Three episodes in, and the show still has no direction. The Illustrated Woman offers little new of interest. There is, however, one major addition who sticks out like a sore thumb. That addition is a spaghetti western character complete with Stetson and rasp. He's essentially a bounty hunter/terminator of the Neutral Zone. He does not fit in tonally with the other characters, and would be more suited for a fantasy or sci-fi show. However, as broad as the Marshal is, at least he isn't boring. This is a contrast with the other, more prominently featured characters. Joe can be whatever you want him to be, because the writers and performance have given us nothing. Juliana is only slightly more developed, since we have seen evidence of her personal stake in the drama. There is no emotional weight behind anything Joe says because it all may be a lie. Frank is a much easier character to grasp. Plenty of potential speculation for his future plans by episode's end. The episode does show signs of life in its final minutes, with the scene in Copper Gulch Mine. The cliffhanger ending feels desperate, but at least something is happening. When the show was more dense and immersive, the flawed characters could be overlooked, but now that the budget has been lowered, the productions elements have been scaled back. Now its the same sets, with exteriors primarily confined to Canon City. The show will have to compensate for the lack of visual feast with more compelling drama.
Review of The Illustrated Woman
