Resurrection: Schemes Of The Devil Review

Resurrection is at least trying this week. We can say that much. With gunfire and a mess of returned people, even a good little cliffhanger, Resurrection, dare I say it, attempted to resurrect itself tonight. Though there were a few good moments, I still can’t be fooled. Tonight’s highs came with some very noticeable flaws, but at least I can say I’m generally interested in what the show will do with its last hour next week, and I definitely couldn’t have said that with an ounce of honesty before tonight’s episode.

Before I hand out gold stars, let’s be a little constructive. At times, Resurrection can feel as lifeless as little Jacob Langston is supposed to be, and sometimes it can be hard to pinpoint as to why that is, but I think I might have figured it out tonight. Many of the best shows on television at the moment have very distinct, impressionable settings. True Detective made the bayou a character, D.C.’s grandiosity feeds into the high drama of House of Cards, and the desolate snow freezes over the Minnesotan-nice on Fargo. Arcadia, the town at the center of Resurrection is faceless. While trying to be Everytown, U.S.A., Arcadia’s lack of distinguishable traits robs the show of a setting that can serve as a character.  The setting should add to the story, but here, it does absolutely nothing. Just a thought.

My direct problems with this particular episode have to do with bad guy Gary. Kevin Sizemore (no idea if he’s any relation to Tom) is just not a very good villain, playing an ignorant, god-fearing redneck with little to no gusto. His one note probing of Rachel with “what are you?’ goes stale right away. Thankfully, Kathleen Monroe does a fantastic job as Rachel, especially when she pretends to be the devil just to see if it’ll frighten Gary enough to keep him from harming her.

Gary as a character doesn’t just disappoint me, but as mystery for Bellamy and Tom to solve, he disappoints as well. It’s just that the agent and the pastor find their suspect so easily! All it takes is a truck sitting in a parking lot and one quick chat with Gary’s wife for the two to suspect Gary and find his whereabouts. Frank gets looped in even easier, all by reading one glance from one of Gary’s co-conspirators. It’s lazy writing and frankly pretty boring to watch. If it’s that easy to discover, why bother making it any mystery to begin with?

But let’s not shy away from the good stuff. Rachel being shot was a satisfying moment, even if the whole thing was erased by her reappearance at the end of the episode. That reappearance, though frustrating, was a fun little reveal, along with the fact that many different people are returning, flooding Arcadia with folks lost and out of their time period. I admire the scope, but seeing all of the returned people in generic ‘50s period costumes seemed a little hokey to me. The other big revelation was Eric discovering that Jacob’s blood can cure disease. Eric knows this because Jacob’s blood sample ridded the leukemia from his own sample. Now that Jacob can serve a greater purpose, will Eric still keep him quiet and protected?

The best moment, however, was the return of Frank’s wife. After we watch an excited Frank run home to see if his wife is among the new wave of returned people, we see complete and utter disappointment on his face as he arrives home only to find his daughter. It’s the best acting Matt Craven has done yet, and it’s a good character moment for Frank. He might not accept Jacob, but he’d be more than glad to have his wife back. Just when we think she’s not coming, Maggie has the sense to visit her mom’s former lover’s house, where in the episode’s last shot, Barbra Langston stands waiting. It’ll be interesting to see if Maggie keeps the disturbing secret from her father.

Though it was far from perfect, Resurrection still managed to surprise and shake things up a bit tonight. The season has been as middling as can be, but there’s some good energy going into next week’s finale. Hopefully they capitalize on it.

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