| Female Troubles | ||
| Air Date: |
3/13/01 | |
| Episode Number: |
1:13 | |
| Episode Image: |
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| Rating: | 8.5/10 | |
| Reviews: | Indeed, it is one foot
after the other. Like automatons, we go through a routine
(a chore to some) called life, to basically survive, to
get through another day with the intent of just getting
through another day. And to what end? Each day, we are
continually justifying our purpose and existence in this
meaningless world with a blindfold. We hope, not for the
sake of the future or that we actually believe that good
will come out eventually, but for our own sanity, for our
own persuasion that there is something more to life than
this. We hope that there is a greater truth beyond the
chaotic mess to our lives. We start thinking that there
is a reason to everything, that through the spectacles of
hope, we may find some semblance of satisfaction and
peace in our lives. Thus, the world continues. However, the greatest heartache is when one begins to cast doubt on hope, that there might not be anything beyond us, that the truth we search for is nothing more than a lie, a cruel deception to keep us living our miserably meaningless lives. And this lost of hope comes the question, a choice between life and death knocking at our door. Not wanting to give up to so easily, in one last-ditch effort to give hope one last chance, we would do absolutely anything to tenaciously cling to one last fray of faith and goodness in the world, that there is something more to life than nothingness when one surrenders altogether. Amongst the tragedy and despondency in this world, the answer is frighteningly clear. When there is nothing to hope for, what is left, really? The choice between life and death, the choice between hope and failure are the themes for Dark Angel’s most recent episode “Female Trouble.” The episodes are becoming increasingly darker and ominous, yet so frighteningly human and real. Character flaws and insecurities are beginning to emerge, that there are imperfections to these created entities. I want to commend the writers and the actors for finally exploring the dark core of the show as it was originally intended. The over-emphasis of the omnipotent urban atmosphere was stifling as well as annoyingly overwhelming to bear as a viewer that it may have compromised the message of each episode. In “Female Trouble” the theme was clear, and although it was consistently executed, this emotionally charged episode was hastily resolved and resorted to a quasi-fairy tale ending. All Or Nothing Afraid that the hope of walking again is fading fast as the transfused cells are being rejected in his body, Logan seeks the help of a doctor who defected from the Manticore project after wrestling with her conscience over the human experiments done on young child, including Max. When the last ray of hope he sought in Dr. Vertes was extinguished when the doctor’s past finally caught up to her, Logan saw no other conclusion to his life than to surrender to the reality . . . and to life. In the beginning, we saw Logan as very optimistic man, a herald of the hope and goodness in the world, whose only goal is righting the wrongs of the world, saving humanity from corruption and further tragedy. A man born in affluence, Logan utilizes his wealth to support his cause, acting as lone crusader, a champion of the world, instead of indulging in time-wasting superficialities of the self-assured filthy rich, who come home to countless comforts, while the rest of the world sleeps in fear as to whether or not there will be a tomorrow. He believed in his role as protector of the world, of everything that is virtuous and noble. But perhaps, there is a reason to his obsession to save the world. Perhaps, it is the way to contest, to prove wrong, that he would be rendered useless and incompetent to take on the woes of the world because of his paralysis. However, with the aid of Max and his vast informant net, he can still battle evil and corruption. As long as he is still there, evil will not have it too easily. Logan knew that his paralysis was not going to be the end, and he soon forgot about the limitations and the reality of his physical incapacity. Then a miracle happened, but a miracle that proved to be fleeting and bittersweet, and all the more deafening and despondent. The surprising result of a blood transfusion between Max and Logan reinvented the faith and hope for Logan walking again. Perhaps, someone up there is giving him the chance to live and be complete again for selflessly crusading the message of hope and goodness. Maybe he is being given a break. Logan realized that Max could very well be his guardian angel that brings him light and hope in his life. She gave him a miracle that can make him walk again. And seeing what she had done to him, he began to act out feelings he had kept in reserve in the wake of his paralysis. What was once lost, now is found-only to be lost again. The blood that gave him life did not have permanence in its effect. Logan again is faced with losing his mobility again, and perhaps this time, indefinitely. To impede the possibility of returning to the chair, he looks into Dr. Vertes to retain his completeness, his life. As we all can see, Logan is a man who believed wholeheartedly in the possibility of things. He commits without question and pours his heart in hope faithfully. Since this may be his final chance to remain walking, he finally shuts the rest of the world away from him, abandoning the hope that had helped him understand that there is something beyond his paralysis. He was keeping Max at a distance, not only, because he is seeking the aid with an ex-Manticore doctor, but because she reminds him of the heartache over her efforts to bring him out of the paralysis, which was not permanent. And perhaps, he was angry that it did happen at all because that revitalized hope in walking again is being rejected by his body, and after seeing what it feels like being whole again, he does not want to revert back to immobility, a possibility he saw fast approaching. You would think that a man of great wealth like Logan could afford Dr. Vertes’s treatment easily, but Logan had sold his mother’s painting, which was given to him, to pay for the first session. Logan was pushing away anything that gave meaning and hope to him, which he may have deemed as false hopes. In his desperation, he entrusted his world into regaining the use of his legs, abandoning those who have given reason to live and continue with life in spite of his physical impediment. At this point, it is all or nothing. Hope shifted from Max to Dr. Vertes. Logan defended Dr. Vertes when Max lashed at Dr. Vertes for conducting those atrocious human experiments on her and the other children at Manticore. It was evident that Logan was being completely selfish and did not care of the skeletons Dr. Vertes has in her closet, nor did he care how much it is affecting Max, how it was making her remember the horrible experiments. He was being very inconsiderate towards Max when she had defended Jace’s precarious position. Logan’s tenacity attested to his desperation of clinging to the last hope he found in Dr. Vertes. To Be Or Not To Be In spite of his cool composure, the news of Dr. Vertes’s assassination hit a devastating blow to Logan's morale. His final hope was gone. With the loss of hope, he is faced with the choice of life or death. He had hoped and believed so much that will be walking again. His final chance was gone. Logan is not satisfied with just living in the chair; simply living is not enough. To Logan, his reason for living becomes a reason for the desire to die. Simply living is more like dying because he hates being reminded of his impediment. He decided there is nothing left. To no avail, he loads his gun, ready to snip away at the last strand of dignity he had left. Yet, there is some sort of hesitation. He was hitting his legs against the desk, again desperately searching for hope, for that sign of feeling in his legs. When no feeling came, he decides it is time to end the heartache and the disappointment. However, he is distracted when his upstairs neighbor had an accident in the bathroom. Although the elderly woman made him realize that he has a lot to live for, while she is old and that there is nothing left for but to die. Some may think that Mrs. Moreno’s words stopped the young man from his early death, but I believe otherwise. Logan told Mrs. Moreno to stop talking about wanting to die, perhaps to calm Mrs. Moreno, but I think to say that she is incorrect into saying that he has lot to live for. Logan still thinks that without his mobility, he is nothing. Logan’s gun remains loaded, so once he finds himself wholly committed to the idea, when he finds that it is just useless, he may go farther. For now, life is what Logan chooses, but death seems like a much easier answer. For Dr. Vertes, she had chosen death. In a way, we can see it as an indirect suicide. She knew that no matter where she goes, the demons of the past would always taunt her. In spite of the fact that she is helping others with her research, perhaps an attempt to redeem herself from her heinous past, to absolve herself from her grave sins she had done on young children for human progress, she remains guilty of the actions. Max’s symbolized the taunting demons of Dr. Vertes’s past, reminding her of the evil of her experiments: “We were just lab rats to you!” Throughout the entire episode, Dr. Vertes try to reconcile with her past by calmly dealing with Max and tried to help Logan and Jace. Perhaps, Dr. Vertes realized that there is no use in reconciling herself to the past. What she had done to those young children was immoral, cruel, reprehensible, and unforgiving. Perhaps to silence the guilt and the memory of the horrid experiments she had made were through her own death. Knowing that Jace was not going to go through the objective in killing her, she told Lydecker about the whereabouts of Jace and Max. She knew how Lydecker worked, and she knew that he would not stop until the mission was accomplished. She knew that she was going to die, and she knew Lydecker would make sure that happens. To balance the overwhelming darkness of the episode, Jace makes the choice to let her baby live and in turn allow herself to have a better life outside of Manticore. Jace gained her freedom. We are finally seeing Max’s evolution in worldview. She was once a cynic, who did not care a hoot about anyone. But in this episode, she is realizing that she is probably more human than the perfect soldier she was trained to be. Uninhibited, Max showed her concern for Logan and Jace. She did not seem afraid to show how much people affected her. Ironically, it seemed like Max seemed more open and human than Logan, who originally was that, but became the exact opposite-selfish, on a one-track mind of walking. Looks like Max and Logan are exchanging roles on who is going to play the cynic and who is going to play the optimist. Review As of right now, this episode happens to be the best-written (save for a couple of cheesy lines) out of the episodes and the best acted. We are finally seeing the dark side of the show. The episode demonstrated that life and death are no longer polar opposites, but rather they are situated side-by-side only distinguished by a delicate fine line, which can be easily crossed. It also spoke about the hope and failures of life, of how this can be the measure of our purpose and existence. This existential aspect of the episode I found particularly engaging and evocative. This episode was very emotional, thanks to the heart-felt performances by the cast, especially Jessica Alba, Michael Weatherly, and Brenda Bakke (Dr. Vertes). Every time I watch the scene with Max trying to help Logan when his legs gave out on him, and he just roughly pushes her away, I just cringe. Alba and Weatherly, who have powerful chemistry when their characters act out the sexual tension with their signature banter, use that same chemistry to effectively portray the hurt and heartache, frustration, and dejection their characters are feeling and how these characters affect each other. The comment made by Logan to Max if things were made easier when he was in the chair, how easy it is to be open with him with her feelings, easier to be pitied, when in the chair, was so disgustingly biting. Max’s reaction, with her calm reserve in spite of her anger was perfect. This is the only episode that brought me to the verge of tears. It was heartbreaking to see Max read Logan’s psychological evaluation and to desperately to reach him before he does the inevitable. Alba’s anguish and when she saw the gun and no Logan, and then was so wracked with happiness as well as sadness when Logan did not follow through. Alba and Weatherly’s performance truly showed how much their characters care about each other. Bakke made an exquisite performance in playing a stolid and aloof Dr. Vertes. However, her character’s reserve started to waver and began to show her guilt over the things she had done with children with subtle facial expressions when she tried to reconcile herself with Max’s unforgiveness. The action sequences are definitely improving, although it never mattered to me how they were executed. I watch the show not for the promise of action, but to actually watch a show where there are characters to whom I can relate and to see how lives unravel, which I find titillating than my own. One thing about the action sequences though-it is obvious that harnesses are being used, but like I said, the action sequences, for me anyway, do not really add to the significance and the effectiveness of the episode. Again, I see more experimentation of camera angles in this episode. The improved direction of the episode is attested by the actors’ performances. The episode was hastily resolved in about ten minutes of airtime. There seemed to be some misgivings on whether Logan stopped having suicidal urges altogether or what not. And where did the anniversary of the escape come from? It seemed so random and out of place. Scientific nitpick: the writers should do a little more research when they juggle with scientific jargon. The body does not have an autoimmune system, just an immune system, which can illicit an immunological response called autoimmunity. This is when the body is attacking cells normally seen as “self” but have turned and deemed them foreign. Since the stem cells were not his own, autoimmunity is not the correct term. The correct term should be alloimmunity. This term is most used when concerned with transplant rejection when self T cells bind to the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) of the foreign cells. Seeing them as foreign, the T cells signal the immune system to act against the foreign cells. Overall, this episode was very unpredictable-had those surprising twists one after another, which kept the viewer on its toes. The emotional scenes between Max and Logan were not surprisingly cheesy. Logan and Max’s character development is getting more and more interested. I am anticipating who these characters will be at the end of the season and juxtaposed that with the beginning. I am certainly seeing an evolution. The writing should continue at this pace. I am glad that Dark Angel is ending up becoming an intelligent human drama, instead of an action drama, which uses special effects to keep the audience tuned in order to salvage it from a horrible script. And yes, I like it dark, like the name of the show suggests. Comic relief from the Jam Pony crowd was at the perfect dose-none of those pointless one-liners. With all that is said (and I said a lot, sorry), I give this episode an 8.5 out of 10 for providing a balance of things that make Dark Angel, Dark Angel. I love this episode so much, I am going to watch it again tonight. Very much worth it. |
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