Many people’s
definition of an “epic” (movie) is one that is generally over three hours long
with grand scope, a very big and grandiose plot, and incredible, huge action
sequences. Films like Braveheart, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Troy, Lawrence of Arabia, etc. are thought of as epics. Though, there are
some who think that other types of films can be considered epics. Although this
is just a 45 minute episode on television, it seemed like an epic to me.
In this
third episode of the second season of The
Bridge, we finally see Steven Linder (Thomas M. Wright) and Charlotte
Millwright (Annabeth Gish) again, for the first time in season two. And there
are no other essential characters cut out of the episode. We hear from Sonya
Cross (Diane Kruger), Marco Ruiz (Demian Bichir), Lieutenant Hank Wade (Ted
Levine), Daniel Frye (Matthew Lillard), Adriana Medez (Emily Rios), Eleanor Nacht
(Franka Potente), Captain Robles (Juan Carlos Cantu), Fausto Galvan (Ramon
Franco), and of course Steven Linder and Charlotte Millwright. And somehow, all
of these different stories flow together perfectly. Every one of those
characters gets their time in the episode. With the script written smartly, the
direction very understanding and cohesive, and editing that makes all of the
scenes lead into each other well, the episode turns out very well done.
In this
episode, Sonya and Marco continue working on the search for Eleanor, while she
is starting to move on and eventually get back to Juarez. Daniel and Adriana
are still inspecting the “money house” from the end of the last season, and
trying to find out who killed whom and why all of this is happening. Steven
Linder visits Eva for the first time in a while. Charlotte’s people lose some
of their drugs to something set up, but they don’t know what, and have to
figure out what to do.
Although my
rating for this episode and last episode are very close together, I feel that I
like this much better. That is because it brings back some of the things that
were so great last season. It pushes the boundaries, does original things. The
tone is very dark, sad, and slightly disturbing. The characters are very well
realized through the script and they make the logical decisions. The characters
are actually relatable enough that the characters alone make the show
interesting. This is almost all thanks to the near brilliant writing. The
dialogue is very compelling in this episode, but also realistic. The events of
this episode are very well thought-out, and the layout for this episode is very
good. Although we don’t learn much more about Sonya, Marco, Hank, Charlotte,
Steven, or Daniel, the character of Eleanor Nacht is built upon even more in this
episode. Last episode we realized how bad she was, and in this episode we
realize how crazy she is. What happens with the rest of the characters is
mostly plot-related, but there are bits of character development in the
episode, which is enough for the limited time each character has in the
episode. And this also makes the episode very fast-paced and intriguing from
beginning to end. Not once was I bored watching it.
The direction
is also one of the aspects of the episode that makes it great. Each scene is so
well acted that feels as if the director has an incredible influence on all of
them. Each scene is also done so greatly that I could have watched them go on
for hours. It’s one of the things people compliment the Coen brothers about:
that every scene is executed flawlessly. Here, I don’t know if every scene is
executed flawlessly, by director Stefan Schwartz definitely does a great job with
it.
The main
reason I consider this episode somewhat of an “epic” is because it takes
several different storylines and puts them in this one episode. There are
crossovers in some one of them, but for the most part in this episode, they don’t
happen. The different stories are put together so well they flow together as if
they are connected. This episode of The Bridge reminded me of the great
things that were in season one of the series. It's a superbly written and directed episode.
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