Even more epic twists and turns from the new NBC mystery show...
What's it about?
As the White House tries to deal with a biological threat, they realize the only hope of resolving the issue is to crack Sophia during an interrogation. Meanwhile, FBI Agent Collier discovers Victor's secret life while searching for Leila, a businessman with undisclosed intelligence about the White House appears out of nowhere, and Vicky and Carter continue to hold their hostages.
Review
There's a pleasant surprise amongst all the action taking place in 'The Event' this week... character development and buckets of it for all parties concerned.
After spending the first couple of weeks struggling to find its voice and then finding a great balance of action in episode 3 this week 'The Event' throws some heart in to the mix. There's the old bait-the-boyfriend trick going on this week but there's a lot tugging at the heartstrings going on as we watch Leila 'escape' from her captors.
The actors have all proven that they can pull off the screaming and the running and the crying and now it was time for them to show us that they're 'real' 3 dimensional people who have feelings and who we have to hate or feel sorry for depending on their situation which judging by this show can change rather rapidly from start to finish.
Maximum points go to the above mentioned Leila played by Sarah Roemer for her scenes in this episode and I hope that in the future she gets a lot more scenes with Jason Ritter and those scenes would preferably be in the present not the past... well one of the presents would be nice at least.
The flashback scenes in this episode help add weight to the family bond for the Buchanan family which was so tragically ripped apart in the pilot, there is going to be some serious retrospective sadness about the murder and mayhem which has been placed upon them. I can't help but ask why? Why was it this family who were so important.
But of course that is just one of a thousand questions which you could ask about this show.
The writers are still holding up their end of the bargain and answering questions on a week-by-week basis and it is really working for me. I'm not finding myself having to make notes one this show like 'Lost' and it's done in such a way that nobody could be justified in accusing them of pandering to the audience to try and hold on to the viewing figures.
On that note the numbers are not looking good, another million viewers have been lost since last week and from week 1 to week 4 we are looking at a loss of 4.69 million. The fate of this show is not yet decided so I don't believe there is reason for huge panic yet but none the less I you should make it your mission to tell a friend to check out 'The Event'.
What about those aliens? No mention of the A word this week but they're definitely up to something. Some of the best character moments in the show this week come from Sophia's trip to the White House. The interplay between the President and his wife is touching and rounds out his character nicely and in line with how he has been portrayed from the pilot. In contrast the interplay with Sophia sharply changes the mood and brings some serious humanity to her plight.
By this point in the series we are even humanising our villains by giving Vicky both a mother and a son. I can only surmise at this point that she is some kind of assassin for hire but underneath it all she has a heart. Still doesn't make me like her though.
A special mention needs to go to the survivors of the plane crash, they've died and come back AND they're being looked after by the amazing guest turn of Chief O'Briens wife Keiko from DS9! Definitely not going to complain about a Star Trek themed guest star.
The scenes which allude to their interrogation are a little tough to watch, especially when children are involved, and although brief they help push the envelope on this show a little. Just when you think these poor people have been through it all they get nosebleeds and suddenly we bang in the middle of another big twist.
By the end of the episode I'm a nervous wreck and I really wished that Vicky wasn't prepared for getting shot because somebody really needs to kick her arse... maybe next week?
Next week...
While the CDC tries to deal with the captive's contagion, Martinez and Blake try to negotiate with Thomas. Meanwhile, Simon talks to Sophia about Thomas, and Collier closes in on Vicky and Carter.
Overall
Story 4.0
Character 4.0
Weirdness 3.5
Overall 3.5
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