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Episode Title: | Buddha in the Ruins |
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Original Air Date: | March 4th 2010 (Thursday) |
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Original Air Time: | NA (ET) |
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Episode ID: | 01x11 -- Season: 1, Episode: 11 |
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Program Network: | ABC - 60 minutes |
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Episode Summary: | I certainly will not be the first to admit it: Flashforward has disappointed me quite a lot this year. I was really looking forward to finding a show that could replace the massive gaping hole that Lost will leave in my television schedule, but after the premiere, it became difficult to stay interested and I soon stopped watching about seven episodes into the show. However, during the hiatus, I rewatched the entire first half of the season and actually found myself interested again. Who's Suspect Zero? Who are the big players in this thing? Where the hell is D. Gibbons? I was finally ready to invest some time into the show, even if it was severely flawed. The spring premiere of this show is much better, much faster and answers a lot of lingering questions from earlier in the season. Unfortunately, I'm afraid it's too little too late, as the ratings have continued to plummet and the fanbase is dwindling. However, I'm compelled enough to stick around for the duration of the season.
Two important things occured in this episode: the writers thankfully poured more of their focus onto under-developed characters and focused a lot less on the marital dramas of Mark and Olivia. It was interesting when they first revealed it, but it's been beaten to death over the first ten episodes, so seeing Mark on his own, following his own investigation and seeing the new memories he remembered made every single one of his scenes much more interesting. Secondly, in the second hour of the episode, we learn quite a lot about Simon, a character who has seemed to have no purpose up until these two hours. I really hadn't grown on to him at all, but the premiere (especially the second hour) really made me see him as a clever, somewhat annoying, but ultimately good guy who is trying to find the people using his technology for evil. It was interesting to see his flashforward play out the way it did, and it shows the writers are capable of misleading the audience without really irritating them. And the final scene? Superb acting all around.
I'm interested in Nicole and Bryce's relationship, and how this whole "Sanctuary" deal will turn out. Since when has a cult religious group ever lead to any good? I'm assuming she'll get invested in it as this window washer turned religious nut gets more famous.
Overall, this was a really good way to return to TV for Flashforward. They needed a shot of adrenaline, and even if it wasn't the most perfect episode in television history, it was able to accomplish what they spent ten episodes last winter trying to do. Hopefully they can learn from their mistakes and keep the pace moving and not letting it grow stagnant. |
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