12 Monkeys, S03E08: Masks
Jan. 30th, 2023 08:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
annavereThis one has a lot of dramatic material but any episode following 'Nurture' is going to feel a little less impactful. Here are the things which caught my eye.
The train hunt, with Cole and Cassie cheating thanks to their spiffy new suits, and Deacon and Hannah pissed at being outclassed, is at once entertaining as an action scene and yet so devastating because this was a team not long ago.
Katarina lets Olivia out and puts her in a consulting role, which is a deal with the devil if there ever was one. Olivia's been back burnered for a while, so it's fascinating to watch what patience gets her, and her readiness to gloat at Jennifer by the end. Since she's been brought inside, the group has completely fractured. Horrible, but well played.
This is a banner episode for Deacon, running on cold rage and betrayal. His conversation with Jennifer is particularly good. So he's pissed at Cassie for shooting him, and bitterly sarcastic about how she avoided the major organs. Jennifer tries to coax him back on the path to redemption and he's having exactly none of it, now in a similar headspace to where Cole has lately been, where he dismisses the idea of people changing for the better. Unlike Cole, who was so unforgiving of himself he decided his own violent impulses guaranteed the Witness, Deacon has found someone else to blame for the death of elderly Jennifer and is supposedly done feeling bad about it.
Jennifer's poor Terrys...
On the other hand, Jennifer getting help from Dr. Lasky (add him to the long list of Katarina's betrayers) in adorable fashion is wonderful.
Cole teaching Cassie to pick pockets and her teaching him to waltz is such a sweet sequence. Cole is a much better instructor than Cassie, and she's a much better pupil.
Deacon in fancy dress owns the masquerade, just by the way.
The big scene for this one is the furious family feud which contains a lot of stuff good and frustrating. Of the good is Katarina acknowledging that she's thought of Cole as her son and asking why he didn't tell her the truth. Of the frustrating is his reply "It wouldn't have made any difference." Even for Team Worst Good Guys, I'm fairly certain Katarina's immediate response would not have been a hail of bullets directed at Cassie. Hypocrisy flies thick and fast between all the parents willing to do anything for their kid and to hell with anyone else's.
Meanwhile, Deacon starts sympathizing with Ramse. It makes sense he'd be bitter about Cassie shooting him, but why is he so bothered by Cole murdering his brother (using that word deliberately)? He seems quite genuinely repulsed now that he knows the details of the event, despite hating Ramse and wanting Cole to kill him numerous times. Is it just a handy cudgel to beat Cole with? Probably.
Jennifer crashes the party in fine form and then the spiraling destruction of the group claims her as well. Deacon dragging her to the horrible exposed cage, trading places with Olivia and completely indifferent to her pleas and panic is so hard to watch. And here I might as well mention that as much as I have been enjoying the dynamic between Deacon and Jennifer, it hasn't been in a shippy way. Jennifer exudes such emotional vulnerability and mental instability that she belongs in a category of beloved and (from my perspective) completely unpairable characters like Mister Smith and River Tam. Which isn't to say they don't deserve love and romance, just that I'm not the one to picture it. I like angst and they deserve curtain fic.
The train hunt, with Cole and Cassie cheating thanks to their spiffy new suits, and Deacon and Hannah pissed at being outclassed, is at once entertaining as an action scene and yet so devastating because this was a team not long ago.
Katarina lets Olivia out and puts her in a consulting role, which is a deal with the devil if there ever was one. Olivia's been back burnered for a while, so it's fascinating to watch what patience gets her, and her readiness to gloat at Jennifer by the end. Since she's been brought inside, the group has completely fractured. Horrible, but well played.
This is a banner episode for Deacon, running on cold rage and betrayal. His conversation with Jennifer is particularly good. So he's pissed at Cassie for shooting him, and bitterly sarcastic about how she avoided the major organs. Jennifer tries to coax him back on the path to redemption and he's having exactly none of it, now in a similar headspace to where Cole has lately been, where he dismisses the idea of people changing for the better. Unlike Cole, who was so unforgiving of himself he decided his own violent impulses guaranteed the Witness, Deacon has found someone else to blame for the death of elderly Jennifer and is supposedly done feeling bad about it.
Jennifer's poor Terrys...
On the other hand, Jennifer getting help from Dr. Lasky (add him to the long list of Katarina's betrayers) in adorable fashion is wonderful.
Cole teaching Cassie to pick pockets and her teaching him to waltz is such a sweet sequence. Cole is a much better instructor than Cassie, and she's a much better pupil.
Deacon in fancy dress owns the masquerade, just by the way.
The big scene for this one is the furious family feud which contains a lot of stuff good and frustrating. Of the good is Katarina acknowledging that she's thought of Cole as her son and asking why he didn't tell her the truth. Of the frustrating is his reply "It wouldn't have made any difference." Even for Team Worst Good Guys, I'm fairly certain Katarina's immediate response would not have been a hail of bullets directed at Cassie. Hypocrisy flies thick and fast between all the parents willing to do anything for their kid and to hell with anyone else's.
Meanwhile, Deacon starts sympathizing with Ramse. It makes sense he'd be bitter about Cassie shooting him, but why is he so bothered by Cole murdering his brother (using that word deliberately)? He seems quite genuinely repulsed now that he knows the details of the event, despite hating Ramse and wanting Cole to kill him numerous times. Is it just a handy cudgel to beat Cole with? Probably.
Jennifer crashes the party in fine form and then the spiraling destruction of the group claims her as well. Deacon dragging her to the horrible exposed cage, trading places with Olivia and completely indifferent to her pleas and panic is so hard to watch. And here I might as well mention that as much as I have been enjoying the dynamic between Deacon and Jennifer, it hasn't been in a shippy way. Jennifer exudes such emotional vulnerability and mental instability that she belongs in a category of beloved and (from my perspective) completely unpairable characters like Mister Smith and River Tam. Which isn't to say they don't deserve love and romance, just that I'm not the one to picture it. I like angst and they deserve curtain fic.
