Miracles, episode 12: The Letter
Jul. 25th, 2023 10:53 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
annavereI was giddy just getting to watch this episode. Plus, basking in the crystal clear visuals due to the lack of YT uploading pixellation. I really had no clue just how pretty these people are!
Again, the show focuses on families and grief and does a graceful job of it. There's always a mystery and sometimes a horror element, but so often Miracles is thoughtful and subdued. There's an element typical in monster of the week shows where every episode has to at least include a violent brawl, even if it doesn't resolve the problem (and let's face it, it usually does because action makes a natural crescendo), and it's something which sometimes hinders the storytelling on shows like Buffy or Brimstone. There aren't endless monsters to fight here, and this opens up the narrative possibilities.
I liked seeing Paul's orphan family, with Poppi and Georgia (whose actress seemed familiar, and it appears I've seen her guesting in NCIS, Lie to Me and as a regular on Jericho but I don't remember any of those roles, just her face - on the other hand, I recognized Angel's wannabe agent instantly). This stability goes a long way toward explaining why Paul is so well-adjusted (or was, before going up to his ears in paranormal problems).
Alva doesn't get a lot of play in this episode, but the major scene he gets is fascinating and uncomfortable. I tend to agree with the Forest Fire Principle as he puts it, and have applied it myself to other fandoms, but it is always ethically dicey and hearing Alva offer that as an explanation for an evil man becoming a conduit from the afterlife of his own victims is... yeah, kind of horrifying. Enhanced by the way the scene is edited, with Paul waking up the next morning after having been told to basically accept a "necessary evil," making it feel half like a dream sequence.
In spite of everything, I still don't quite trust Alva. I don't think he's a villain but I don't think he's quite a hero. I'm not sure what he is.
The dramatic balance of the episode becomes another question mark between the grieving families hearing from their murdered loved ones, and the truth that those loved ones aren't coming back. As far as the debate goes, I'm with the father of the murdered juror all the way, but I always appreciate a nuanced perspective even when my own is straightforward, and here we're also served a 'revenge is empty' message, and a theory that the man was predestined to die in any case. I love these kinds of philosophical tangles.
And everyone was so pretty.
Again, the show focuses on families and grief and does a graceful job of it. There's always a mystery and sometimes a horror element, but so often Miracles is thoughtful and subdued. There's an element typical in monster of the week shows where every episode has to at least include a violent brawl, even if it doesn't resolve the problem (and let's face it, it usually does because action makes a natural crescendo), and it's something which sometimes hinders the storytelling on shows like Buffy or Brimstone. There aren't endless monsters to fight here, and this opens up the narrative possibilities.
I liked seeing Paul's orphan family, with Poppi and Georgia (whose actress seemed familiar, and it appears I've seen her guesting in NCIS, Lie to Me and as a regular on Jericho but I don't remember any of those roles, just her face - on the other hand, I recognized Angel's wannabe agent instantly). This stability goes a long way toward explaining why Paul is so well-adjusted (or was, before going up to his ears in paranormal problems).
Alva doesn't get a lot of play in this episode, but the major scene he gets is fascinating and uncomfortable. I tend to agree with the Forest Fire Principle as he puts it, and have applied it myself to other fandoms, but it is always ethically dicey and hearing Alva offer that as an explanation for an evil man becoming a conduit from the afterlife of his own victims is... yeah, kind of horrifying. Enhanced by the way the scene is edited, with Paul waking up the next morning after having been told to basically accept a "necessary evil," making it feel half like a dream sequence.
In spite of everything, I still don't quite trust Alva. I don't think he's a villain but I don't think he's quite a hero. I'm not sure what he is.
The dramatic balance of the episode becomes another question mark between the grieving families hearing from their murdered loved ones, and the truth that those loved ones aren't coming back. As far as the debate goes, I'm with the father of the murdered juror all the way, but I always appreciate a nuanced perspective even when my own is straightforward, and here we're also served a 'revenge is empty' message, and a theory that the man was predestined to die in any case. I love these kinds of philosophical tangles.
And everyone was so pretty.
