Can Laurel be saved? The sixth episode of BrianDead wastes no time jumping right in where viewers left off.
In what leads to one of the more seriously hilarious sex scenes seen on recant TV or film, viewers witness a baby carrot-eating cop, not dispatch an ambulance upon her emergency call, proving how deadly this battle with the space-ants can be!
But Gustav and Rochelle come quickly to try and save the day at first thinking that remembering important information is key in trying to fight off the aunts, but as Laurel quickly points out, that method is what may have led Rochelle's father's head to explode in the ambulance! Gustav then realizes it is all things left brain, --the illogical and the artistic, that might give Laurel a fighting chance.With this in mind, they tell Laurel to drink lots of alcohol, listen to music, dance, eat chocolate AND salami, but this also prompts a booty call with the unsuspecting Gareth!
From there, the remainder of the episode fixates on a battle between the CDC and Red Wheatus. We see Red use information he learns about how the CDC uses a comic book that features a zombie apocalypse for it's premise as a means to educate and advertise the importance of the CDC, as way to question what the tax payers' money is spent on, which circles around to hitting a nerve with Ella and animal rights! The CDC gets shut down!
This all happens just after Gustav and Rochelle give Rochelle's friend at the CDC, Dexter Wu, one space ant and it's separate, but still animated leg to Wu to further investigate. The specimen is taken from Wu and put into some kind of CDC containment vault with presumably other viruses, bacteria, or insects!!
In the meantime Laurel had been sent on a bit of mission as she discovers from a complaining constituent that there is gerrymandering going on, on behalf of Wheatus. Laurel goes to see Gareth, but before she gets to speak with him, she gets a more direct run in with Wheatus himself. The confrontation is full of double entendre, as Wheatus is really speaking to Laurel on behalf of the space ants, but before Laurel leaves to talk with Gareth, she gets a look at this maps, in which she begins to put somethings together.
But more discoveries are made. Rochelle now believing Gustav's theory that ants may be from outer space, starts listening to the sounds of Draco star system. She soon discovers the sound pulsating all of those light years away, is very similar to the melody and rhythm of the The Cars, You Might Think! Laurel also figures out from looking at Red's maps and doing some demographic work herself that the gerrymandering clusters look like crop circles, and as Luke is quick to point out, the demographics are not traditional of what a republican would do, as it helps the democrats more, and on top of it, looks like they are all centered around and pointing to Washington D.C.!
The final scene in the episode however is Gareth's and Laurel's date. Gareth cutely starts over reintroducing himself, but Laurel's reintroduction cuts right to the chase when Gareth asks why she honestly thinks she's "going insane" and she more seriously replies, "Because I think bugs are eating people's brains and turning them stupid.".
What I Liked:
Gareth was also a delight! Playing a bit of an unsung hero, he goes along for the ride, but besides saving Laurel's life, what really makes him shine was his willingness to talk about it and to even want to try it again, the way he thinks it more ought to of been. There were no insults to injury and he even stood up to Red after hearing he tried to keep Laurel from forming a relationship with him! I also think the episode pointed out that this sexual encounter was more than that. That really, there IS something "real" here between Laurel and Gareth. Going back to Love, Actually, the writers followed through on that notion with the song, "I think I love you" by the Partridge Family!
Other interesting things have a bit to do with the mythology and reoccurring themes. I had wondered if the radical behavior of each group of aliens' host, could be a bit of a front and that there was bigger agenda and/or individual issues that would take precedence over being either a democrat or a republican line of thought? The episode seems to indicates as such from seeing the crop circle clusters and with Red and Stacie more openly confronting Laurel!
In addition it was fun to see how Red's argument over funds for the CDC in relation to the comic book also resulted with Ella Pollack questioning animal rights and going back to the episode (Goring Oxes) where she was taken over and where Luke tried to set her up to look like an animal abuser.
The Good Wife Factor/Odds and Ends:
-It's no secret that TGW explored love and sex and there were many interesting, sometimes even violent, sexcapades (Kolinda and Blake) featured throughout the series' run, but nothing was ever quite like this particular sex scene!
-Again, love how food has been used! Even just these ongoing theme of some serious chocolate-eating, makes me want to run out and by a large assortment of chocolate (and salami).
-Animal rights again featured as a reoccurring theme.
-The CDC DOES have Zombie comic book! Here's a link to learn more about it! CDC Zombie Novella
Mythology:
-Draco Star System featured as a possible place of origin. The sounds pulsating from that area sound like The Cars, You Might Think, their favorite Earth Song. Draco's constellation is named for a dragon, but really, it's basic design also looks like a snake or a worm, and like an earth worm, we learned that the space ants can be dissected and all of their parts can still be animate.
-Divides itself into crop circle-like demographics, as a kind of invasion tactic.-Some people may be able to be saved if they consciously work indulge in left brain activities, such as Laurel, but remains to be seen if a person whose brain is already half gone can come back, be saved, and/or function the way they once had without the ants present? However, Stacie's behavior in defying Laurel's requests, may suggest that it is possible to save people with half missing brains, otherwise, what's the harm in a little alchohal, dancing, or romance??
-This is a bit of an aside, but did anyone else wonder if there were any other supernatural specimens in those CDC vaults??? It was kind of freaky to see so many little spaces for bacteria, viruses, and whatever, as just coldly situated in the same room!
So what do you think? What do you think will happen now the space ants, congress, and the CDC? Glad Laurel was saved? Do you think Gareth is going to believe Laurel or will it take him some time? Sound off in the comments below?
