Shattered Finale Review
One word: WHOA!
Okay, here the more elaborate one ;) though pics later, had to get this out.
Ratings:
Pilot: 5/10
Harry Has a Wife: 7/10
Don't Wanna Die: 9/10 (to give me a lil space upwards)
Sound of a Strap: 8/10
Tears Bring Harry: 7/10
Where’s the Line: 6/10
Everyone's a Hostage to Somebody: 9/10
In the Dark: 7/10
Stairways to Perceptions: 9/10
Out of Sorrow: 9/10
(the Pilot should be more like 3/10 considering the other eps...)
Wow, wow, wow! Blown away by this one all the way through. This was super intense and CKR's best acting-wise. He just went through SO many emotions - fear, hate, anger, sadness, asshole-ishness, hurt, tenderness, desperation... I could go on and on and on. He truly is fearless.
On a technical level, loved how it was filmed and especially the editing. Kept me at the edge of my bed that I was sitting on all the way. The scene in the front yard - switching from Ben to wee!Ben to Ben to Ted... tough to do, but really well done! Same with the flashback in the diner which ends with the stepfather walking out and then morphs into real time with Doc sitting there in one camera pan.
Also loved the way-too-close-in-your-face-cam
Lots of continuity with Amy and Nick, Ben and the nice lady, the house, Ben's alcoholism. And we saw Ella again, though only in flashbacks. Wish there had been a moment at the end with the family reunited.
Also great to see Terry back when he was Ben's partner and falling into that role again effortlessly. Overall, loved the whole team standing behind Ben as much as they could although he shouldn't have been there a lot of times.
The mirror motif that ran through the whole show got a whole new twist - love that.
And can people change as Roland says? When he's in the interrogation room he proves they can't. Bastard. "You think you're something." Great moment.
Love the scored music that played in this when Ben brings Adam to the nice lady and that also played at the beginning of the last ep.
Wonderful final scene. The moment when Ben asks Adam if he knows who he is almost broke my heart. As did Ben crying. I was so afraid this would end in a tragedy.
Highlights:
- all the scenes of Ben and his father - So much there! Ben freezing when trying to face him then later finally being able to tell him "I hate you!" to his face. "You found God, go ask him..." Wow!
(this is the film student in me speaking, but I LOVED that little touch that when Ben confronts his stepfather a last time and tells him he hates him, the TV in the background shows a film where one character is spanking the other. good stuff!)
- loved, loved, LOVED Doc in this. Sticking by Ben, helping him. Not calling him a crazy motherfucker when seeing the trailer. Neat to have them visit the places from Ben's memory together.
- Terry asking to have his pictures back - gerat touch!
- it was so nice to see carefree Ben in the flashback with his son, you can see he seemed happy
- not nice, but I loved the moment when, in a flashback, Ben takes a swig of liquor, then spits it out and drops the bottle - such self-loathing
- same moment - Ella and the flowers. That one hit home
- "I don't remember what it's like to be a kid. What it means." all CKR alone in a mirror. Wow.
- CKR as Ted - he was incredible at bringing the childish qualities alive - the movements, the looks, his voice and his little "I am scared..."
- the final scene - wow!
Not So Good - or why this isn't a 10/10
- as much as I like Amy, the Nick stuff in this ep detracted from the central plot and took her away from the case too much. I mean, jesus, Nick is an über-asshole and I thought he was dead at first, but it didn't really fit. That and she's Ben's partner. As much as I loved seeing more of Terry, that should have been Amy.
The thing I liked about it though, was the fact that Amy was willing to sacrifice so much by going to dinner with Nick for Ben's cause and that there was more mirroring of Ben and Amy.
- and I also had to go into full suspesion-of-disbelief-mode with the explanation of why the nice lady kept Adam for so long. That was a bit weak really. Don't wanna think about it too much, stop thinking, STOP! Eh, it worked when taking the previous ep into account. Rationalizations are wonderful...
- Terry's freaky moustache/beard combo - almost as bad as young!Dexter's wig of doom if you're familiar with that one. WHY?
Observations:
- Ben's stepfather seemed to be sick and close to death, hence the desperate attempt to reconcile - loved Ben's "I hate you!" Heart-wrenching!
- have to rewatch, but Ben didn't black out at all in this ep, did he? the only moment was in the flashback when Ted came out in reaction to his father (so that also means the blackouts didn't start again with the Pilot?)
- Terry is super concerned for Ella... I so don't wanna read more into that. I so don't.
- and still Ben's secret isn't out - don't think Doc suspects the DID.
- still no real explanation why Ben's blackouts started in the Pilot other than the t-shirt (whichwas never really talked about)
- there must have been a scheduling conflict with Molly Parker? They kinda wrote around her a lot other than the flashbacks.
- despite all of what is going on, the moment Amy's in trouble, Ben comes running to her. Incredible.
- in the pic of Ben and Adam that Adam drew (hanging in Ben's trailer), Ben's wearing blue - does that explain his wardrobe throughout the show? ;)
- Ben's DID leading to his son going missing for two years has to be the jolt to get him to seriously deal with it on a whole new level (in S2???)
- CKR crying makes me... wipe furiously at my eyes as I get something stuck in them. Ahm.
Questions:
-okay, was Adam on the sick bastard's USB stick? That makes no sense. The other explanation, that Ben wouldn't recognize his own son, also makes no sense, so - WTF? HELP ME!!!!!! I compared pics and it looks like Adam in the film, but no sense, mind don't compute pictoral imput, mind essplodes! Though the latter seems more plausible as neither the pedo nor the kid they rescued remembered Adam, so it wasn't actually him?
- was there even more to Ben's abuse? the bit about the smell of his father letting him know he was in the dinner was... interesting + "I can't remember everything he did."
- will Adam being away for two years have an impact on him in a negative way? Has to cause abandonment issues.
Overall:
I gotta say it, but the show exceeded my expectations and - seeing as CKR is the lead - the expectations were WAY high. The Pilot truly is... not good. No way around it. But the eps themselves are brilliant, with a couple of stand-out ones. Taken as individual eps, "Everyone's a Hostage to Somebody" is my favorite overall. The final two had the most emotional impact as they combine everything that came before. And the bomb scene is my absolutely favorite scene. The "pussy" one being its nasty lil brother ;)
CKR truly got to shine in this one. His acting's simply insane. This ep proved it more than anything.
The writing - it was amazing (with very few exceptions). Way better than average with a wonderful build-up to the finale and lots of great lines/character moments/hidden gems throughout. Same for the overall production standard of the show.
It's also one of the few shows where I love the ensemble just as much as the lead (with Super being an exception as a character, but then that was on purpose). Acting-wise, the casting director needs an award right now. No weak link, including the guest spots.
As an outlook... I so hope for a second season. I know, the ratings we did get don't seem good, but they're only from the 2nd run on Global and not from the original broadcast. Rose-colored glasses on, low-ish ratings on the 2nd run can indicate a lot of faithful viewers who watched the eps on Showcase, yes/yes?
And the fact that the show has been sold and is airing in countries that don't usually show Canadian shows is good as well. So, even though I am opening myself up to a lot of potential pain here, I am hopeful for S2.
Ben, Ben, Ben. You are up there with my favorite TV characters ever. I do love them fucked up, heh.