After the previous episode, I had high hopes that the pace of the third series would accelerate, now that Herrick has come to throw a spanner in the works at the B&B. But this episode actually seems to slow things down, even as certain plot elements get full treatment.
Nina’s tip on Mitchell’s involvement in the Boxcar 20 massacre does get some follow-up, but it’s not the main event of the episode as one would expect (and as it should have been). Instead, this episode finally delves into George’s family. The timing is curious and a bit unfortunate, because frankly, the American version of the series did it better. I cared about the fate of Josh’s family in the American version; I really didn’t give a damn about George’s family at all, and there were none of the intriguing details that came with Josh’s family and their internal issues.
In fact, knowing that the producers are shared between the two series, it feels like they learned certain lessons from the treatment of George’s family in this episode (and overall) and sought to address them early in the American version. Granted, Daddy Issues are a big part of the third series arc, and pertain strongly to the Herrick/Mitchell subplot, but is this the best they could do?
For one thing, I don’t believe they adequately addressed the whole question of how George and Annie could possibly overlook the fact that George Sr. was still alive. Sure, there was a death notice, but they fudged the initial encounter between father and son to make it seem viable. What was meant to be an engaging twist (George Sr.’s living status) fell flat, because it required the characters to be ridiculously ignorant to work.
Far more interesting is the slow but steady time bomb that is Herrick, skulking up in the attic and generally making things worse and worse for the ever-more-fragile Mitchell. Not only is his bloodlust rising, which ought to make things very deadly before too much longer, but Mitchell is now squarely in the sights of the Dysfunctional Hottie Detective. At this point, it’s not just who will end up being the wolf-shaped bullet; it’s a question of who will be pulling the trigger on that particular gun.
Yet buried in that subplot was a very interesting kernel: the notion that vampire parental bonds, such as they are, allow for resurrection. At least, that’s how Herrick has described things to Mitchell, which means that it may be complete bunk, but Mitchell has personal reasons to cling to the notion. So that said, does Mitchell have some progeny waiting in the wings, or will he be tempted to create an heir as something of an insurance policy?
To that end, the many hints in this episode that Dysfunctional Hottie Detective is going to be someone’s victim before much longer takes on a interesting aspect. Mitchell could do worse than to have her as an eternal companion. Or, if Mitchell has to go, the show could do worse than to introduce a new vampire cast addition through this mechanism, leaving the option for Mitchell’s return in the process.
Writing: 1/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4
Final Rating: 6/10
