TV Review: The River 1.6, "Dr. Emmet Cole"
It seems as though The River has finally found its paddle, let’s just hope it can hold on to it.
rating: 4
It seems as though The River has finally found its paddle, lets just hope it can hold on to it. After a few subpar episodes, Dr. Emmet Cole reminded me of why I was so captivated with the series pilot. This episode worked very well though it cant bode well for the show that its best episode so far featured almost nothing from the majority of its cast. The episode opened with Lena still clearly reeling from last episodes discovery that her father, camera operator Russ Landry, is in fact dead and gone and Lincoln wants to veer off course so she can hitch a ride back to the States, but Tess doesnt want to stop and Lena insists shes content to wait. Then suddenly the crew is in the jungles of the Sahte Region, I suppose due to some clue or lead found somewhere at some point (this wasnt made explicitly clear) where they find Dr. Emmet Coles pocket knife and camera equipment at a water fall. One plot hole I cant figure out is how the crew discovered footage at the water fall that clearly ended up at the devastated military base they later ended up at. Aside from this oversight and the fact that the crew got to the falls and the base way too quickly and easily, the episode was mostly very effective no cheap gimmicks or lame antagonists, just good plot development and quality writing and superb acting from Bruce Greenwood who is without a doubt the only real saving grace of this series so far. The vast majority of the episode consisted of the found footage of Emmets final days caught on film wandering the jungle for the elusive Source hes obsessed with. What was great about this trek is that its pacing was spot on. The first half was comprised of Emmet and the two camera operators that accompanied him camping and striving forward despite the harsh conditions of the Amazon while Emmet basically looked like a solid, if not eccentrically zealous, pioneer with integrity (refuting the advances of the female camera operator, Rabbit, that came on to him) and wisdom (the Kipling quote was a very nice touch) and the decency to not eat his pet dog which, considering the circumstances, woulntve been as inexcusable as it would appear. Then came the episodes big bad, Il Tunchi, something Emmet refers to as a spirit and Jahel (cue eye roll) corrects him as a demon which kills, not tests. Ive said this before and Ill probably say it again, but Jahel can be a wonderfully multi-dimensional character if the writers ever dare to present her in a context that isnt the spooky supernatural savant. Anyway, I very much liked the surreal visual effects depicting this demon spirit and found its machinations effectively creepy the poor monkey that showed Emmet the ice cream pods being skinned was a wonderfully macabre precursor to camera operator Mannys Predator-esque demise. Once the riff raff was cleared away, we got to witness what really made the episode work Emmet at his most desperate, revealing doubts to his purpose, yearning for his family (in a genuinely moving scene that made me want to pick up my global walkie talkie device to call my own dad until I realized I had a cell phone), and motivations regarding his and Tess lost baby girl, Alice. The fact that Emmet is so obsessed with finding the Source, aside from the incredible implications that come with discovering a place (whether physical or not) that exists between life and death, magic and reality, because he wishes to meet with his deceased daughter, and learning that the whole Undiscovered Country series was based on Tess urges for Emmet to find a purpose in the wake of their tragedy brings real meaning and substance to a series that has struggled to define its emotional anchor. Ultimately Emmet blacks out from starvation, malnutirion, dehydration, exposure, and general Oh shit, Im stranded in the fucking Amazon realness and just when it looks like ol Il Tunchi is about to snatch him up, the Zuluthara tribesmen rescue Emmet, nurse him back to relative health, and drop him at what appeared to be a military outpost base. This was a fantastic resolution to the episode because it answered many questions as to the last days of Dr. Emmet Cole while also introducing many new ones: why didnt the tribe bring Emmet to the Source didnt he prove himself worthy? What does Lenas mark and Lincolns medallion have to do with the Source? And what exactly happened to the now burnt out, desolate, demolished looking out post the Magus crew discovered at the end of the episode? Will this new development find Kurt finally stepping up as the badass secret mercenary and reveal more information about his clandestine benefactor? These are the questions that have me actually excited for the next episode as opposed to the general feeling of dread Ive been feeling toward the series the last couple weeks. As long as The River can continue to successfully weave human emotion and subtle spirituality with creepy imagery (I dont know why I get such a kick out of seeing those blue dragonflies crawl into peoples mouths) and the mysterious and supernatural, and do so at a reasonable pace that doesnt alienate audiences or force the series to come off as over the top, then ABC just might have a reason to renew this series for a second season.