Post by Ice Cream Planet on Jul 29, 2014 20:23:46 GMT -5
'Five Families': Episode 4 Recap (Spoilers)
Wilson Wilson embraces his dark side…
Watching this particular episode of Utopia made me realize just how hard it is grade a TV program that you love. I know, shocking revelation, particularly on a forum where people chose their favorite shows to recap. But, I just felt it needed to be stated: Utopia is, without a doubt, my favorite program currently on air, and the second series is currently neck-and-neck with Hannibal as my choice for best drama of 2014.
Continuing the brisk pace of Episode 3, following the relatively slow-burning, characterization-heavy Episodes 1-2, Episode 4 gives some much needed reveals to Anton/Carvel's past (he is Roma and his whole family was killed in the Holocaust), an important character death (RIP Donaldson), the Network's to jumpstart the spread of Russian Flu (via crop dusters, North by Northwest style!), and Wilson Wilson embracing his dark side via killing two MI5 agents AND Ian's brother.
However, the biggest shock (for me): Alice and Jen are alive! Now it's easy to see why Dugdale is still in the Network's pocket; holding Alice and Jen hostage to ensure Dugdale signs off on the necessary paperwork is a great way to do so.
First things first, we have an answer to Milner's question in the second series premiere: 'Have you ever been in a genocide?' Apparently, Carvel had. He was Roma (and Romanian, leading to a hilarious chat between Becky and a Romanian translator'), and after his family perished in the Holocaust, he spoke (both in Roma, Romanian, and English) about working with Mr. Rabbit to make some that would solve all the world's problems. Except for the slight adjustment made that favors a particular race. For a man involved in one of the worst ethnic cleansings in human history, Carvel's desire to have one race be left fertile by Janus is just the tiniest bit hypocritical, no?
Speaking of The Network, Paleu and I had a discussion about the feasibility of The Network's plan with Janus. In this episode, Milner tells Wilson that there is no other alternative to Janus in stopping the ballooning population and the eventual destruction of humanity and the world. However, as Paleu pointed out, wouldn't it be better to work hard to combat infant mortality and finding renewable energy resources as a way to slow down population growth. Personally, taking the show's necessary suspension of disbelief, I'm not sure such actions may produce the fastest desired effect. Renewable energy, particularly in the US (and several other English-speaking nations) still faces a largely uphill battle and many of the places with high infant mortality are also heavily religious. Not saying it's impossible, but I would love to hear other readers thoughts on the issue!
Anyway, back to the episode. As far as Jessica's adventures with Dugdale, Fiona O'Shaughnessy's brilliantly alien nature gives all over her actions an undercurrent of violence. Seeing her moony-eyed over Ian had a high likelihood of going into some potentially stupid territory, but Jessica slipping the phone in his jacket is a nice touch. The woman still has her razor sharp edge. On a similar note, the Becky/Ian relationship is cute, but the least interesting part of the series. That said, I do love how Kelly acknowledges this and doesn't have the pair of them keep secrets fro each other for prolonged periods of time. The truth has been spilling out quite nicely over the past couple of episodes, thankfully keeping the whole affair from getting too silly and soapy.
All and all, that is the episode in a nutshell: Utopia has always flirted with the ridiculous, but Kelly and his fellow writers, along with the fantastic direction of Marc Munden & co, keep things grounded in a way that feels both imaginative and plausible. It's a delicate balancing act, and one of the many delights in a delightful program.
Grade: A-
Miscellaneous Thoughts:
*It goes without saying that Cristobal Tapia de Veer is making the best soundtrack on TV (he rightfully won a RTS Award), but that song that played during the end credits was so perfect, I want to buy it immediately!
*Wilson Wilson's slow descent into darkness, topped off with murdering Ian's brother as a way of flushing him out, is absolutely heartbreaking. I makes me wonder what exactly happened to Lee and Pietre when they first got involved with The Network.
*Speaking Of Lee (Britain's Sweetheart), not as much of him this episode, but I still want his acid yellow suit.
*Geraldine James is consistently splendid as Milner, and I wish there was a way she and Jessica could be transported to other shows as a way to kill off the dead weight (looking at you, Scandal!)
*So, who else is looking forward to the family reunion of Carvel, Jessica, and Pietre?
Wilson Wilson embraces his dark side…
Watching this particular episode of Utopia made me realize just how hard it is grade a TV program that you love. I know, shocking revelation, particularly on a forum where people chose their favorite shows to recap. But, I just felt it needed to be stated: Utopia is, without a doubt, my favorite program currently on air, and the second series is currently neck-and-neck with Hannibal as my choice for best drama of 2014.
Continuing the brisk pace of Episode 3, following the relatively slow-burning, characterization-heavy Episodes 1-2, Episode 4 gives some much needed reveals to Anton/Carvel's past (he is Roma and his whole family was killed in the Holocaust), an important character death (RIP Donaldson), the Network's to jumpstart the spread of Russian Flu (via crop dusters, North by Northwest style!), and Wilson Wilson embracing his dark side via killing two MI5 agents AND Ian's brother.
However, the biggest shock (for me): Alice and Jen are alive! Now it's easy to see why Dugdale is still in the Network's pocket; holding Alice and Jen hostage to ensure Dugdale signs off on the necessary paperwork is a great way to do so.
First things first, we have an answer to Milner's question in the second series premiere: 'Have you ever been in a genocide?' Apparently, Carvel had. He was Roma (and Romanian, leading to a hilarious chat between Becky and a Romanian translator'), and after his family perished in the Holocaust, he spoke (both in Roma, Romanian, and English) about working with Mr. Rabbit to make some that would solve all the world's problems. Except for the slight adjustment made that favors a particular race. For a man involved in one of the worst ethnic cleansings in human history, Carvel's desire to have one race be left fertile by Janus is just the tiniest bit hypocritical, no?
Speaking of The Network, Paleu and I had a discussion about the feasibility of The Network's plan with Janus. In this episode, Milner tells Wilson that there is no other alternative to Janus in stopping the ballooning population and the eventual destruction of humanity and the world. However, as Paleu pointed out, wouldn't it be better to work hard to combat infant mortality and finding renewable energy resources as a way to slow down population growth. Personally, taking the show's necessary suspension of disbelief, I'm not sure such actions may produce the fastest desired effect. Renewable energy, particularly in the US (and several other English-speaking nations) still faces a largely uphill battle and many of the places with high infant mortality are also heavily religious. Not saying it's impossible, but I would love to hear other readers thoughts on the issue!
Anyway, back to the episode. As far as Jessica's adventures with Dugdale, Fiona O'Shaughnessy's brilliantly alien nature gives all over her actions an undercurrent of violence. Seeing her moony-eyed over Ian had a high likelihood of going into some potentially stupid territory, but Jessica slipping the phone in his jacket is a nice touch. The woman still has her razor sharp edge. On a similar note, the Becky/Ian relationship is cute, but the least interesting part of the series. That said, I do love how Kelly acknowledges this and doesn't have the pair of them keep secrets fro each other for prolonged periods of time. The truth has been spilling out quite nicely over the past couple of episodes, thankfully keeping the whole affair from getting too silly and soapy.
All and all, that is the episode in a nutshell: Utopia has always flirted with the ridiculous, but Kelly and his fellow writers, along with the fantastic direction of Marc Munden & co, keep things grounded in a way that feels both imaginative and plausible. It's a delicate balancing act, and one of the many delights in a delightful program.
Grade: A-
Miscellaneous Thoughts:
*It goes without saying that Cristobal Tapia de Veer is making the best soundtrack on TV (he rightfully won a RTS Award), but that song that played during the end credits was so perfect, I want to buy it immediately!
*Wilson Wilson's slow descent into darkness, topped off with murdering Ian's brother as a way of flushing him out, is absolutely heartbreaking. I makes me wonder what exactly happened to Lee and Pietre when they first got involved with The Network.
*Speaking Of Lee (Britain's Sweetheart), not as much of him this episode, but I still want his acid yellow suit.
*Geraldine James is consistently splendid as Milner, and I wish there was a way she and Jessica could be transported to other shows as a way to kill off the dead weight (looking at you, Scandal!)
*So, who else is looking forward to the family reunion of Carvel, Jessica, and Pietre?
