The Bionic Woman Blog

This episode of “Bionic Woman” is another confluence of contradictions. On the one hand, there is a definite rate of improvement in the overall presentation of the series. The quality is steadily improving on a few key fronts. On the other hand, some of the creative choices in this episode are annoying and derivative.

As I mentioned in the review for the previous episode, this show would benefit from a stable structure similar to the one used by “Alias”, especially if the Berkut group is working to advance and control the use of bioengineering around the world. This particular episode follows the “Alias” format very closely, and the episode is very straightforward and understandable as a result.

Part of that is the characterization, which is beginning to gel. Jaime is still the naïve new agent, armed with skills beyond her full control and comprehension. Antonio is the hard-edged agent with certain compassionate qualities, until it’s time to get the job done with extreme prejudice. Nathan is the ubiquitous tech geek with a semi-crush on the new girl. Tom, as presented in this episode, is the handsome fellow agent from a rival group, an element that could help to replace Will’s role and provide something to compare Berkut against.

There were some good advances for Jaime in this episode. The undercover assignment as the student provided an opportunity to explore some of Jaime’s established regrets, for example. The college setting underscores her youth and lack of life experience, which helps to temper her naivety. Personally, I prefer the British accent for the character, since it seems more fitting and natural (given its Ryan’s true voice), but I understand how the executives must have balked at the idea.

This still leaves Becca as a character with generic attributes beyond “annoying little sister”, and Jonas continues to be a work in progress. His role in this episode is easier to reconcile, but the inconsistencies in earlier episodes, particularly his permissive nature with Jaime, need to be addressed.

Unfortunately, this particular episode seemed to be written and directed by fans of Michael Bay films. Middle Eastern terrorists are something of a crutch these days, and it would have been a lot more interesting if the racial profiling had been proven ineffective. Instead, Antonio (thus far the most nuanced field agent) must eat crow, as if teaching him (and thus the audience a lesson).

There’s also the incredibly annoying chatter from Nathan, who was constantly trying to channel his inner Steve Buscemi and failing miserably. Tom was bland as the fellow undercover agent; for that matter, Jaime had more chemistry with Sarah Corvus. To mention a specific plot annoyance, I found it hard to reconcile how Tom could save Jaime with the professor by backing her story so precisely when he wasn’t in the room to hear that story in the first place.

The series is still a work in progress, but it seems to be settling into an effective structure. Building around that structure will be the key to survival. Playing up Berkut as dangerous and irresponsible is a nice touch, as is the focus on bioengineering abuses. Strengthening up the characterization and dropping the stereotypes should be the next area of focus. Perhaps the latest showrunner can point the writing staff in the right direction.

Writing: 1/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4

Final Rating: 6/10

The first few episodes left me concerned, so I was happy to note that this episode was a lot more coherent. There are still some basic storytelling issues at play (something that may never be fully resolved), but the series is making a little more sense.

The major sticking point continues to be the main character. We’re told that Jamie is young, yet it’s hard to imagine that she’s so naïve. She never seems to think things through. The other characters have to explain everything to her, and it strains the credibility of the situation (which is a relative statement as it is). If Berkut was half the secret ops group they claimed to be, they would tell Jamie to shut up and get in line, and they wouldn’t hesitate to enforce their control over her existence.

This episode does moderate that slightly. A lot of people at Berkut feel guilty about what Jamie is going through, even as they continue to use her to their advantage. The bionics are essentially unstable, so under the current circumstances, she’s a terminal patient. They’ve already seen the effect of the breakdown process with Sarah Corvus, so they’re trying to find a middle ground between compassion and self-interest.

I’m not sure that’s consistent with what we’ve seen previously, which may be part of my concern. I’d rather see Jonas and the others at Berkut act like Antonio: willing to take Jamie’s lack of experience into account, but demanding in their expectations of her performance. Jonas was far more self-interested in the pilot, and I found that more convincing.

On the other hand, if there’s an inherent guilt felt by those behind the project, it would explain why they’ve been willing to listen to Jamie’s whining about her personal life. If they were purely concerned with military applications of the technology, they would dismiss Jamie’s personal troubles. In fact, they would probably find a way to eliminate the problem (perhaps less harshly than that implies).

Thankfully, Sarah Corvus is interesting enough to keep the series from faltering completely. Her character has much of the polish and depth missing from Jamie. She also has history with the rest of the characters, which gives the conflict more meaning. Sarah’s interactions with Jae, Jonas, and Ruth were far more credible than Jamie’s conflict with Antonio. Sarah is important to the story because it’s what Jamie could, in theory, become if things don’t change. The signs are there already, which is a nice touch.

It boils down to consistency. Consistency in how Jamie is portrayed, consistency in how Berkut is portrayed, consistency in how Berkut deals with Jamie. If those three items were brought into focus, the series would improve tremendously. As much as it might annoy the writing staff, given the existing comparisons, they might want to look back at “Alias” for guidance on presentation of concept. Shows like “Buffy” and “Alias” would typically have a “briefing room” scene that would state the situation, the plan of attack, and use the opportunity to inject characterization into the conversations to clarify motivations.

Writing: 1/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4

Final Rating: 6/10

This episode continues the evolution of the series from the version presented in the original pilot to the current status quo. That process continues to be difficult. Shifts and politics behind-the-scenes are showing up in the final product, and to a certain extent, it feels like the show is still trying to figure out what it wants to be.

Supposedly the pilot was cut down from a two-hour format to its current one-hour incarnation, and much of the background was therefore missing for the audience. That might explain why certain scenes in this episode and the previous installment feel like they come out of nowhere. For example, Jamie seems to know the people at Berkut far better than one would expect. It still feels like the episodes are being run out of order, as though a lot more happened coming into this situation than we’ve been allowed to see.

Consider the effect: if the pilot was cut in half, and the second episode was the splicing together of two episodes worth of material (as reported elsewhere), then the net effect is a loss of 50% of what should have been seen coming into this episode. That’s staggering, and it also makes one wonder if the same amount of material was left on the cutting room floor.

Whatever the case, the problem now is not necessarily the story being told, but how it is being told. I found this episode to be somewhat schizophrenic. At times, the show wants to be taken seriously. It had shades of commentary about feminism, male-domination, and as this episode emphasizes, sisterhood. It brings up the classic man vs. machine concept, which is always fun. When the show lets Jamie be serious, Sarah’s instability is a lot more engaging.

Unfortunately, the show is also trying to be clever and witty, with a liberal dose of self-deprecation along the way. It’s as if someone studied “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, understood the appeal, but missed the methodology and balance behind the show completely. Part of it may be Michelle Ryan’s delivery, but it’s also the writing. Jamie’s sarcasm with Jonas hasn’t been earned. I kept waiting for Jonas to apply a bit of control and leverage, but beyond the usual comment about who owns what, it never happened. It makes Jonas look like a pushover.

This brings up the subplot with Heaven. It felt extraneous, but it also exposed some of the weaknesses of the Berkut organization as depicted. As we’ve seen it so far, this special ops unit is horribly pathetic when it comes to security and discipline. I never bought for a moment that such an organization, dealing with the threat from Sarah Corvus, would devote key resources to watching Heaven as shown. They speak about the organization as if it’s an elite operation, but so far, we’ve seen nothing to back the claim.

The one highlight thus far is Sarah Corvus. Her character is complex and the writers have made some sense out of her unusual dialogue choices. Where Jamie’s quips feel inappropriate to the situation, Sarah’s comments actually make sense. Katie Sackhoff is acting rings around Michelle Ryan, which also does not help. I still think that bringing her into the series as an outside influence on Jamie is a bit premature; we haven’t had enough time to get used to Jamie’s status quo, and Jamie hasn’t had enough on-screen time to get used to her new condition.

Generally speaking, the biggest problem I have with “Bionic Woman” is that I can tell what they’re trying to accomplish, the kind of story they’re trying to tell, and all the ways they’re not quite getting there. This episode didn’t seem to flow very well. It’s hard to quantify, but I get the feeling the producers (whoever they are this week) are trying too hard to look edgy and different. The show feels unsettled and rushed, and even if that’s not the case, the audience could hardly be blamed for thinking it is.

Writing: 1/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 1/2
Style: 1/4

Final Rating: 5/10

Written by Jason Smilovic
Directed by Tim Matheson

One of the first observations upon watching this episode was the abrupt beginning. Will Anthros is dead, despite some of the plot elements introduced in the pilot that were specifically tied to his character, and Jamie is not dealing with the situation well. Over the course of the episode, other minor changes and shifts emerge, some without much context at all. It may simply be the necessary adjustments required to phase from a pilot to a weekly series or the effect of the production staff changes, but it feels like the series has undergone a more substantial reboot.

I was tempted to check the production schedule to see if an episode had been removed. It certainly feels as though motivations and attitudes had changed based on some unseen circumstance. Jamie’s character doesn’t quite mesh with what was seen in the pilot, and some of her decisions seemed forced. Part of the problem is that we don’t really know Jamie yet, especially given the absurdity of her unique situation, so we have no idea if her mood swings are normal or a response to massive stress. The writers need to give us a stronger foundation for understanding why the character acts as she does.

The pilot set up a wide spectrum of influences for Jamie. The more compassionate influences were Will and Becca. With Will gone, breaking the balance, the rest of the secret agency surrounding Jamie becomes less well-defined as a result. Now they are a conglomerate of conflicting self-interested agendas. That can be interesting, but a lot of context is lacking and motivations are still murky at best. Consider a comparison to “Alias”: it was equally complicated, perhaps even more so, but the first few episodes were seamless and established the status quo in a straightforward manner.

Isaiah Washington is a strong addition to the cast, bringing the same amount of gravitas to the production that he possessed on “Grey’s Anatomy”. Hopefully his off-screen issues will remain in the background, allowing his performance to dominate discussion. He works well with Michelle Ryan, which could help her gain more confidence in her role. As Jamie, she definitely brings the pretty (love the end of the title sequence!), but she stands out among some of the seasoned and superior cast members.

One complaint is the portrayal of Sarah Corvus. In the pilot, her motivations were very straightforward: she had lost her humanity and she wanted to wipe out those responsible, despite her preference for her new form. Now she claims to have been hacked and misunderstood. It could be a ploy, of course, but the abrupt shift could easily be an attempt to steer away from a concept that worked in the pilot but was rejected for the series.

The concern is that this high-profile series went through a number of changes and shake-ups prior to hitting the air, and it’s already noticeable. This latest retooling could work out in the end, but the audience could quickly tire of the rough edges.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4

Final Rating: 7/10