Ashes to Ashes 2.07. and 2.08.
Jun. 9th, 2009 10:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakAbove lj cut resumé: last season I liked the last but one episode better than the season finale (though that was good, too, but it did have THAT speech from Gene which ticked me off); this season it's the reverse. Which isn't to say I'm completely happy; as with LoM, I think in both cases overall the first season was stronger than the second. However, the AtA season 2 finale was one which I didn't feel betrayed the characters, let alone pulled off an ending that infuriated me, and it brought on something new instead, so AtA s2 still wins over LoM s2.
First of all, on the 2.07 revelation: because the camera lingered on Ray so long, I knew he had to be a red herring, and I've been waiting for a Chris related disaster to strike all season, so him turning out to be the mole wasn't a complete shocker. Later on it occured to me this could be the set-up for a sacrificial death in the finale, and trust me, I was really relieved this did not turn out to be the case, and the show bucked the trend and didn't let him atone via death. Which isn't to say I'm 100% happy with the Chris storyline; I thought everyone came around a bit too easily (correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the gang remained longer pissed off at Sam for making that misjudgment about the car bomb which got Ray injured, which was a misjugment and not an active betrayal). Otoh, the Chris/Shaz reconciliation was an obvious contrast to the Gene and Alex scene later, which I can see the dramatic necessity for. Also, most importantly, Gene's hubristic "I'm judge, jury and executioner" speech from 2.07. got the nemesis comeuppance from hell in 2.08.
(Though Gene's general idea that police corruption means taking money, not beating up suspects, remains unrefuted since 1.07. which is the last time I can think of AtA really making a point of showing Gene specifically to be wrong about this.)
When I saw the trailer of 2.08. I was afraid we'd be in for a straight remake of LoM 2.08, and this did not make me happy for many a reason, but no. In many ways it was a direct photo negative. I'm wavering on whether or not I'm annoyed that Alex did not have an active role in the big shootout/capture, but mostly I think since she is the one who figures out all the clues through the episode (except for the one Chris does), that's okay. And am I ever ever happy they didn't make her do a Sam and decide that her life in the 80s is ever so much more interesting than the lame present, but remained true to Molly as her crucial motivation to get back. (More about this later.) And the confrontation scene with Gene when she tells him the truth was really superb in its painful, intense way. It never occured to me that Gene would flat out not believe her if she did this, not with the occasional cryptic and ambigious lines the show gave him. (In terms of speculation of Gene's role as some sort of guardian angel/psychopomp, this could still be possible if he is not aware of it most of the time, only in some moments.) Both LoM and AtA put a great emphasis on how important it was for Sam and Alex to trust Gene, but here, in the end, it's Gene who fails the test as he does not trust her. (This is also a reverse from their conversation in 2.02. when she confronted him about the masons, he told her he was undercover himself, and she believed him.) This in turn sets up the situation he's in at the end, as everyone and their dog had heard him threaten to kill Alex.
Martin Summers: this is why I think the second season is not as good as the first one. Not because the revelation that Summers actually wanted Alex to stop and uncover Operation Rose wasn't prepared (he did give her a clue at the start of the episode when pointing out she needs to discover why he came back, and this didn't fit with the usual villain taunting hero(ine)), but because in s1, the season mystery and the moment of revelation was intensely personal to Alex, as were the relationship she build with her mother. In s2, it's actually Summers' story that drives the season, his need to revisit a moment of his past, and Alex' moment of revelation is about him. Even if you account for the fact that young PC Summers must have had the role he made Chris take the first time around, and thus Chris = Summers to a certain degree, he's mostly been played as a one dimensional antagonist, and so the emotional pay-off at the end to the season mystery is nowhere near the same.
(Also, the jaw-dropping moment in 2.07. where Older Martin Summers shoots Younger Martin Summers so far has been simply been sensationalistic instead of mythic because the show hasn't bothered to deliver an explanation of why Summers - as opposed to Sam and Alex - can change the past, and how if he shot his younger self in 1982 his older self can still be around as a comatose and then dead body in 2008 instead of dissappearing. Yes, I know there is the precedent of Sam changing the fate of a criminal in the past so the guy in the present can't try to kill him in a hospital, but then said guy wasn't around in the hospital anymore by the end of the episode.)
Back to the good stuff. The opening sequence of 2.08. was hilarious in just the right bizarre way this verse does so well, and Alex' game of associations which gets her the operation rose clue was my favourite of her figuring-things-out scenes this episode. As I said, the big truth telling scene with Gene was heartbreaking, in several ways, and simply fantastic. Shaz with the gun in her wedding dress may have been a bit blatant and illogical a homage to certain films, but it still worked, and hooray for her saving Chris! Ray revealing knowledge of names of male porn stars continues a season long theme, though sadly we did not get the "Ray outs himself to himself" scene I was hoping for. Alex waking up to reunite with Molly again was touching and lovely to see, even though I was still a tad distrustful, since I found it unlikely someone would have done her mascara while she was being operated upon. (Otoh, in 2008 world, not that much time has passed from Alex getting shot, being found, getting operated and then revived, and perhaps nobody did have the time to wipe her face clean.) And then... and then. That was a great, great mind-messing thing to do, people. I approve. On several levels. In 1982 terms, Gene finding himself a suspect, and not because he was framed but because he mostly brought it on himself, and just after he had gotten proof Alex had indeed knowledge of the future, makes for a good s3 set up. In 2008 terms, Alex finding Gene communicating with her via tvs and thus being confronted with the possibility that her current 2008 world is the coma is another good set up, and given the way they've played out the Molly reunion, I'm cautiously trusting the writers not to make a choice to go back to the 80s to save Gene easy on her.
Lastly: Gene/Sam shippers should be happy (or not?) that Sam gets named in the same breath as Alex as "the liars and weirdos" the Guv sees himself attracting. Gene/Alex shippes of course have a field day as well with the whole "I thought we had a connection" and desperate plea to save him at the end. Both are probably incensed at the blonde of the week, but the Western idols scene was pretty interesting in that the one Gene ultimately picked wasn't John Wayne or Clint Eastwood, but Gary Cooper. The self image here is the upright sheriff not supported by the town in his fight, winning over the bad guys with his beloved at his side, and leaving - after winning the shootout by fair means, not by using the methods the villains use. There is not a little self delusion here on Gene's part, but it's a saving grace is that this is who he wants to be.
First of all, on the 2.07 revelation: because the camera lingered on Ray so long, I knew he had to be a red herring, and I've been waiting for a Chris related disaster to strike all season, so him turning out to be the mole wasn't a complete shocker. Later on it occured to me this could be the set-up for a sacrificial death in the finale, and trust me, I was really relieved this did not turn out to be the case, and the show bucked the trend and didn't let him atone via death. Which isn't to say I'm 100% happy with the Chris storyline; I thought everyone came around a bit too easily (correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the gang remained longer pissed off at Sam for making that misjudgment about the car bomb which got Ray injured, which was a misjugment and not an active betrayal). Otoh, the Chris/Shaz reconciliation was an obvious contrast to the Gene and Alex scene later, which I can see the dramatic necessity for. Also, most importantly, Gene's hubristic "I'm judge, jury and executioner" speech from 2.07. got the nemesis comeuppance from hell in 2.08.
(Though Gene's general idea that police corruption means taking money, not beating up suspects, remains unrefuted since 1.07. which is the last time I can think of AtA really making a point of showing Gene specifically to be wrong about this.)
When I saw the trailer of 2.08. I was afraid we'd be in for a straight remake of LoM 2.08, and this did not make me happy for many a reason, but no. In many ways it was a direct photo negative. I'm wavering on whether or not I'm annoyed that Alex did not have an active role in the big shootout/capture, but mostly I think since she is the one who figures out all the clues through the episode (except for the one Chris does), that's okay. And am I ever ever happy they didn't make her do a Sam and decide that her life in the 80s is ever so much more interesting than the lame present, but remained true to Molly as her crucial motivation to get back. (More about this later.) And the confrontation scene with Gene when she tells him the truth was really superb in its painful, intense way. It never occured to me that Gene would flat out not believe her if she did this, not with the occasional cryptic and ambigious lines the show gave him. (In terms of speculation of Gene's role as some sort of guardian angel/psychopomp, this could still be possible if he is not aware of it most of the time, only in some moments.) Both LoM and AtA put a great emphasis on how important it was for Sam and Alex to trust Gene, but here, in the end, it's Gene who fails the test as he does not trust her. (This is also a reverse from their conversation in 2.02. when she confronted him about the masons, he told her he was undercover himself, and she believed him.) This in turn sets up the situation he's in at the end, as everyone and their dog had heard him threaten to kill Alex.
Martin Summers: this is why I think the second season is not as good as the first one. Not because the revelation that Summers actually wanted Alex to stop and uncover Operation Rose wasn't prepared (he did give her a clue at the start of the episode when pointing out she needs to discover why he came back, and this didn't fit with the usual villain taunting hero(ine)), but because in s1, the season mystery and the moment of revelation was intensely personal to Alex, as were the relationship she build with her mother. In s2, it's actually Summers' story that drives the season, his need to revisit a moment of his past, and Alex' moment of revelation is about him. Even if you account for the fact that young PC Summers must have had the role he made Chris take the first time around, and thus Chris = Summers to a certain degree, he's mostly been played as a one dimensional antagonist, and so the emotional pay-off at the end to the season mystery is nowhere near the same.
(Also, the jaw-dropping moment in 2.07. where Older Martin Summers shoots Younger Martin Summers so far has been simply been sensationalistic instead of mythic because the show hasn't bothered to deliver an explanation of why Summers - as opposed to Sam and Alex - can change the past, and how if he shot his younger self in 1982 his older self can still be around as a comatose and then dead body in 2008 instead of dissappearing. Yes, I know there is the precedent of Sam changing the fate of a criminal in the past so the guy in the present can't try to kill him in a hospital, but then said guy wasn't around in the hospital anymore by the end of the episode.)
Back to the good stuff. The opening sequence of 2.08. was hilarious in just the right bizarre way this verse does so well, and Alex' game of associations which gets her the operation rose clue was my favourite of her figuring-things-out scenes this episode. As I said, the big truth telling scene with Gene was heartbreaking, in several ways, and simply fantastic. Shaz with the gun in her wedding dress may have been a bit blatant and illogical a homage to certain films, but it still worked, and hooray for her saving Chris! Ray revealing knowledge of names of male porn stars continues a season long theme, though sadly we did not get the "Ray outs himself to himself" scene I was hoping for. Alex waking up to reunite with Molly again was touching and lovely to see, even though I was still a tad distrustful, since I found it unlikely someone would have done her mascara while she was being operated upon. (Otoh, in 2008 world, not that much time has passed from Alex getting shot, being found, getting operated and then revived, and perhaps nobody did have the time to wipe her face clean.) And then... and then. That was a great, great mind-messing thing to do, people. I approve. On several levels. In 1982 terms, Gene finding himself a suspect, and not because he was framed but because he mostly brought it on himself, and just after he had gotten proof Alex had indeed knowledge of the future, makes for a good s3 set up. In 2008 terms, Alex finding Gene communicating with her via tvs and thus being confronted with the possibility that her current 2008 world is the coma is another good set up, and given the way they've played out the Molly reunion, I'm cautiously trusting the writers not to make a choice to go back to the 80s to save Gene easy on her.
Lastly: Gene/Sam shippers should be happy (or not?) that Sam gets named in the same breath as Alex as "the liars and weirdos" the Guv sees himself attracting. Gene/Alex shippes of course have a field day as well with the whole "I thought we had a connection" and desperate plea to save him at the end. Both are probably incensed at the blonde of the week, but the Western idols scene was pretty interesting in that the one Gene ultimately picked wasn't John Wayne or Clint Eastwood, but Gary Cooper. The self image here is the upright sheriff not supported by the town in his fight, winning over the bad guys with his beloved at his side, and leaving - after winning the shootout by fair means, not by using the methods the villains use. There is not a little self delusion here on Gene's part, but it's a saving grace is that this is who he wants to be.
no subject
Date: 2011-02-09 02:17 pm (UTC)Hi, person with an Alex Drake icon!
Your lovely meta is feeding my recurrent urge to make there be more somewhat canonically justifiable Alex/Gene in the universe (that is, stories that are not fluffy and don't make everything work out perfectly). I think that urge is somewhat morally superior to the one that got me to create a stack of Alex/Keats, but the latter is easier, somehow.
And for an actual comment on this post--Gene's been a Gary Cooper fanboy since LoM; see icon. I shudder to think what he might've made of himself if he'd really wanted to be Clint Eastwood, as there is too much Dirty Harry in him when that's not what he's aiming for.
no subject
Date: 2011-02-09 04:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-09 07:06 pm (UTC)That also goes for Gene, but since Ray's there in part to make Gene look less intolerably backward, it goes double for Ray.
I would happily read the gen of your heart. I've talked myself into shipping Alex with Annie, of all people, but I don't get a lot of gen plot ideas for this 'verse.