Is there "racial stereotyping" in TV dramas? Just because a show is a Netflix streaming special, does it get less attention than a network show? This episode is one of the most powerful I have ever seen from any series anywhere, anytime.
I want to be clear because we all know that an IMBb review is forever and will outlive anyone currently alive on the planet when the episode aired.
The writers did something amazing. They spent the first 30 minutes weaving together the personal lives and problems of the "travelers" to the point that, if you had a short attention span, you might almost have gotten bored.
Then they did a "reversal." They tied all the loose bits into one clear and riveting arc involving the ever-reliable McCormack and had him accept a "mystery mission" on a plane, not knowing (a) the plane would crash (b) he had to save the passenger next to him and (c) his wife had been goaded to jealousy earlier in the episode and had become a non-manifested passenger in the plane (according to the Future records) and was about to die in the crash. All because she loved him.
At the last minute, McCormack's character pulls a "Sydney Carton" from a Tale of Two Cities and seems ready to sacrifice himself to save a wife who is not actually his wife. This drama in turn is set off against the other arcs from the first 30 minutes (also themed to LOVE) where you have a wife abuser who is in denial, and a relationship between two people where one announces to the other that she has a fatal illness and not much time left to live.
In short, one of the most interesting and compelling scripts I have ever seen.
I want to be clear because we all know that an IMBb review is forever and will outlive anyone currently alive on the planet when the episode aired.
The writers did something amazing. They spent the first 30 minutes weaving together the personal lives and problems of the "travelers" to the point that, if you had a short attention span, you might almost have gotten bored.
Then they did a "reversal." They tied all the loose bits into one clear and riveting arc involving the ever-reliable McCormack and had him accept a "mystery mission" on a plane, not knowing (a) the plane would crash (b) he had to save the passenger next to him and (c) his wife had been goaded to jealousy earlier in the episode and had become a non-manifested passenger in the plane (according to the Future records) and was about to die in the crash. All because she loved him.
At the last minute, McCormack's character pulls a "Sydney Carton" from a Tale of Two Cities and seems ready to sacrifice himself to save a wife who is not actually his wife. This drama in turn is set off against the other arcs from the first 30 minutes (also themed to LOVE) where you have a wife abuser who is in denial, and a relationship between two people where one announces to the other that she has a fatal illness and not much time left to live.
In short, one of the most interesting and compelling scripts I have ever seen.