Special Unit 2 Episode Reviews

Home

The Brothers
The Pack
The Wraps
The Web
The Waste
The Depths
The Pack

As the moon rises above the Windy City, it phases in and out of the clouds. When it finally unveils itself to city, it shows itself in full glory. This unsuspecting city much like the rest of the world knows that weird things happen under a full moon. The most terrifying is the long-standing myth about werewolves. In this city "the pack" is on the loose, and it is up to Special Unit 2 to track down the pack and kill them. These are not werewolves, but are "thropes" and they are intense. Special Unit 2 has a trap ready for this pack of thropes but only come away with one of the beasts captured in a van. Special Unit 2 does all it can to crack the prisoner but 2 weeks pass and a full moon is coming again. Running out of options, Nick puts himself in a position of danger when he lets the prisoner bite him. Nick goes undercover to track down the pack and infiltrate them. As each day progresses he loses a part of his humanity and gets closer to his animal instincts. This mission is more than anyone realizes when its not just about catching the pack anymore, but saving Nick's life.

cadeplayland.jpg

cadeplayland.jpg

After the stellar first episode, how could Special Unit 2 follow it up? They followed it up with a truly dark episode while still maintaining the humor and intelligent writing that makes this show excel like no other. What I liked most about this episode was watching the progression of Nick develop from an increasingly frustrated SU-2 agent to the thing he hates the most, a link himself. Nick seemed to maintain his composure just a little every step of the way while struggling with his animal instincts. In one scene, he almost killed a mugger who was trying to rob an elderly man. While he let Kate take him to the normal police, it was clear he knew what he was doing and had no problem killing the mugger. Yet, it was also clear he was fighting himself from going over the edge. Michael Landes did this with such calm, that the only way you could see his struggle was not in his charming smile but the pain in his eyes. You know an actor has talent when he uses his eyes to tell the story of what is going on inside his character. This made Nick's struggle all the more realistic, yet still showing he was enjoying some of the powers he was attaining. Powers like jumping off a 50 story building and landing on his feat and super strength and speed, which made the fight scenes even more beautiful.

If there were one particular aspect I just love about this show, it would be the cinematography. The settings were beautiful and just the way the story flowed and visually it was simply stunning. That credit goes to many people like the Production Designer et al., but they really made this episode and this show breathtaking. The dark settings and subtle movements and scoring really bring out the suspense and moody atmosphere which is what the show is centered around. This episode expounds more on the senses than the pilot did, such as the last trap SU-2 had set up. The light fog rolling along the ground and the dark colors and lighting really pushed forward the notion of something ominous and suspenseful was coming and it succeeded.

One of nicer aspects was that Special Unit 2 actually utilized many agents and not just a couple in each mission. That is very smart of the writers doing that. It is a concept that most shows take for granted to suggest you have this big unit and only see a couple of people or agents from time to time. It really shows how much detail goes into the show and that makes it even more appealing.

This episode was the best example of when Special Unit 2 knows when to turn on the humor and when to turn on the drama. Yet, always remaining focused on the characters and the settings. Some of the funniest moments came from Carl, such as when he said he was making a political statement by robbing a house with a yard full of Gnome statues to spiking the tea he gave Nick. Michael and Danny have a great chemistry and play off each other extremely well. Just think Cade Foster and Crazy Eddie from First Wave and you have the right idea. What this episode showed above all else was the developing friendship forming more than a relationship between Kate and Nick. Kate really respects Nick and cares for him, and the way the episode felt to me. The writers and the actors are focusing on what works best with Kate and Nick and that is the friendship they have. In life, you usually know right away if you are going to be friends with someone or are going to have a relationship. While Nick and Kate do show they have a little spark between them the feeling between them, is that, you know they are going to be great friends. The focus of the show is the friendship and that is commendable