So, yeah, I have to admit right off the bat, a lot of this was pretty predictable. Riley (Micah Joe Parker - The Vampire Diaries) being the real dad? Totally called it. Jenny (Tina Majorino - Veronica Mars) kidnapping her and then pulling a Private Practice by trying to steal her baby? Called that. That poor, sweet cat being brutally murdered? I, unfortunately, called that.
However, there are things I didn’t see coming, and maybe other people did, but I was excited that some things still shocked me! I didn’t expect Jenny to not be pregnant. Which, thinking about it now, I really should’ve expected that, but, oh well. I also didn’t expect Jenny’s backstory to be so sad. I realllly didn’t expect Riley to be killed so instantly and so brutally. I thought Jenny had left! We all thought she had left! Where did she come from?!
What I really really didn’t expect was how beautifully Natalie Paul (The Sinner) played this role. She was hard, she was soft, she was smart, she was badass. She played the role of Val to a T and I was rooting for her every step of the way. When she escaped the first time, only to get pulled back in, I was absolutely devastated for her. Then when she actually did escape, I was so overjoyed for her. I felt very connected to this character in a way I’ve never felt to any other Into the Dark character before.
I also really liked the directing and editing in this episode. Even during fights or high action scenes, which is when the directing usually fumbles for me, the shots were far enough away that I always knew what was happening, but I was still immersed in the fight. My favorite shot in the entire episode was when Val and Jenny were going at each other in their cars and the camera showed them from above. It was a split second scene but I really loved it.
I have two favorite scenes in this episode. One of them is the scene where Val is giving her unborn child its name. It’s the dead of night and she’s making a plan to possibly sacrifice herself and though Jenny has already chosen a name for Val’s unborn child if the child were to become hers, Val is giving her child her own name because this baby is really hers and she wants her child to know this.
My second favorite scene is right after Jenny tries to cut the baby out of Val and decides she isn’t able to do it. Jenny shows up in Val’s room and hands her a cup of tea and when Val asks her what it is she explains that it’s raspberry leaf tea and it’s supposed to help induce labor naturally. Then, Jenny looks right in Val’s eyes and she says “drink it all, or I swear to God, I will cut you open and take my chances.” The way Jenny flips from sweet to threatening, from “I’m being helpful!” to “I will kill you!” is what makes this episode, and Tina and Natalie’s chemistry together so explosive and worth watching.
I’m gonna give a special shoutout to the scene where the cat is licking itself over soft music while Jenny is giving Val the injection that will incapacitate her so she can tie her to the bed with chains. 10/10, would watch again. RIP to Sollie. You were a good one. We’ll miss you.
Overall, I did really enjoy this episode. It dragged a little bit a few times, and as I said, the plot was a bit worn out, but Natalie and Tina together were unbelievable and at this point, honestly, I would watch them in anything together. I was surprised to see people really dislike this episode because I really enjoyed it more than some others.
What did you think of the episode? Whose performance was your favorite? What scene was your favorite? Are you excited about next month’s installment doing Pet Appreciation Week instead of Father’s Day? Let me know in the comments below!
