Medium 2.10: "The Reckoning"
Written by Moira Kirkland
Directed by Aaron Lipstadt
In which Allison dreams about a car crash and a woman with a serious haunting problem, while Ariel has a daunting vision of her own, all of which prompt Joe to offer his own solutions…
I’m sure by now that my comments are beginning to sound redundant, but I have to point to the consistency of the writers rather than my own lack of imagination! If they weren’t putting the same solid elements into every episode, damn it, then I wouldn’t be praising the same things, over and over again!
The mystery was an interesting take on a haunting, with a nice undertone of hostility along the way. But as usual, I didn’t see that as the primary focus of the episode. It was, instead, a way to explore the shift in Joe’s focus since the beginning of the series. Right from the beginning, we see how things have changed. Joe has gone from countering Allison’s ability with rationality to helping Allison approach her response to visions with rationality.
Perhaps predictably, this doesn’t necessarily go over any better with Allison, which gets back to that “intuition vs. logic” thing that was highlighted during “Judge, Jury, Executioner”. Joe is an engineer, and more importantly, a man. Men, and especially engineers, tend to be “problem solvers”. Present a problem, and the engineer will immediately propose a solution to said problem.
That doesn’t just apply to Allison’s vision; it also applies to Ariel’s vision. Joe gets the information and wants to act on it. It gets into his head and becomes a problem to solve. As a male engineer with a near-psychotic need to analyze everything to death (hence, the reviews), I completely understand and sympathize with Joe and his point of view.
But I also recognize the source of Allison’s reaction. Inevitably, people who are not compulsive problem-solvers don’t necessarily take kindly to someone coming along and laying out the rational response. This is especially true if that person is used to approaching problems from a more intuitive perspective. Sure, Allison and Ariel discuss their problems (more or less), but that doesn’t automatically mean they want somebody to step in and hand them an action plan.
I enjoyed this episode because Joe’s solution to approach things proactively is no better than Allison’s decision to approach things reactively. Ariel’s side of the story also added another layer of complication to the whole concept. It’s bad enough dealing with Allison’s gift; Ariel is far too young to deal with the depth of suffering that the gift mandates. It’s a great reminder that Allison and Joe have more than just the usual growing pains to look forward to.
Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4
Final Rating: 8/10
Directed by Aaron Lipstadt
In which Allison dreams about a car crash and a woman with a serious haunting problem, while Ariel has a daunting vision of her own, all of which prompt Joe to offer his own solutions…
I’m sure by now that my comments are beginning to sound redundant, but I have to point to the consistency of the writers rather than my own lack of imagination! If they weren’t putting the same solid elements into every episode, damn it, then I wouldn’t be praising the same things, over and over again!
The mystery was an interesting take on a haunting, with a nice undertone of hostility along the way. But as usual, I didn’t see that as the primary focus of the episode. It was, instead, a way to explore the shift in Joe’s focus since the beginning of the series. Right from the beginning, we see how things have changed. Joe has gone from countering Allison’s ability with rationality to helping Allison approach her response to visions with rationality.
Perhaps predictably, this doesn’t necessarily go over any better with Allison, which gets back to that “intuition vs. logic” thing that was highlighted during “Judge, Jury, Executioner”. Joe is an engineer, and more importantly, a man. Men, and especially engineers, tend to be “problem solvers”. Present a problem, and the engineer will immediately propose a solution to said problem.
That doesn’t just apply to Allison’s vision; it also applies to Ariel’s vision. Joe gets the information and wants to act on it. It gets into his head and becomes a problem to solve. As a male engineer with a near-psychotic need to analyze everything to death (hence, the reviews), I completely understand and sympathize with Joe and his point of view.
But I also recognize the source of Allison’s reaction. Inevitably, people who are not compulsive problem-solvers don’t necessarily take kindly to someone coming along and laying out the rational response. This is especially true if that person is used to approaching problems from a more intuitive perspective. Sure, Allison and Ariel discuss their problems (more or less), but that doesn’t automatically mean they want somebody to step in and hand them an action plan.
I enjoyed this episode because Joe’s solution to approach things proactively is no better than Allison’s decision to approach things reactively. Ariel’s side of the story also added another layer of complication to the whole concept. It’s bad enough dealing with Allison’s gift; Ariel is far too young to deal with the depth of suffering that the gift mandates. It’s a great reminder that Allison and Joe have more than just the usual growing pains to look forward to.
Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4
Final Rating: 8/10
posted by John Keegan | 11:43
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home