Season 2, Episode 2, “Grace”
Originally aired: March 31, 2005
A formula-breaking episode, “Grace” solved the usual tension early on and filled the remaining time by throwing Tru and Davis into an unforeseen set of circumstances. It allowed the audience to see how the show could function in a different way and still feel like a genuine episode of Tru Calling. Despite this fascinating diversion from what the audience expected, it was not a flawless episode. “Grace” was built around a strong idea, but the execution took away from its potential.
Tru’s gift essentially allows her to have a second chance dealing with her personal problems along with saving the victim of the week. We especially saw this toward the beginning of last season with her cheating professor boyfriend and forgetting Lindsay’s birthday. In some ways, it’s nice to see her take another stab at getting it right, but in other ways, it creates a huge problem. It plants the seed in the back of the audience’s mind that anything screwed up may have a chance of completely being erased. “Grace” suffered from a combination of this seed and a suspiciously overblown problem for Tru.
As the episode went on, Tru found herself in a deeper and deeper hole. Being a suspect for a murder. Escaping police custody. Breaking and entering. In other shows, more trouble with the law would make it appear as if there was less of a chance of getting off scot-free. However with Tru Calling, the audience knows that there is a very high chance of the day being erased and Tru getting off clean … as long as someone dies. The tension of Tru being in this type of severe legal trouble could only be built for so long before it became unrealistic. Unfortunately, the episode took it past the point of realism and broke the tension before the conflict was resolved. Tru going on the run and the police so relentlessly pursuing her with no evidence aside from a witness in a crowded area stretched the boundaries of reality. In a show where dead people ask for her help, this is a problem they shouldn’t have had. Davis trying to get Tru in contact with the victim’s body on the redo day to get her out of this mess only made the audience believe more so that this wouldn’t stick … and it didn’t.
That being said, I praise the series for trying something new and going out on a limb with a crazy story idea. It was a bold and respectable move that demonstrated a willingness to try new things and figure out new ways to make the series better.
Once again, Jack presented himself as a formidable foe. The only problem is that now that he’s out of the morgue, there’s no explanation for his knowledge of the murder victim. It’s hard to believe that he could have tracked down the victim, visited him, and planted evidence against Tru before she found him. It was certainly a surprising moment, but one that still seems unfounded. On another note, the comments he made to the victim warning him about how Tru was crazy reminded me too much of what happened last episode with the young adults taking the boat into the storm. It’s understandable that Jack would use a successful tactic again, but I’d rather see him use a new one.
In addition to contributing to the mess that Tru found herself in, Jack dropped a few hints about the series’ overarching mythology. We learned that when the person with the gift dies, the gift is passed on to someone else. We assumed that this was true for Elise Davies and Tru, but now we have confirmation. It begs the question, “What about Richard and Jack?” Because Jack has to tell Richard when a redo day happens, Richard somehow lost his ability to rewind. Did he at one point die and come right back to life, but the gift went to someone else anyway (like it did in Buffy, funny enough to Eliza Dushku’s character)? Or when Elise died, was it taken from him by the universe or the powers that be or whatever you want to call it and given to someone in the same generation as the new force for good?
This episode utilized Harrison especially well. Although he’s desperately trying to get past the life he used to lead, it came in handy to save his sister. Their interactions were a delight to watch because he was so helpful and concerned, and she was so grateful and lacking judgment. At the beginning of the series, all Harrison seemed to want was the names of the winning ponies, but now all he seeks is his father’s love, showing how much he’s grown and learned about himself.
“Grace” introduced us to Tru’s new set of friends and potential love interest now that both Lindsay and Luc are out of the picture. Even though the others are not focused on until the next episode, Jensen was characterized quickly and effectively as someone trying to live up to his father’s high standards, not that different from how Harrison feels.
Additional Comments:
– The running commentary about the strong smell of roses from the spilled perfume didn’t pay off, so it’s constant mentions just got weird and unnecessary.
– I wish there could have been more interaction between Davis and the police. During the interactions they had, Davis was unusually calm and collected, completely unlike his usual awkward self.
– Seeing Harrison knock Jack down the second day after Jack knocked him down the first day was a great moment.
– This episode contained two more guest stars with a genre destiny: Lizzy Caplan, who previously guest starred on Smallville and went on to guest in True Blood and star in Masters of Sex, and Erick Avari, who was a guest star on Heroes.
– “Did you get memo about the fire drill? Tomorrow afternoon. I like to warn people because sometimes that alarm goes off at the most inconvenient times, you know. When you’re in the toilet or your elbow-deep in someone’s chest cavity.” – Davis
– “When the Fates were standing around my cradle, they said, ‘He will be able to analyze sixty kinds of bullet wounds, but when it comes to conversational skills, none.’” – Davis
Season 2, Episode 3, “In the Dark”
Originally aired: April 7, 2005
An episode that broke the formula to a lesser extent, “In the Dark” pitted Tru and Davis, two usual allies, against one another for the majority of the hour. It also dealt with a new problem for Tru: not knowing who the victim was, which greatly contributed to the discord between Tru and Davis. Unlike “Grace,” “Into the Dark” centered on a much more grounded and much more intense set of circumstances. It was more believable as a whole than “Grace,” although it did take a logic leap or two.
Coming off of last episode, the audience was inclined to assume that Tru and Davis were at a strong point in their relationship. He risked his own career and freedom to keep Tru out of prison for a crime she didn’t commit. Despite this, their relationship in “Into the Dark” was as weak as it has ever been. It was interesting to see them at great odds with one another and to see how they managed to carry out a case without relying on one another as they have grown accustomed to. It forced Davis to go into the field, and any scene with Davis out of the comfort of his morgue is a gold mine. This episode was great at keeping the audience unsure what was going to happen, but subpar at justifying itself.
The argument between Tru and Davis at the morgue sounded fine on the surface, but underneath, they were fighting about nothing that they would have ordinarily fought about. What they were essentially disagreeing about was one another’s attitude. Both Tru and Davis felt out of character for not listening to one another and not pooling their knowledge to come up with the best possible solution to solve the crime and save the victim. Neither of them had concrete knowledge to support their stance, but both acted as if they did. This scene, and the conflict that resulted from it, seemed to exist for the sake of having discord between Tru and Davis. The justification was too weak for it to feel natural to the story.
Carrie’s backstory was fascinating and compelling, a believable reason for her to be a target. Jensen’s fiancée’s secret was as well, given that Avery was further characterized by her strong friendship and past romance with Jensen. However, I wish this story had been less predictable and more unique. Marrying for status or money and lying about pregnancy may be one of the oldest tricks in the book. And it pales in comparison to being suspected of murdering your abusive, drunkard of a husband.
As mentioned in the “Grace” review, more pieces of the mythology have been put into place, but time is running out for as many answers to be provided as there are questions that have been asked. “Into the Dark” ended with a major shock – Jack and Carrie are in cahoots, which likely means there’s a connection between Carrie and Richard Davies. Even though Jack has a contact in the morgue, it does not answer how he has known about the victims the past two episodes. Carrie would not have been able to tell him before the day rewound, unless she was another person with a gift, but that seems too far-fetched and inconsistent with what we learned last episode.
A delightful part of this episode was watching Davis and Carrie interact because this is the first true love interest Davis has had in the series. Also, it’s one of the few times we have seen Davis outside of the morgue. The reveal that Carrie was intentionally wrapping Davis around her finger turned their relationship from a cute, hopeful romance to a twisted, one-sided game with no happy end in sight for our favorite morgue supervisor. Their emotional scene in her office was a beautiful moment to watch on its own and makes sense in retrospect, but at the time, it was unearned. Davis and Carrie barely knew one another.
Jack has always been a lighter presence than Tru, more accepting of his gift, more proud of it, and more confident in his ability. What this episode added to the mix a clearer indication of how Jack views his duty. It almost seemed like a game to him. He enjoys playing opposite Tru, tricking her, and winning in any way he can. Perhaps this is just his character, or perhaps it is because he arguably lives on the easier side of destiny, having to send Tru in the wrong direction instead of having to change an entire set of circumstances.
Additional Comments:
– The Diner is back! It’s been a few episodes since we’ve seen it, and it was such a common setting last season.
– In the real of unrealistic actions and consequences was the maintenance man stepping in a water puddle while holding wires. The entire basement area looked like it was wet, and as someone who worked around electricity for a living, it should have been the first thought on his mind. I’ve taken a half-day seminar about safety around electrical equipment, and the combination of electricity and water is safety 101.
– How cool would it be to see an entire episode from Jack’s perspective? He keeps popping up unexpectedly and creating diversions for Tru, so I want to see exactly how he’s so knowledgeable and how his relationship with Richard and Carrie contribute.
– While it’s common practice to end a scene with a shot or line from your main character, the scene toward the end with Tru and Jensen in the lab awkwardly lingered on Tru for too long. Throughout the series, there have been numerous “reaction shots” from Tru that don’t land as effectively as they should. The expression is either unreadable or Eliza Dushku looks uncomfortable in them.
– Tru: “There’s this jade necklace that’s been calling my name, which is much less creepy than what usually calls my name.” – Tru
