30 Days of TV: Day Six
Day 06 - Favorite episode of your favorite t.v show
I've decided not to use the same show twice. Because frankly, I have a lot of favorite shows.
So today I'll talk about my favorite episode from the sadly cancelled Life with Damien Lewis and Sarah Shahi: the two parter conclusion to the first season was Dig a Hole and Fill it Up.
This episode is great and really captures what makes this show great. The first season was only eleven episodes thanks to the Writers Strike but it was a very solid season (which tells me that maybe more shows should have short seasons so that they can all be a little better written and more cohesive as a season rather than many that are 22 to 24 episodes long.)
Damian Lewis really shines in this show as Charlie Crews, the cop who was framed for the murder of his best friend's family and served twelve years in prison. Sarah Shahi plays one of my favorite female characters, Dani Reese, a detective partnered with Crews who has her own demons to fight. The cases are usually interesting and serve as backdrops to the character's development and the overall conspiracy arc concerning who framed Crews and why.
This episode (which I'm calling one episode but it's actually two) has some great lines and visuals. They use the case-of-the-week to great effect, going for the weird and macabre. Crews says he uses zen to adjust to life in prison (and life in the world after prison) and he drops little zen-ish things all over the place, much to the annoyance of his partner.
Dani Reese, looking at the remains of a murder victim: He's wearing an "I'm with stupid" t-shirt.
Reese: "The arrow's pointing up, isn't it supposed to be point at the person next to you?"
Crews: "I guess he was admitting the truth"
Reese: "That he was stupid?"
Crews: "That no on knows anything"
Reese: "I know he's dead"
Crews: "That's not the truth, that's just a fact."
Crews looks at the dead body, which has something clutched in its hand.
Crews: "Looks like a rose."
Reese: "Oh, you gonna tell me that's the truth?"
Crews: "No, that's just a dead flower"
The two partner tells the story of Crews looking for and finding the true killer of his best friend and family. It's a strongly written episode, with great book ends and some really great acting, especially from Damian Lewis.
My favorite scene out of the entire thing is the one shown below. Crews has been looking for the real killer, only to find this young girl bleeding in her own kitchen. He shares the most tender scene with her. This scene always moved me and made you ache a little inside for both of them. Crews is after this girl's "father" and is planning to kill him or at the very least put him in prison and he still takes the time to comfort her. For me, this scene demonstrated how ruthless Charlie Crews could be but that he hadn't lost all of his humanity when he lost those twelve years rotting in prison. He is simultaneously capable of violence and gentle compassion.
Later, Crews learns that this girl is actually Rachel, the only survivor of the family whose murder he was framed for. He goes back for her only to discover she's missing and the conspiracy is a lot bigger than just one man. And that discovery gives him purpose again.
The episode neatly wrapped up a major arc of the first seasons while still leaving plenty to explore. The next season was not nearly as strong or cohesive but it's still overall a great show. I'd recommend checking it out if you haven't seen it yet.
I've decided not to use the same show twice. Because frankly, I have a lot of favorite shows.
So today I'll talk about my favorite episode from the sadly cancelled Life with Damien Lewis and Sarah Shahi: the two parter conclusion to the first season was Dig a Hole and Fill it Up.
This episode is great and really captures what makes this show great. The first season was only eleven episodes thanks to the Writers Strike but it was a very solid season (which tells me that maybe more shows should have short seasons so that they can all be a little better written and more cohesive as a season rather than many that are 22 to 24 episodes long.)
Damian Lewis really shines in this show as Charlie Crews, the cop who was framed for the murder of his best friend's family and served twelve years in prison. Sarah Shahi plays one of my favorite female characters, Dani Reese, a detective partnered with Crews who has her own demons to fight. The cases are usually interesting and serve as backdrops to the character's development and the overall conspiracy arc concerning who framed Crews and why.
This episode (which I'm calling one episode but it's actually two) has some great lines and visuals. They use the case-of-the-week to great effect, going for the weird and macabre. Crews says he uses zen to adjust to life in prison (and life in the world after prison) and he drops little zen-ish things all over the place, much to the annoyance of his partner.
Dani Reese, looking at the remains of a murder victim: He's wearing an "I'm with stupid" t-shirt.
Reese: "The arrow's pointing up, isn't it supposed to be point at the person next to you?"
Crews: "I guess he was admitting the truth"
Reese: "That he was stupid?"
Crews: "That no on knows anything"
Reese: "I know he's dead"
Crews: "That's not the truth, that's just a fact."
Crews looks at the dead body, which has something clutched in its hand.
Crews: "Looks like a rose."
Reese: "Oh, you gonna tell me that's the truth?"
Crews: "No, that's just a dead flower"
The two partner tells the story of Crews looking for and finding the true killer of his best friend and family. It's a strongly written episode, with great book ends and some really great acting, especially from Damian Lewis.
My favorite scene out of the entire thing is the one shown below. Crews has been looking for the real killer, only to find this young girl bleeding in her own kitchen. He shares the most tender scene with her. This scene always moved me and made you ache a little inside for both of them. Crews is after this girl's "father" and is planning to kill him or at the very least put him in prison and he still takes the time to comfort her. For me, this scene demonstrated how ruthless Charlie Crews could be but that he hadn't lost all of his humanity when he lost those twelve years rotting in prison. He is simultaneously capable of violence and gentle compassion.
Later, Crews learns that this girl is actually Rachel, the only survivor of the family whose murder he was framed for. He goes back for her only to discover she's missing and the conspiracy is a lot bigger than just one man. And that discovery gives him purpose again.
The episode neatly wrapped up a major arc of the first seasons while still leaving plenty to explore. The next season was not nearly as strong or cohesive but it's still overall a great show. I'd recommend checking it out if you haven't seen it yet.