Courtesy of FX
It’s a quiet episode of The Bridge as we spend more time on interpersonal relationships than the murder investigation.
Let’s bitch it out…‘ID’ is the least plot driven of all of the episodes we’ve seen so far. As a result it feels as though nothing much happens, though to say so would be a mistake. There’s a lot of rich character development here, and a few important interactions. Overall, however, it’s unlikely that the episode will be looked back on as The Bridge‘s most memorable outing.
In the wake of the murder that finished off last week’s episode, distraught teenager Gina (Cole Bernstein) is brought to the precinct to try and identify her father’s killer. Once again Sonya’s (Diane Kruger) difficulty with interpersonal details make her interactions a challenge as she fails to relate to the girl. Try as Hank (Ted Levine) and Marco (Demián Bichir) try, they can’t quite make Sonya understand that Gina needs to be handled a different way, regardless of how valuable the information in her head is.
Things seem to be on the upswing when Hank, Sonya and Gina head out for burgers, at least until the girl heads to the bathroom. Break out the cliches! We know that Gina’s going to make a break for it and lo and behold, when Sonya goes to check on her, Gina is gone. In the most out of the blue sequence, the unseen killer manages to stab and kill her, silencing the only witness to his crimes so far. The Bridge continues to suggest that the killer is a law enforcement officer, or that he’s watching the investigation closely, which is fine. But this murder feels awkward and random. The girl runs, winds up dead and everything goes back to square one – which feels like wasted time (even if these kinds of these actually do happen in real life). The oh-so-convenient murder is the one aspect of the hour that doesn’t really work for me because it is too perfect and easy.
Thankfully there’s plenty of emotional resonance in Sonya’s storyline. As Alan Sepinwall observes, there’s plenty of parallels to be drawn between Sonya’s backstory and Gina’s, although I did find the coincidences a little bothersome (Side Note: anyone who didn’t guess that Hank was talking about Sonya’s sister needs to revisit Storytelling 101).
I probably would have been significantly less satisfied with the episode had the final scene not been so powerful. Sonya visits the cell of the mentally incapacitated man who raped and murdered her sister, silently crying and trying to make a connection and understand him. It’s another great scene for Kruger who, for me, has really earned her stripes in these less showy scenes these last few weeks.
Courtesy of FX
Other Observations:
- Daniel (Matthew Lillard) goes cold turkey as he recovers from the events of 1×04 ‘Maria Of The Desert’, though he probably should have waited until he didn’t have to return south of the border for awhile. Frye’s relationship with Adriana (Emily Rios) continues to be one of the most interesting on the show – it’s a mutually beneficial partnership because she needs his experience and he needs her knowledge of Juarez. As long as they don’t hook-up I’m fine with these two
- Partnerships are the name of the game elsewhere, as well. Grifter Ray (Brian Van Holt) makes quick work of Charlotte’s (Annabeth Gish) tunnel, but it looks like he’s already in over his head on both ends (his Tampa friend is working with the police and I wouldn’t trust Alma Martinez’s Graciela as far as I could throw her). Something tells me we shouldn’t get too used to Ray. Like Charlotte’s horse, Ray may not be long for this world
- Carrying the body through the tunnel back to Huarez, Fausto Galvan (Ramón Franco) orders his guys to stick around two dozen knives into Calaca’s body and string the loose cannon’s body up on a post as a warning (yummy). No sign of Calaca’s killer, Linder (Thomas M. Wright), who sits the entire episode out after being kidnapped last week
- Kenneth (Eric Lange) makes an awkward move on Alma (Catalina Sandino Moreno) when she refuses to take Marco’s calls. I’m not sure who this guy is or why we’re meant to care. Is this really a subplot???
- Finally, memo to Gus (Carlos Pratts): The girl that you’re texting – Zina – isn’t real. This whole storyline screams total serial killer bait
Best Lines:
- Johnny Bowers’ Tim (surveying the psychiatrist’s body): “He’s purdy”
What did you think of this less plot-driven episode? Were you surprised to see Gina die? Is Ray in over his head? Will Daniel and Adriana regret pursuing the Galvan/Christina Fuentes storylines? Is Marco really dirty? Sound off below
The Bridge airs Wednesdays at 10pm EST on FX
Both leads and Ted Levine (anybody else thinking this is Art’s brother from Justified) have been hitting it out of the ballpark. I want to give kudos to Brian Van Pelt (Ray) who has amazingly been outstanding in three different types of shows: John from Cincinnati (which should have never been cancelled); Cougar Town; and this one. The guy pretty much “McCounagheys” his way through a role, but also shows his chops in multi-faceted ways.
Matthew Lilliard is doing his best work ever. The “Descendents” must have revved up his acting equipment.
Now that we know Kruger’s character is not just an Asperger’s personality type, but an already vulnerable personality type that has been traumatized, and still suffers from PTSD. That makes her more palatable to the audience, I think.
I never thought of Hank as Art’s pseudo brother – in spirit – but that totally sounds about right! Hank’s a little more dry, though 🙂