Utopia: Series 2, Episode 5-Recap
Aug 8, 2014 17:14:01 GMT -5
Douay-Rheims-Challoner and War Is the H-Word like this
Post by Ice Cream Planet on Aug 8, 2014 17:14:01 GMT -5
Series 2, Episode 5: 'Will You Do That For Me?'
Don't smile
Well, that was a painful episode of television.
Back in 2013, when I first started watching Utopia, I called it, along with Bron/Broen, The Fall, and Hannibal, the 'Quartet of Pain.' Of all the programs I was currently watching at the time, those four were the most bleak and devastating simply because they bothered to explore how violence shatters lives and changes people. There were no answers: the characters in these dramas tried to pick up the pieces of their lives, but they had all been altered in one way or another.
Now, here were are at the penultimate episode of Utopia, and for a drama who hasn't shied away from brutality, it dialed down the physical violence and opted for brutal emotional violence. Death has always weighed heavily on Utopia, in addition to the queasy uncertainty of how the characters would react and change under their extreme circumstances.
Becky, haunted by visions of the dead Romanian translator ('EAT MY FUCKING CHIP!' was hilarious and disgusting), had one of the most quietly devastating moments in the episode. Realizing there is no more Thoraxin and her hallucinations are a sign that Deel's will kill her sooner rather than later, she asks Ian if he will help her when the time his necessary. He declines an answer. Between that, and Ian reeling from the aftermath of his brother's death, I doubt a happy ending is in store for these two.
Meanwhile, Dugdale, under Jessica's advice smuggles a cell phone up his ass to help Jen and Alice escape from captivity. Upon the unhappy revelation that Alice is afraid of heights (me too!), that leads to Plan B: threaten a guard with a gun. The guard correctly asserts Dugdale is too unsettled to do much, leading to Jen casually stabbing the man in his hand. Ah, the woman doesn't fuck around!
Meanwhile, the biggest moments of the episode: the Carvel Family reunion and the revelation of what adjustment was made to Janus. Starting with the latter, Carvel/Anton says he found a group of people in Southeast Asia with good health and life expectancy, but opted at the last moment to change it so only the Roma will be unaffected. In short, for a man who experienced unthinkable horrors in the Holocaust, he chose, in what was probably a moment of weakness and pride, to ensure his people will live on.
As far as the Carvel Family reunion, all I can say is poor Arby/Pietre and Jessica. Pietre being called 'beyond horrible' by Anton (hardly a man of much nobility himself), Pietre being shot and almost certainly dying in Jessica's arms, the reunion of Carvel and Milner before her likely death, take your pick for a gut-punch moment. But, even before she (likely) died, Milner gave the order for Russian Flu to be released; at least she is consistent.
Utopia 2 has been far grander in scale than the first series, but I love how it has felt even more intimate. Their is a recurring them of family and how the littlest actions, an injection (theoretically painless in and of itself), a casual remark, can sometimes carry even more destruction than violent death.
For a series that has its share of detractors calling it a breezy exercise in style over substance, I'd point to this episode as one that shows just how deeply invested it is in all of its characters. At this point, it's one of the best, most painful episodes of TV I've seen all year.
Grade: A
Miscellaneous Thoughts:
*Apologies for the lateness of this post; it's been an interesting. Thank you Douay-Rheims-Challoner, Post-Lupin, Paleu, and who ever else reads these recaps!
*Ian is far from my favorite character, but Nathan Stewart-Jerret gave a phenomenal performance. The scene where he broke down crying was particularly painful to watch.
*Was it just me, or did Pietre's eyes look entirely blue this episode?
*'Don't Smile': Pratical advice for any photoshoot with Jessica Hyde.
*For anyone who likes Fiona O'Shaughnessy, you'll probably appreciate this
*For those who are wondering who played Terrence, the Fast Food Worker/Angel of Death, it is Steven Robertson.
Don't smile
Well, that was a painful episode of television.
Back in 2013, when I first started watching Utopia, I called it, along with Bron/Broen, The Fall, and Hannibal, the 'Quartet of Pain.' Of all the programs I was currently watching at the time, those four were the most bleak and devastating simply because they bothered to explore how violence shatters lives and changes people. There were no answers: the characters in these dramas tried to pick up the pieces of their lives, but they had all been altered in one way or another.
Now, here were are at the penultimate episode of Utopia, and for a drama who hasn't shied away from brutality, it dialed down the physical violence and opted for brutal emotional violence. Death has always weighed heavily on Utopia, in addition to the queasy uncertainty of how the characters would react and change under their extreme circumstances.
Becky, haunted by visions of the dead Romanian translator ('EAT MY FUCKING CHIP!' was hilarious and disgusting), had one of the most quietly devastating moments in the episode. Realizing there is no more Thoraxin and her hallucinations are a sign that Deel's will kill her sooner rather than later, she asks Ian if he will help her when the time his necessary. He declines an answer. Between that, and Ian reeling from the aftermath of his brother's death, I doubt a happy ending is in store for these two.
Meanwhile, Dugdale, under Jessica's advice smuggles a cell phone up his ass to help Jen and Alice escape from captivity. Upon the unhappy revelation that Alice is afraid of heights (me too!), that leads to Plan B: threaten a guard with a gun. The guard correctly asserts Dugdale is too unsettled to do much, leading to Jen casually stabbing the man in his hand. Ah, the woman doesn't fuck around!
Meanwhile, the biggest moments of the episode: the Carvel Family reunion and the revelation of what adjustment was made to Janus. Starting with the latter, Carvel/Anton says he found a group of people in Southeast Asia with good health and life expectancy, but opted at the last moment to change it so only the Roma will be unaffected. In short, for a man who experienced unthinkable horrors in the Holocaust, he chose, in what was probably a moment of weakness and pride, to ensure his people will live on.
As far as the Carvel Family reunion, all I can say is poor Arby/Pietre and Jessica. Pietre being called 'beyond horrible' by Anton (hardly a man of much nobility himself), Pietre being shot and almost certainly dying in Jessica's arms, the reunion of Carvel and Milner before her likely death, take your pick for a gut-punch moment. But, even before she (likely) died, Milner gave the order for Russian Flu to be released; at least she is consistent.
Utopia 2 has been far grander in scale than the first series, but I love how it has felt even more intimate. Their is a recurring them of family and how the littlest actions, an injection (theoretically painless in and of itself), a casual remark, can sometimes carry even more destruction than violent death.
For a series that has its share of detractors calling it a breezy exercise in style over substance, I'd point to this episode as one that shows just how deeply invested it is in all of its characters. At this point, it's one of the best, most painful episodes of TV I've seen all year.
Grade: A
Miscellaneous Thoughts:
*Apologies for the lateness of this post; it's been an interesting. Thank you Douay-Rheims-Challoner, Post-Lupin, Paleu, and who ever else reads these recaps!
*Ian is far from my favorite character, but Nathan Stewart-Jerret gave a phenomenal performance. The scene where he broke down crying was particularly painful to watch.
*Was it just me, or did Pietre's eyes look entirely blue this episode?
*'Don't Smile': Pratical advice for any photoshoot with Jessica Hyde.
*For anyone who likes Fiona O'Shaughnessy, you'll probably appreciate this
*For those who are wondering who played Terrence, the Fast Food Worker/Angel of Death, it is Steven Robertson.
