ABC’s ‘Resurrection’ episode 5 review: Flashes of life and death
Now that we’re five episodes into “Resurrection,” we are starting to get more of an idea as to what sort of drama this really is. It’s similar to many other network shows, at least in the you are handed a question, and rather than answering that question, you’re given another question.
Think about it for a second: Do you really know anything about about why these people have returned from the dead now than you did in the premiere? The only difference is that now, you know that there are three returnees, that they eat a lot, and that they rarely sleep. There’s also the fact that one of them in Rachel is now pregnant with Tom’s child, and that changes … well, a lot for his life. To top all of this off, there’s another mystery in the form of Caleb’s ability to just spontaneously disappear like a magician in the middle of a prison cell.
At least when it comes to philosophies, what made Caleb interesting beyond the magical mumbo-jumbo was just that he was a character without fear. We really like the concept of him being evil because he no longer fears death, but the disappearing act seems almost a bridge too far that gives him superhero-like powers. Plus, as we said, it’s another question. If this is really going to be a “limited series” as it was advertised, you cannot dangle these carrots out there forever. Also, how much angst with Caleb and his daughter do we need?
What “Resurrection” continued to do well was raise dilemmas about moving on and emotional pain. For example, Tom is in the middle of a huge crisis of faith and fidelity. He has his wife, and then his former love who killed herself, and is pregnant with his child. While he has yet to have a relationship with Rachel again physically, his continued efforts to help her is a violation of his wife’s trust. It’s a real dilemma for a man whose profession is to offer guidance, but he’s wading in uncharted waters that the Bible cannot even fully explain.
Do we still find the show entertaining? Definitely, but we’re at the point in the season that we need to see something more. If there are not any more hints about what all this means soon, we’re going to be very concerned that this ending, like Caleb, will be in a puff of smoke. Grade: B-.
What do you think about this particular episode of “Resurrection”? Share some of your thoughts below, and head over here to catch a preview of what lies ahead. You can also sign up to get further news via our CarterMatt Newsletter.
Photo: ABC
SpiderPie
April 8, 2014 @ 1:48 pm
This show is really awful. Like so many TV shows (unfortunately), they’re focused on a lot of soap-opera-ish stuff, while they ignore the elephant in the room — people are returning from the dead.
I mean, would Tom’s wife really have a jealous hissy fit because his ex-girlfriend is back in town? Because she’s not just back in town… SHE’S BACK FROM THE DEAD. C’mon.
Every week we sit through petty arguments between all the major characters who seemed to frequently forget that PEOPLE ARE RETURNING FROM THE DEAD!!! Geez.
It reminds me of that other TV clunker, Under the Dome. People walked around the town worrying about a lot of everyday regular-people dramas, while ignoring the elephant in their room… A MYSTERIOUS DOME HAS SHUT OFF THEIR TOWN FROM THE REST OF THE WORLD. Hello?
I quit Under the Dome about halfway through. Sunday’s episode was my last with Resurrection.
Alex
April 7, 2014 @ 11:52 pm
I think you’ve missed a MAJOR plot point in last nights show. From my point of view they pretty much dropped a major hint as to what is going on. During the scene where the agent brings the bags of money to rub it in Caleb’s face…right before he disappears he gives a major hint as to WHY the 3 of them (and others to follows ) are there….it’s because each of them has some sort of unfinished business and/or purpose. The way I interpreted it was the Caleb’s unfinished purpose was to provide financially for his family. When that plot failed to me it was like Cinderella’s clock striking 12. He didn’t willingly disappeard, in my opinion his time is up and we won’t see him again.
As for the other two…the girl’s purpose appears to be either give birth to the baby or to help the Pastor finally get over her.
In the case of Jacob…It think the purpose there is for the Dad to finally let him go (which they have spent a good amount of screen time on the show harping on).
Another thing….there is some type of obvious tie with water. Jacob drowned in the river. The girl committed suiced by driving her car off a bridge into water. Caleb’s ashes were sprinkled in the water. Jacob also awoke in a rice field soaked in water. I’m still not sure what the association is with water…but there is definitely something there. The opening credits for the show even show a drop of water which has caught my attention since the first episode.