Fifty odd years ago, at the dawn of the TV age, dramas were like Shakespearian plays. They had Acts (seriously, not kidding) and in each Act the same plot arc moved slowly forward.
I have written before that, in my view, a new age of TV drama emerged in the 90s with crazy shows that ran simultaneous arcs, many of which, each out of sync each with the other, and yet all relied on the skill of the actors and writers to keep the viewer interested.
Generally, even in this new age, not all the arcs are equally powerful. That seems an impossibility. And besides the viewer needs time to catch his breath... right? This episode mocks that theory. Even the IMDb synopsis "Jay kidnaps his mother to help her get clean and Nate finally reveals to Alvey the truth behind his attack" only hints at what is happening.
First, the idea of crazy son, who is sort a truant MMA fighter, that kidnaps his own mother, who is a hooker, and looks like his sister, and takes her to a locked room to get her clean, while she curses him, as only a mother can ... only to next go get her belongings at her apartment and, while there, beat the ^%*%* out of her pimp .... well, there was a time you could base on an entire TV movie on that alone.
And then there is the followup on the brilliant spin from the opening episode, where Alvey (ex MMA fighter) has to tuneup two gangbangers in an odd case of unplanned, accidental, "Reverse Road Rage" only to (at the very very end of the episode) have those same two bangers beat the %^*&^ out of Alvey's son (who was not involved in the original incident) simply to get back at Alvey.... well, that's another arc that just grabs you and won't let go.
There are other twists and turns throughout, each as good as the other.
To be honest, I was glued to the screen.
And the fact (as I wrote in my review of the entire series) that the production team accomplishes all this while maintaining that "near reality" look (better than any other fiction series I can think of) .. well, to this reviewer, it is time to start thinking about award lists and nominations.
I have written before that, in my view, a new age of TV drama emerged in the 90s with crazy shows that ran simultaneous arcs, many of which, each out of sync each with the other, and yet all relied on the skill of the actors and writers to keep the viewer interested.
Generally, even in this new age, not all the arcs are equally powerful. That seems an impossibility. And besides the viewer needs time to catch his breath... right? This episode mocks that theory. Even the IMDb synopsis "Jay kidnaps his mother to help her get clean and Nate finally reveals to Alvey the truth behind his attack" only hints at what is happening.
First, the idea of crazy son, who is sort a truant MMA fighter, that kidnaps his own mother, who is a hooker, and looks like his sister, and takes her to a locked room to get her clean, while she curses him, as only a mother can ... only to next go get her belongings at her apartment and, while there, beat the ^%*%* out of her pimp .... well, there was a time you could base on an entire TV movie on that alone.
And then there is the followup on the brilliant spin from the opening episode, where Alvey (ex MMA fighter) has to tuneup two gangbangers in an odd case of unplanned, accidental, "Reverse Road Rage" only to (at the very very end of the episode) have those same two bangers beat the %^*&^ out of Alvey's son (who was not involved in the original incident) simply to get back at Alvey.... well, that's another arc that just grabs you and won't let go.
There are other twists and turns throughout, each as good as the other.
To be honest, I was glued to the screen.
And the fact (as I wrote in my review of the entire series) that the production team accomplishes all this while maintaining that "near reality" look (better than any other fiction series I can think of) .. well, to this reviewer, it is time to start thinking about award lists and nominations.
