The Bridge - Eye of the Deep - Review
11 Aug 2014
BR Reviews The BridgePreviously on The Bridge: Frye and Adriana's investigation leads to the suicide of Papa Smurf, Monte comes bearing gifts for Ray and Charlotte, Linder refuses to accept injustice, and Marco & Sonya's investigation is going in circles while Marco's deal with the devil seems to be moving somewhere.
Marco:
When the writers introduced the idea that Marco was going to be working with Fausto Galvan (the man that stood for everything he was working against) I was extremely excited, but given that it was the end of the season, I was also disappointed that we weren't going to see that dynamic explored more immediately. I was quite pleased to see that Fausto was actually willing to deliver on his promise to Marco as soon as episode five. I was also quite pleased to see that Marco decided to just leave him in prison to rot away (although I would like to have seen a little more suffering on David's part; God, I can be bloodthirsty sometimes), but I worry about how Fausto Galvan will respond to Marco's decision. Because Marco did not take advantage of the ability to kill David Tate, Fausto Galvan no longer has any real amount of leverage over Marco. Whether this will work to Marco's advantage or disadvantage is not quite as clear.
Sonya/Jack:
Sonya is an odd one. While Sonya's Aspergers adds to her peculiar social interactions, it is not the only reason that the character of Sonya Cross is so unique. For years she was constantly haunted by the death of her sister and all these years later, she is unable to let go. Fortunately, the recent death of Jim Dobbs has allowed Sonya an opportunity to move on. Unfortunately, the way that she continues to hang around Jack Dobbs is a constant reminder of her suffering. As far as I see it, as long as Sonya is with Jack, she will be unable to move past her sister's death not only because of the emotional turmoil involved, but also because of her instincts as a detective. I really enjoyed the scenes between Sonya and Jack because of Jack's realization that she was actually closer to his brother than he was. It's a sad truth and a really awkward situation, but it made for great drama!
DEA Agents/Frye & Adriana:
Dialogue-wise, my favorite parts of The Bridge tend to be either from Ray or Frye, because they are ignorant, arrogant, and the main source of comic relief. Conversely, Frye has also tended to be my least favorite part of the story plot-wise this season because of the extremely convenient setup that storyline used at the beginning of this season. As a result, I was so happy with this week's reveal that DEA Agent Joe McKenzie was the source of the Euro note. Not only is the possibility of a new character intersection point exciting, but I really enjoyed the dialogue between the super serious Agent McKenzie contrasted with Frye's arrogance. The fact that Frye and Adriana have identified Groupo Clio as a suspect in the money laundering scheme that the cartel is involved in, means that all of the show's characters could be meeting up sometime very, very soon. Additionally, Frye & Adriana are essentially Agent McKenzie's only sources for information on Groupo Clio since being shut out by the CIA (who also hired the hitman earlier?).
Linder
There's not a whole lot to say about Linder so far this season. His forms of interrogation have been more therapeutic, than resourceful. On top of that, Linder has not been able to be the hero that he wants to be. Since Eva met Prosecutor Pintado, Linder has gone from oddly protective to inefficient stalker. It's an odd change from the norms of The Bridge because it would seem that while dangerous, the official channels are working better than working in the shadows. The Bridge has always been about the grey area of law enforcement though so I suspect in coming episodes we will see Linder vindicated, but also struggling. Seriously though, when is Linder NOT struggling in some fashion?
Eleanor Nacht/Sebastian Cerisola:
Alongside Linder, Eleanor did not have a lot to do in this episode. She met with Sebastian Cerisola (Groupo Clio CEO), but they only talked. The upside of this exchange was that we were introduced to Sebastian's weakness. We were introduced to an extremely sick woman that Sebastian genuinely seems to care for. What I like about this is the fact that we now know about both Eleanor and Sebastian's weaknesses. It's great that the writers have given us dirt on both of these characters because now we get to wait for Sonya (or anyone else for that matter) to find it.
Charlotte & Ray:
Again, Charlotte and Ray didn't do a whole lot in this episode, but react to their new situation. Alaska is looking mighty inviting this time of year. Too little, too late would be the expression for Charlotte and Ray's unfortunate conundrum however. Forced into being the front for some sort of operation at a housing development, Charlotte and Ray have never been more vulnerable. If Fausto Galvan's competitors come looking, they'll find Charlotte and Ray. If the cops come looking, they'll find Charlotte and Ray. Fausto Galvan has turned his ragtag team of drug smugglers into easy scapegoats that he can hide behind. Given the first scene of this season, things are clearly going to get bloody for that group at some point this season and this section of the story has been an especially slow burn so I'm excited to see where the writers take them this season.
Rating: 9.3/10
The Bridge has finally found itself back in the 9+ range! On top of this season's great new additions of Abelardo Pintado, Sebastian Cerisola, and Jack Dobbs, The Bridge continues to entertain with an impressively managed widespread cast. Even when story lines are stagnant, they find ways to intersect with more active story lines that reinvigorates the entire show's atmosphere.
Quotes (With names)
"It's been arranged." - Fausto Galvan
"It was you...You sent me the Euro note." - Frye
"This is not for publication yet." - DEA Agent
"This is what happens to thieves." - Fausto Galvan
"You're not to show your face around Marco's place of work..." - Hank
"I hope your not biting off more than you can chew." - Hank
"It's hard to keep the dirt off" - Captain Robles
"When it's your time a stray bullet can find you...even if you duck." - Captain Robles
"Obviously, because I'm an amazing writer..." - Frye
"I don't know, but we are sure as shit gonna find out." - Frye
"Your in no position to be asking questions." - Monte
"You'll get to live." - Monte
"Glad to see they didn't croak you." - Ray
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Love the review Brandon. I really enjoyed this episode and things are starting to ramp up with a sense of forboding!
ReplyDeleteI love how all the storylines are slowly coming together.
Nice review Brandon. I am looking forward to the possible convergence of the story lines this season as well.
ReplyDelete