There are story lines all over the place. Winter is shown to have a partner who uses a psychotic childhood event to gain control of his empire as an advisor. He has a lot of skin in the game. Meanwhile, we see some of Winter's work from the past. Also, Chance's ex does something that she will regret. There is evidence against D that will have to be dealt with. Meanwhile, Frank is further asserting his hold over Winter. I can't wait to see how this all plays out.
3 Reviews
Episode 207
bobcobb30112 November 2017
Warning: Spoilers
This was another good Season 2 episode of Chance, but I don't like the reboot they are doing at the halfway point. It became a show about chasing one killer and now Frank, who was a minor character before, and his path of corruption appears to be the new "big bad" for the final few episodes.
Maybe they'll surprise me with some more twists, but I think the show has made a number of poor storytelling developments as of late.
Maybe they'll surprise me with some more twists, but I think the show has made a number of poor storytelling developments as of late.
"Define Normal" Season 2, Ep. 7 SPOILERS
hilaryjrp26 November 2017
Warning: Spoilers
SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW
Considering the previous episode's conclusion, it's not unusual and in fact is necessary that "Chance's" action lets up for a while. Episode 7, "Define Normal," contains a significant amount of flashbacks--graphically violent flashbacks. My one criticism of this series is that the amount of graphic violence is unnecessary, given its stylized production.
By stylized production, I mean that the show seems to be filmed with filters constantly on the cinematographer's lens. The costume department is devoted to the color green. (For D, of course, clothes are usually basic black.) For that reason, elided or implied violence would be enough for most "Chance" viewers to understand, for example, the violence inflicted on a minor child in this episode.
In addition to flashbacks, the episode is heavily devoted to Nicole's story-line. This isn't a bad thing, first, because Nicole is not a mere subplot. Nicole symbolizes the ramifications for "real" people of resorting to violence as an answer to problems. Later in the season, a very minor character will remind her that the teenage villainess who hurt her is at home in a warm bed eating hot food, while she...is not. Unlike the "successful" serial killer whose back-story we see in this episode, we also see Nicole try for the second time to use violence--but fail.
Christina, Eldon Chance's ex-wife and Nicole's mother, gets necessary screen-time in "Define Normal," and she probably is responsible for the meaning of the episode's title. At one point, Christina argues with Eldon and, with devastating bluntness, calls herself a "low charge" Eldon chose to marry not because he loved her but because she would never test his tendency to romantic obsessiveness. Christina is also the butt of Nicole's abuse after Nicole is spared from the consequences of her actions back in Episode 3; and Christina makes a decision regarding the girl's future without consulting her volatile ex-husband.
No matter the running-time (or weeks, or months) of a particular story, intervals highly charged with action or meaning have to be followed by intervals of falling action or stasis. Episode 4, "The Coping Mechanism," was this kind of "quiet" episode; and, to the extent that "Chance" is ever at all emotionally quiet, "Define Normal" is this kind of episode as well.
Viewers who were shocked by the previous episode's conclusion may or may also object to the way the series' apparent trajectory changes. But in the plot trajectory department, viewers this season are in for more than one surprise.
Considering the previous episode's conclusion, it's not unusual and in fact is necessary that "Chance's" action lets up for a while. Episode 7, "Define Normal," contains a significant amount of flashbacks--graphically violent flashbacks. My one criticism of this series is that the amount of graphic violence is unnecessary, given its stylized production.
By stylized production, I mean that the show seems to be filmed with filters constantly on the cinematographer's lens. The costume department is devoted to the color green. (For D, of course, clothes are usually basic black.) For that reason, elided or implied violence would be enough for most "Chance" viewers to understand, for example, the violence inflicted on a minor child in this episode.
In addition to flashbacks, the episode is heavily devoted to Nicole's story-line. This isn't a bad thing, first, because Nicole is not a mere subplot. Nicole symbolizes the ramifications for "real" people of resorting to violence as an answer to problems. Later in the season, a very minor character will remind her that the teenage villainess who hurt her is at home in a warm bed eating hot food, while she...is not. Unlike the "successful" serial killer whose back-story we see in this episode, we also see Nicole try for the second time to use violence--but fail.
Christina, Eldon Chance's ex-wife and Nicole's mother, gets necessary screen-time in "Define Normal," and she probably is responsible for the meaning of the episode's title. At one point, Christina argues with Eldon and, with devastating bluntness, calls herself a "low charge" Eldon chose to marry not because he loved her but because she would never test his tendency to romantic obsessiveness. Christina is also the butt of Nicole's abuse after Nicole is spared from the consequences of her actions back in Episode 3; and Christina makes a decision regarding the girl's future without consulting her volatile ex-husband.
No matter the running-time (or weeks, or months) of a particular story, intervals highly charged with action or meaning have to be followed by intervals of falling action or stasis. Episode 4, "The Coping Mechanism," was this kind of "quiet" episode; and, to the extent that "Chance" is ever at all emotionally quiet, "Define Normal" is this kind of episode as well.
Viewers who were shocked by the previous episode's conclusion may or may also object to the way the series' apparent trajectory changes. But in the plot trajectory department, viewers this season are in for more than one surprise.
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