"Social cohesion is our only hope..."
After having our hopes raised, this is where we start to see them dashed. We can tell right from the pre-credits sequence, with Laura narrating, which reminds us how precarious everything is. And then, after Mia’s positive speech to the commission, everything is destroyed by Agnes’ senseless suicide bombing, in one instant, in a superbly directed sequence full of juxtapositions.
So much happens. Mattie is pregnant! Unwitting father-to-be Leo discovers that his own father regretted saving him. Niska’s separate and rather plodding plot thread, the series’ only real misstep, continues to plod along. And there’s a terrifying sequence in which Laura discovers that “Stanley” is not what he seems. He’s creepy and terrifying; a superb performance. Yet Laura manages to persuade him not to massacre the Dryden Commission. For now, anyway.
But the truly devastating scene comes at the end, as Anatole enters the Hawkins residence to bring Stanley back, and cruelly proves that even Laura would instinctly save a random human over even little Sam. Devastatingly, this brings not only Stanley but also Sam to Anatole’s side. It’s a powerful scene.
It’s a tribute to the script that an episode such as this, largely functional and quite visibly putting all the ducks in a row for the end game, can nevertheless be so dramatic, emotive and devastating. More please.
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