Season 2 Reviews

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The Eve

Halloween is the one time of the year that Links get to roam the world free and have a grand old time. Not having to worry about being thought of as freaks, most pass them off as great costumes. This year is no different from any other; with Special Unit 2 a buzz with activity, something strange is going done. The dead are rising from the grave, a new power no one has heard of before. Except for a legendary Link, that has no evidence that he has ever really existed. Assumed to be the former king of all Links, this nameless character has some references to the devil. Fallen from grace, his control over almost all the Links was taken from him. After waiting for millennia to reclaim his kingdom, he comes forward looking for it. Always one step ahead of the game, Special Unit 2 tries to release the hostages to find an even bigger plan at work than anyone could have imagined. Nick must look pass Julie's death to save not only the world, but Kate as well, who has been taken hostage by the nameless freak.

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I shall begin by saying that "the Eve," was a simply outstanding episode where everything fell into place. There are many positive things to say about this episode with very little on the negative side. So, let me start with Danny Woodburn. Danny Woodburn, incase you did not notice, played dual roles in last night's episode. He not only did his normal routine as Carl, but as Sandeep, a friend of Jonathan's. It was great to see Danny go beyond Carl and try something different in the show to keep things fresh. Roger Cross did the same kind of thing in the tv show First Wave and he did a beautiful job when he did the dual role or even playing just a different character. Seeing Danny play Sandeep also gave my respect for Special Unit 2 an added boost. You can just tell everyone was in on having Danny playing Sandeep and that everyone had a blast making this episode. While Sandeep was hilarious and very intelligent, Carl was definitely the better character, of the two, in this episode. Carl was his normal kleptomania state, full of smart-ass remarks, but also a sense of morality. The scene in which the hostage was shot when Carl reacted with the line "What did you do?" was perfect and very dramatic. That disgusted Carl, Carl may be an oddball who loves to steal and lie, but there are things Carl just will not do. For once, it felt like Carl may be developing a sense of doing the right thing. I would be happy, and not surprised, to see Carl start getting more bad ass and more willing to help Special Unit 2. The way things are now are fine, I'm just saying that Carl cannot be like this forever. For now, we get all the great tension and arguments we are seeing now. Danny makes Carl work so well, it would not be the same show without him.

On that same topic about the show not being the same without someone. I am going on record as saying Jonathan Togo was a great decision. At first, he was a little hard to accept, partly because of no explanation as to why Sean was not with Special Unit 2 anymore. Whether he transferred or whatever, and partly to the fact we got used to Sean after 6 episode. However, the last two episodes have made Jonathan so strong that if Sean was in the show the dialogue would not quite fit with that character. With that said, Jonathan Togo flat out stole this episode from everyone else. I mean no disrespect or anything like to the cast and crew, but Sean stole the show. Jonathan's interaction with Captain Page was very well done and Jonathan really seems to care about Captain Page like a father. Jonathan looks up to everyone in a different way, but it was nice to see him actually put his hand on the Captain's shoulder. It was touching and bold, as he realized after doing it, he probably should not have done that. That was something you had to see to believe. There is no way I could do it the proper justice. Jonathan's interaction with Sandeep and researching into the mystery surrounding the key were very notable as well. I believe Jonathan has really come into his character and I must he has earned his place on the show. You can attribute that to excellent writers and Jonathan Togo himself for bringing that character to life.


Speaking of bringing characters to life, John DeLancie made his appearance and almost walked away with the episode. John DeLancie is a terrific actor, and he always makes a great bad guy. From his turn as the omnipotent "Q" in Star Trek and various Sci-Fi shows, he is a remarkable actor. John brought to life an evil character that used to reign supreme over almost all the Links. With sarcasm and a supreme intellect, only John DeLancie could have pulled it off. I make no bones about it; no one else could have done as good a job as he could have. John was deliciously evil and wicked in his portrayal of the nameless character.

John's interaction with Michael Landes and Danny Woodburn were deceptively well done. As if everyone stepped up another notch and really enjoyed working with John DeLancie. John may be a professional but I want to know what kind of outtakes went on with him and everyone else. If anything was missing, it was a little interaction with Alexondra Lee. I could have seen an interesting twist with her heritage linking her to the nameless character as well. The other actors did a fine job as well. Captain Page played up the "I hate Halloween" attitude very well, as well as his taking risks and "we're running out of time" outlook were very well done. I was very happy to see Pauley Perrette back; she is a fine actress who added a little spice to the scenes. Of course, with the day being Halloween, for her and Special Unit 2, overtime was definitely the word of the day. My favorite scene with Pauley was probably when she was talking to the reporters and gave them the info about what was "really" happening at the museum. When she put on the gas mask, I almost fell out of my chair laughing. The writers have a gem in Alice Kramer, especially with Pauley Perrette, that I hope they explore a little later in the season and the future. I may be biased, but hey, she is beautiful and a great actress. What is not to like about that?

"The Eve" was definitely an episode that had it all. I have watched the episode three times and the time just flies right by. 45 minutes go bye and I wondered why the episode was not any longer. If there was one downside, it was that I felt the ending was a bit rushed, but that did not really change my opinion of the episode at all. Despite Alexondra not being in the episode all that much, I was happy she was in there somewhere. Back to my point, the writing was superb as the twists and turns were well setup and came at the best times. I like the fact that I had to watch the episode a couple times to take in everything that happened since there were many different layers in the writing. Beneath the surface we had clues to Julie's last case, Nick's pissed off attitude, Carl knowing there are lines you do not cross, the fall from grace of the nameless being, etc... This episode sets up so many different directions that the show can go, as well as where characters can go, that the development is as rich as it ever could be. What sold me most about the writing was not the normal dialogue we come to expect, but in the time dislocation, it puts the audience through. If you have read my review of "the Web" from first season, you know what I mean by time dislocation. It short, it means the episode flies by so quickly you do not realize an hour has gone bye. So, I send my compliments to Josh Lobis and Darin Moiselle for writing a superb episode.

If that was not enough, how about the beautiful special f/x, they were simply amazing. The death scenes and explosions were excellent giving us the action to elevate the episode to the next place. I'm glad the f/x was not so heavy in the episode, when used where needed special f/x can be a useful tool to further the story and add eye candy. On top of that, Mark Morgan put out probably one of his finest scoring jobs for Special Unit 2. Someone give this guy an award already, I can hear an Emmy calling his name out. A very haunting and methodical score drove this episode home as one the better episodes to date overall. One last question, are we ever going to see Red Bullets again? I know those are for the most extreme cases, but I would love to see Red Bullets make a return at least once this season. Red Bullets, do in fact, kick ass. I would also love to see Special Unit 2 patches offered for merchandise at some point, I would buy a couple.

Sorry for the ramble, but I was most impressed with this episode. It had everything except a little romance and I did not miss it. There is not much more I can say, I would not be able to convey how beautiful this episode was and how it let the show develop beyond the normal Link of the week formula while building towards a unique and exciting direction the show is taking. The only thing I could possibly say, is but one thing, I love SU-2!

Copyright - DrkAngel_113

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