Monsters of Television

Who knew the bong lamp would play such a large role in this series?

So we have the last three episodes out of the way and they introduced us into this world of well-adjusted kids in the foster care system, slackers who get by, and a “mess” with the best of maternal intentions. All the pieces of the storyworld are in place and, yes, they’ve bypassed several opportunities for drama in what I can only determine to be hope for bigger and better things. More or less, this is a world in stasis.

So let’s mix it up.

This is an episode about infiltration, probably a brief taste of this as a theme to, at least, the first season of this series. Each of these characters have the proverbial wall constructed around them and it is Lux’s mess that’s able to break them down, even her own firm constructions. Here, the walls aren’t so much trashed as they are just trespassed. Cate’s not-quite-honed maternal instinct leads to Lux’s friends invading and dispelling her lie. Ryan’s innocuous remarks reveal an already festering inferiority complex in Baze from which he (quietly) lashes out. And, of course, in an effort to get back at Cate, Lux, intentionally and in dramatic fashion, single-handedly puts Cate’s and Ryan’s careers in jeopardy.

Finally! Erratic behavior!

But, just when you think these walls are being torn down, slowly moving the whole group toward becoming a sobbing, angry mess, the episodes as saccharine as the first three. The things all tie together. Late-’90s, early-’00s WB-style montages wrap it all up in a fine bow. They’re all trying hard! They will all succeed! There are no stakes!

We did get to see some flashes of the banter I keep reading about. But watching this show get its legs is like watching a calf wobble to its feet (hooves?) after being born. Slow, shaky, and, despite the fact that there is a lot of opportunity for danger, doom, and the horse’s demise, you’re still watching a baby stand up. Am I a bad person hoping for the doom?