. Otherwise, I really enjoyed the character development (of everyone, not just Malcolm)! There were some juicy developments, including things that involved worry towards Malcolm, which I adore. Bonus, we got to see Sean Pertwee (Alfred on Gotham)! Spoiler time. Still with me? Okay! Let's start with the nitpicks. My first nitpick is that there's absolutely no reason whatsoever for the team to assume that the murdered officer was there to have sex with the sex worker -- as her boss later stated, as far as victim Chief Detective Turner was concerned, the worker was there under the pretense of being an informant. And while I appreciated that Turner, a well-respected man, was gay (even out, to some degree), him being gay shouldn't have been the only conceivable reason he didn't have sex with her! My own first notion, in fact, before Malcom even started profiling the guy, was that indeed she was an informant. Way to reduce the woman as being nothing more than her occupation, Malcolm! My other, bigger nitpick was the exchange where Special Agent Colette Swanson snapped at Malcolm for blaming Paul's mother for Paul's actions, presenting it as if that's something Malcolm has frequently done -- and been wrong about. This is absurd in multiple ways. For one, while Jessica certainly has issues that may have effected Malcolm too, the show has made it abundantly clear that Malcolm sees his father as the primary source of his psychoses (even going so far as having Malcolm explicitly state, earlier in the episode, that his problems are his father's doing and not Jessica's). If anything, I would think he would be far more prone to blaming father figures, when such figures are present. (That was a big plot point in the second episode, even!) For another, Paul didn't have a father figure that they know of, and as parents / guardians are the primary shapers of their children's mindsets, it's entirely reasonable to conjecture that Paul's mother was at least part of how he was made into a serial killer. So Swanson jumping on him for "blaming the woman" paints her as not just inadequate at her job, but also as the extreme man-hating kind of feminist that Men's Rights Activists are always screaming about -- but which, in my experience, aren't actually all that common. So this character perpetuates a harmful negative stereotype of strong women being unreasonable, all so the show could paint Malcolm sympathetically in regards to his old job -- as if the pilot hadn't done that just fine -- and have Dani choose solidarity with him over her fellow female law enforcement officer. Not that I didn't appreciate Dani doing that, mind. But I would rather she'd been pitted against a male character, which would have showcased her strength and the respect she's earned in a male-dominated profession better, and also avoided the trope of putting powerful women against each other. I applaud the desire to cast another woman in a powerful position on the show, but it didn't pay off in this instance. As for Pertwee's character, Detective Shannon, I'm confused as to why he acted like he knew Malcom to start with -- "Oh, look who it is!" -- but then later actually realised who Malcolm was, thanks to Malcolm 's tremor (I continue to love how that's a running plot device). Maybe he just meant Gil, but he was pointing his gun and looking at Malcolm .... I also don't understand why Shannon was so stuck on the idea that young Malcolm helped Whitly (aside from the show trying to give us a reason to dislike and distrust him). Between that, how he misunderstood Turner's intentions, and how he thought Matilda was "all right ", it seems he's an exceptionally bad judge of character! Otherwise, I loved Shannon's arc all around -- the tragic gay love story (well, aside from the "Bury Your Gays" aspect, of course), and how he and Malcolm teamed up after realising they had common ground. I loved that you could even see the moment where Shannon had his change of heart towards Malcolm, yet it was presented in such a way that I still worried for a goodly while that he might be playing the younger man, leading him into a trap. He and Malcolm made for a highly entertaining duo; that whole extended sequence at Paul's grandmother's house was gold, what with the psycho grandma added in! I'm holding on to hope that Shannon survives -- the scene where Malcolm found him near death was the most horrifying moment of the series so far! Moving along .... I appreciated Malcolm correcting himself to "Happy Hanukkah" when he thought TJ was shaking his head at being greeted with "Merry Christmas". It might have only been played for laughs, but I like to think they were acknowledging to the viewership that not everyone celebrates Christmas. (Now if only they'd had him then give the even broader "Happy Holidays" and "Seasons Greetings".) I loved how, as we saw Malcolm being adversely affected by Ainsley's news report on their father, we're startled by Jessica's shoe going through the TV screen -- a reminder that she, too, has been negatively impacted. Her later conversation with her daughter shows that Ainsley has, unfortunately, slid pretty far back from being an admirable news professional, back into being more like a bratty teenager. On the other hand, I love that, after Jessica righteously raked Ainsley over the coals for the lack of concern towards the victims and their families in her news report, she actually put her daughter's unintentional advice, about using the media to direct the narrative, to good use -- for the sake of said victims! Jessica's conversation with Malcolm, over his disastrous attempt at a date / being normal, was sweet, even with him being understandably annoyed with her. I loved her horror upon learning that Whitly had chloroformed him -- and the subsequent realisation that maybe Whity didn't love his son after all. We got more budding shippiness between Gil and Jessica, and I am so here for it! I loved everyone freaking out over Malcolm's carelessness with a loaded gun (though I'm not sure why he would think it wasn't loaded). I loved Dani's kindness to Malcolm after he had an episode at work, and admitted that he thought he was broken beyond fixing -- I appreciate that, instead of Dani getting angry that he hid some details of his interaction with Paul, and thus siding with Swanson, she instead grew more concerned for him. I love the revelation that TJ talked to Dani (in a positive way!) about Malcolm's date, Eve. And I loved Gill realising Malcolm was in serious danger, racing to find him, terrified that they would be too late. Yes! Malcolm was incredibly reckless and foolish, but the series has well established this, so it's believable that he would be too overzealous in solving the case to actually follow safe procedures. I have high hopes for some delicious hurt-comfort when the show comes back in January! Written: December 8, 2019
|
|
|
Home | Features | Columns | Culture Vultures | Report Card Tart Store | Indicia | Contact | Archives © Sequential Tart, 1998 – 2020 |
