"We walked in the cold air. Freezing breath on a window pane."
Ashes to Ashes 1x06. A whole post devoted to its awesome.
You could really tell from the preview that this episode was going to be one HELLOVA ride. And boy was it ever.
Episode 6 stands out from any other episode in that the structure is completely different. This week the clues weren't focusing so much on The Theory, but instead were developing the mystery of The Clown whom Alex finally recognized to be her father. So let's discuss The Clown, Gene Hunt, and what the hell was going on!
The first thing that I noticed is the fact that every surreal thing that occurred to Alex this week, everything that she interpreted as being a sign that in 2008 she was dead or dying, was actually FORESHADOWING for what was going to happen to her in 1981, in this particular episode, on this particular case...
- Alex feels cold throughout the episode, and in the end she winds up prisoner in a frozen meat locker.
- The effect of the "freezing breath on the window pane," when The Clown breathes on the car window, texturally resembles the broken glass on the store window that Gene shoots through in the end.
- The fact that Alex keeps seeing herself falling and then landing in bed with Gene is mirrored in the end by him carrying her and dropping her down on the sofa where he performed sexy CPRs on her.
Now the big question that suddenly surfaces is what's with all the Gene / Clown / Tim Price parallels???
When Alex was all gagged and tied up, she couldn't run away from The Clown, so finally, he could come near enough for her to see him clearly. I can't praise that moment enough. Honestly, besides the fact that Keeley broke my heart in that entire section, it was all just edited with such extreme perfection, and they hit those dramatic beats SO WELL. When she has that flashback, when she sees her dad wink at her in the rear view mirror, then back to The Clown...YOU COULD SEE THE RECOGNITION IN HER EYES! It was amazing. But I digress. :P
My original take on The Clown (which I firmly stand to) is that he was never evil. He represents her "reality" in 2008. He says things like, "We're waiting for you, Alex." I interpret that as waiting for her to snap out of her catatonic state, which the whole time she doesn't want to do as she doesn't even realize she's in it! And having him be played by the same actor as her father, having her recognize her father's face in The Clown, should lead us in the direction that perhaps this guy isn't as evil as Alex thinks.
The obvious parallel between The Clown and Gene Hunt lies in the blocking of the scene where he rescues her. From Alex's POV, she flashes between the two men. It's The Clown and then it's Gene. But as mentioned earlier, I think the shot of the ice on the car window and of Gene standing behind the crumbling window is another hint that we're supposed to connect these guys on some level.
The fact that Alex utters, "You saved me," to Gene after he rescues her is also significant. On one level it's Gene who rescues her, but on another level, taking in affect this Gene/Clown comparison, it's The Clown who will eventually snap her out of her waking coma. (She's gonna have to face him, man!)
Speaking of coma...besides the obvious imagery of
Alice in Wonderland, when Alex tumbles through the air, I couldn't help but think of Sam's suicidal jumper habits. I don't think that's what we're supposed to be thinking of, but dude, I can't help some of these crack parallels! :P
So I talked a lot about the internal meaning of what the freezing was for Alex, but externally, in 2008 what could it mean? Well it's certainly not some sort of Nut House therapy because that would be wrong and inhumane. So the only hypothesis I can come up with is that only a short time has gone by, and if she was splashing around in some water underneath that dock being crazy, (we know from previous episodes that she's wet) could it be as simple as Alex is soaked and cold and just in need of a blankie?
OMG TWO MORE EPISODES! WOE!!!!!!
Everyone should have themselves some Vienna: