Written by Noelle Valdivia
Directed by Craig Zobel
Oz (to Victor): "You should do it. Fuck what they think. Let 'em wait. You know, take up space. You got fight in you, Vic. Gotta let it out."
For the past two episodes, I've been heaping a lot of deserved praise for both Colin Farrell and Cristin Milioti that I almost forgot to give it to another deserving actor. Yes, I'm talking about Rhenzy Feliz.
While he's not totally a novice in the acting game, he's still a relative newcomer and its not lost on me that not only can he easily hold his own with Farrell and Milioti, but Victor's the closest to a grounded character we've had. Unlike both Oz and Sofia, Victor has actually been directly impacted by the Flood.
This episode opened up from his perspective of that night. We got to briefly see his family life (and he had a pretty good one) as well as Victor, his friends and girlfriend, Graciela (Anire Kim Amoda) witness Gotham getting flooded. For Victor, there's at least a reunion with Graciela with her telling him that she was leaving for California and wanted him to come with her.
At first Victor seemed reluctant to do that in fear of Oz taking him out but as the episode progressed and he fumbled the bag (literally in this instance), Victor actually made it clear he was leaving. Oz didn't exactly react in the most mature of fashions but his words to Victor ended up coming true in record time.
Whether he liked it or not, Victor was now immersed in the crime world. He was the third wheel in Oz and Sofia's big scheme with the Bliss drug and he ended up coming to their rescue when Nadia Maroni realised that Oz was playing her family. Granted they did leave Sofia behind but I'm sure she'll be fine.
Speaking of Sofia, I do like that because she decided to throw her lot in with Oswald in order to take down Johnny and Luca, it doesn't mean she blindly trusts him either. She's still keeping him at arms length and still viewed him as a rat. The trailer for next week's episode seemed to indicate that Oswald might have been the one to have ended her Hangman days but even with all that resentment and double crossing, there's no denying that Oswald and Sofia make a great dynamic to watch.
In fact the way they managed to get Triad leader Feng Zhao (Francois Chau) on board was rather impressive. Sofia's actual negotiation skills are as impressive as her penchant for violence. Not that Oswald didn't play his own part in getting the job done too but Sofia was better. Now she just needs to survive Nadia Maroni.
- The boy that Sofia killed in the opening episode was named Calvin. Victor didn't tell Graciela about his death. Does Victor even know he's dead?
- Victor's mother worked in home health care and his father was a mechanic that wanted to be a chef. Victor told Sofia he was a mechanic.
- Oswald orchestrated it so that Sofia would walk in on Johnny having sex with Luca's wife, Tina. Oswald almost killed Johnny as well when the latter used his Penguin in a derogatory manner.
- The Bliss drug was something that was used to keep Sofia and other inmates docile in Arkham.
- Standout music: Bob Moses Broken Belief.
- Chronology: Not long from the previous episode.
Bliss might have been more chaotic than the title but it was more proof that this show has been a worthy addition to The Batman universe. A great focus on Victor, a dangerous new drug and more context for Oswald and Sofia's complicated relationship. A winner all round.
Rating: 9 out of 10
No comments:
Post a Comment