Courtesy of The CW
Star-Crossed’s second episode gives meaning to the phrase “so bad its good.” Free from my rose-colored glasses from the pilot, the faults of this show are now glaring.
Let’s bitch it out…
Poor acting. Cheesy costumes and set designs (Side Note: why do Hollywood directors think that in the future we’ll be living out of shipping containers? The Sector has a Dark Angel meets Waterworld feel that I could do without). Formulaic and obvious plotlines. And horrible/amazing dialogue like “We may be from two different worlds, but in some ways we’re still the same.” However, the entire time I was rolling my eyes at this episode (and it was a lot), I was still enjoying myself. Which is more than I can say when I tried to watch Arrow (sorry, I know I’m the only one, but I just don’t get it).
I digress…this week we get a glimpse into the political structure of the Atrians, which is led by four main tribal elders. With his father’s death, Roman (Matt Lanter) is now set to take over as the head of this group. There is also a rebellion brewin’ from a faction (Draks? Trags? Does it matter?) that does not want peace with the humans, but would rather wage war against them. In general, I’m impressed with their go-to attitude that they think stowing away a small weapons arsenal will defeat all 7 billion of us. By all means, go for it man.
Some of the Atrians (like Battlestar Galatica’s Tahmoh Penikett!) have removed their tattoos and live among the humans gathering intel and waiting for the chance to attack.
On the other side of the coin of this very subtle (insert sarcasm here) look at race relations are the human Red Hawks, who are out to remove the Atrian threat. In a nice surprising twist, we learn that mild-mannered Grayson (Grey Damon) is an undercover Red Hawk. This should be fun in the future.
The star-crossed love angle, however, is blah. Emery (Aimee Teegarden) frets around hoping that Roman will forgive her for the fact that her dad murdered his. She has time to stick up for the Atrians’ right to attend the Homecoming Carnival (Side Note: I wonder if this is going to be like Vampire Diaries in which there is a new founder’s day festival every episode). Roman, in turn, tries to save Emery when he realizes the Trags are targeting her family to avenge his father’s death. All very noble.
Courtesy of The CW
Other Observations
- I would be remiss if I did not discuss the amazing campiness that is Jonathan Schaech’s Caster. Caster is Roman’s bad news estranged uncle, who comes back when Roman’s dad dies. Per his nephew’s request, he takes Roman’s place as interim leader of the Atrians until Roman is ready to take over. He’s a former Trag (stay with me here) who doesn’t want to kill Emery, but does have some shady agenda to keep Roman and Emery apart. Very nefarious.
- How do all the Atrian teens speak colloquial English (full of catch-phrases and slang)? And where do they get their current fashion? Haven’t they been holed up in the Sector since arriving? Do they get The CW on that spaceship?
- Caveat: when Nox’s dead body turned into magical curing flowers? That’s pretty cool…
What did you think of the second episode? Are you glad to see some of the Atrian culture being fleshed out? Are you going to stick it out? Sound off below!
Star-Crossed airs Mondays at 8pm EST on The CW