Review: 'Awake' - 'Guilty': I am a cop! Looking for my son!
Can answers in the red world save a life in the green world?
Jason Isaacs in "Awake."
A quick review of tonight's "Awake" coming up just as soon as I take a few sleeping pills...
"Guilty" was the first episode not written by Kyle Killen (Howard Gordon and Evan Katz were credited on the script), and I was curious to see if there would be a notable change in feel or style. And I think the hour does feel a bit more like a traditional cop show with a twist, and also one that's a bit more literal in Britten's movements between the two worlds. In the first two episodes, one case informed the other, but in esoteric ways (i.e., unrelated murders where the victims had the same name), where in this one, he goes to the red world to ask questions of a guy who already died in the green world. Cooper's not plotting an escape in both worlds, but otherwise, the story and situation are the same, down to Britten busting his ex-partner in both worlds.
But while the idea of the loved one getting kidnapped feels like a very big card to play this early, it does fit in with the theme of the show about how we deal with loss — or, in Mike's case, how he tries to avoid it. And I thought Jason Isaacs and Dylan Minnette did strong work throughout.
Also no movement on the conspiracy that was introduced at the end of last week. I wasn't crazy about that scene, and therefore didn't mind, but I wonder if any of you were bothered that we went back to business as usual instead of more ominous meetings on park benches.
What did everybody else think?
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Login or create a HitFix account Login SignupWar Chief Shake Zula
March 15, 2012 at 11:10PM EST Reply to CommentIs it deliberate, or unintentional bleed, that the headline seems to be obliquely referencing Missing?
Boat Obviously it is deliberate...
March 15, 2012 at 11:14PM ESTWar Chief Shake Zula But I want Sepinwall to admit it...I need 85 gallons of admissions every day.
March 15, 2012 at 11:18PM ESTmrbilliam I love the combination of the headline and the deadpan expression of the picture.
March 15, 2012 at 11:23PM ESTklg19 Plus, Alan referenced the ubiquity and tedium of the line "I am a MOTHER looking for my SON!" in his review of the series "Missing."
March 17, 2012 at 12:27PM ESTRyanT
March 15, 2012 at 11:10PM EST Reply to CommentIt's refreshing to have a smartly written and acted teenage boy character on TV. Sometimes it feels like they're rarer than non-stereotypical Asian characters on TV which this show also has. So bravo on both counts.
I'm still really loving the show. The procedural aspect is still my least favorite part of the show, but at least this week, it directly tied in with Britten's personal life. And as rote as they may become, I'm still finding the monologues from his son and wife in every episode quite affective.
Overall, god please don't get canceled.
Harry McKnight Yeah, I actually wanted this kid to be rescued. Can't say the same about the obnoxious teen on Missing (let's hope those kidnappers use a gag).
March 16, 2012 at 8:35AM ESTAlso, given it took me a minute to realize you were referring to Dr. Lee as Awake's Asian character seems to validate your point. How dare they not crib his lines from fortune cookies! Don't they know this is a network drama?
RyanT Ha! So right! And as for the teen boy... I was more thinking about the boy in Smash and the one that was in Terra Nova. And last year, the boy in V. Like seriously now.
March 16, 2012 at 11:04AM EST
March 17, 2012 at 8:04PM ESTToo Late Kev
March 15, 2012 at 11:11PM EST Reply to CommentI didn't really care about not getting more on the conspiracy. I'm happy to let that unfold at whatever pace they wish.
I really enjoyed the episode. I was a bit afraid Cooper would kidnap the wife in the other universe, but I was glad that didn't happen!
My little nitpick is how Cooper knew what Britten's kid looked like and what car he'd be in -- I assume it was the tennis instructor's car. But I'll ignore things like that and continue watching; this is my sort of show!
Eldritch I don't care about the conspiracy either. Not a bit. Been too burned by too other series that ended badly so I don't need a mysterious mythology here. I'm carried away by the acting. I feel the cases each week -- all three of them so far -- are weak, but that's okay. I want the focus on Britten's family situation.
March 16, 2012 at 3:02AM ESTHarry McKnight My sense was that the big tennis match might have been in the paper, with the son's name? Or, I guess the more obvious explanation would be that he staked out Britten's house.
March 16, 2012 at 8:44AM ESTdedo
March 15, 2012 at 11:12PM EST Reply to CommentDidn't this episode sort of box them into the idea that the green world has to be the dream? To find the place in the desert where his son was hidden in the green world, he had to get information from the red world (the location from the inmate who was still alive) that he couldn't have just dreamed up. Or am I missing something?
TVDude OR.. his guilt inspired the dream in the greenworld, led to his arresting his ex-partner in redworld - and for closure the greenworld son was rescued!
March 16, 2012 at 12:24AM EST7s Tim How would he know about a place in the desert he had already dreamed his son would be hidden before he asked Cooper about it?
March 16, 2012 at 2:29AM ESTHuell Goodman Walter White lives in the Green World, so I'm pretty sure that one's real. The Red World - with its paranoid conspiracies - is a side effect of Blue Meth.
March 16, 2012 at 8:58AM ESTdedo The more I think about this, the more sure I am that my initial reaction was correct. If one world is real and the other is a dream, the red world ABSOLUTELY HAS TO BE THE REAL ONE. His son is dead. If the green world were real, there would be no way to explain how he would have found the hiding spot in the desert in his own subconscious.
March 16, 2012 at 10:07AM ESTjoel Or they're all dead and in some sort of purgatory, both realities are dreams, and these dreams are going to lead him to figure out that the conspiracy actually involves the Others.
March 20, 2012 at 11:22AM ESTAdam
March 15, 2012 at 11:14PM EST Reply to CommentI'm just enjoying the show episode to episode, because regardless of the mythology, I doubt NBC sticks with it anyway. They've burned me too often on shows like this and Life and Community... but this hour is a dearth wasteland elsewhere, so why not.
My new belief is that one of the worlds is real, the other, he is in the dreamatorium.
Oh, and singularly this episode did feel different from the first two, but in an interesting way. The time lapse element could have been cleared up, but wasn't. I guess that's my only complaint.
pamelajaye well, maybe not the dreamatorium, but...
March 17, 2012 at 12:02AM ESTWhen I heard "take a rest" I knew it was coming. Make your weird world work for you. It seemed a bit Quantum Leap but since I can't remember that sort of thing happening.... maybe Journeyman. (can't remember it there either, but I'll bet it did.)
blingbling
March 15, 2012 at 11:19PM EST Reply to CommentI'm being carried along so far on my fandom for Jason Isaacs and the ambition of this show's structure. If this is nothing more than a good cop with scrambled brains eventually bringing a corrupt precinct to justice, that might be a bit disappointing.
jlschaefer
March 16, 2012 at 12:04AM EST Reply to CommentI like the show and think the performances are great, so I will be sticking with it for the foreseeable future. But the "old partner makes an appearance and is involved in current crime" twist is ridiculously overused on cop shows, so it's a little worrisome that they already went there in episode 3.
Will
March 16, 2012 at 2:23AM EST Reply to CommentIn a TV world in which shows get cancelled early with a show runner whose last show got cancelled quick, I don't think it's reasonable to complain about a show going to any well too early whether it be the grand conspiracy in the last ep or the kidnapping in this ep. They're trying not to get cancelled.
7s Tim
March 16, 2012 at 2:27AM EST Reply to CommentNow that we have scenes in both worlds that don't feature Mike, I'm gonna do my best to not focus on which world is real and just believe they both are; I'm gonna be like Mike. I hope the show does the same. And when the conspiracy does come back, I hope it doesn't directly tie into the two worlds thing and just was a botched attempt on Mike's life, for whatever sins he may have commited. That'll help with my previously stated goal.
Jared
March 16, 2012 at 3:26AM EST Reply to CommentSeems to me they may be setting Mike to form some sort of romantic relationship with the tennis coach, and if so, the question is: is it cheating? I think it could be an interesting way to leverage some additional stories from the multiple dimension thing going on?
Jared And another thought going along with that, if they did start something up, would be interesting since the tennis coach would (probably) exist in both realities (but just not as Rex's tennis coach in the red reality).
March 16, 2012 at 3:29AM ESTHuell Goodman Interesting. I didn't think about the hot coach showing up in the Red World, but she's friend's with the mom, right? Did anyone notice the coach at Rex's Red memorial?
March 16, 2012 at 9:21AM ESTPerhaps Britten's marriage starts to strain in Red, Rex pushes Dad to hook up with tennis coach in Green, Britten meets coach as wife's friend in Red...lot's of crazy possibilities. Ooh, how about tennis coach is killed in Green, so Britten tries a real affair in Red...
Fun stuff. Someone tell me why we need park bench conspiracies again?
The Noble Robot
March 16, 2012 at 4:04AM EST Reply to CommentBritten is constantly using his knowledge in one world to affect the other, and his therapists keep concocting theories to prove how he must have known this stuff all along. That's okay, but it can only go so far before one of them starts believing him.
I've just been waiting for him to realize that all he has to do is track down the Red therapist in the Green world and find a way to ask something he couldn't have found out on his own, like "I'll give you $50 if you tell me the name of your favorite teacher from grade school, and tell me a boring story about your 10th birthday party that you remember but haven't bothered to tell anyone in 20 years. I'm not a creep, this is for a Tumblr blog I'm starting."
Since Britten doesn't really want to reveal his secret to the world, we don't generally have to put up with him annoyingly trying to convince people that he has superpowers, like in other shows and movies where it would be relatively easy to prove such things but the plot requires that no one believes the hero.
That's great, but the show would instantly become twice as interesting if one of his confidentiality-bound therapists were let in on the truth of his situation, and could actually provide actual therapy to him.
I mean, the show made pains to imply that enough time has past since the accident that life in the household has somewhat returned to normal. How long is his mandatory therapy term, exactly?
Also, and I literally just thought of this, but why doesn't his wife or kid ever comment on the fact that he's in therapy? You might even think that one of them would make a point about it, either that they approve of it or don't think it's necessary, or that they need it, too, or don't think they need it, either.
RyanT He talked to his wife about his therapy sessions quite a few times in the pilot, so she knows about it. As for how he doesn't track down the other therapist, it was all laid out at the very end of the pilot. He doesn't want to know either way which world is real or not. Sure there's a chance that he'll be proven right about both worlds being true, but he doesn't want to take that chance because he's happy enough thinking both are real.
March 16, 2012 at 11:02AM ESTPine Crone
March 16, 2012 at 9:36AM EST Reply to CommentAlan, they kind of answered one of your questions tonight - he took pills, went to sleep in Green and it's suddenly the next morning in Red.
So, when he got back to Green to save Rex, when was it? The next morning? Also, did the convict rig anything up to/in the shed, or was Rex just suffering from the heat?
And what happens if Britten wakes up in the middle of the night to pee?
Anon I think the convict was just hooking up a phone line to the telephone in his shack.
March 16, 2012 at 7:23PM ESTpamelajaye I wondered what that was. Thought it was going to be explosive. Funny thought about the peeing. Waking during the night must happen more often than accidentally sleeping during the day...
March 17, 2012 at 3:50PM ESTHuell Goodman I guess he could sleepwalk.
March 18, 2012 at 7:10AM ESTAlso, was what kind of idiot kidnapper doesn't check his victim for an iphone (I know it was the coach's phone, but so what?), or make sure the kid doesn't have a pocket knife or some kind of tool to use to escape. The kid was only bound with zip ties, so any metal object could have worn them down. Guess it didn't matter, since Rex didn't seem to bother even trying to escape.
Vaughn
March 16, 2012 at 12:54PM EST Reply to CommentIsaacs and the general premise are enough to keep me coming back, but I would love it if the show explored the sci-fi aspect more. Answer the questions we're all asking. What if he naps? What if he wakes up before a certain time? Why can't he play the lottery in one world after seeing the draw in the other?
keith I think there's no way to get into the reality of it consistently. The acting and tone are really good, the writing is holding up so far, I think they should just keep going.
March 16, 2012 at 2:21PM ESTdunhamsc
March 16, 2012 at 1:57PM EST Reply to CommentThis was a very weak episode.I'm with Alan: it was WAY too early to play the kidnapped loved-one card, even if it did have some heavy-handed psychic symbolism. The whole thing just unfolded too quickly; it was way too much to resolve in one show. I wish they would have just developed the fugitive's story without the kidnapping. The show has gotten weaker with each episode. I hope the trend abates.
James I agree, it wrapped up too quick and neat. It's a shame that they feel the need to wrap up these cases in one episode instead of doing some long form story telling that might take 2 or 3 episodes to work themselves out.
March 20, 2012 at 12:20PM ESTcyclops999
March 16, 2012 at 2:10PM EST Reply to CommentDid anyone else think the twist with his partner was incredibly obvious because of the casting? As soon as William Russ showed up, I thought of Alma's father from DEADWOOD, and my brain screamed "BAD GUY! BAD GUY! BAD GUY!!!" Maybe that was just me.
I did like the emotional interplay in the episode though -- I empathized with Britten's son, feeling like he wished his mom had been the one to live, and feeling like crap about it. And I thought it was genuinely moving when Britten played that recording his son had made. And it was brutal to see Britten abandon his wife at his son's memorial (which she forgave him for remarkably easily), especially given he was actually doing it to SAVE his son in another timeline but unable to tell her. On that front, are we to assume that when he told her about his son being alive in another reality, he presented it as a dream? It seems that he hasn't told her the full truth of what he's experiencing, but has more presented it as having vivid dreams about their son.
SlackerInc According to the showrunners, the "full truth" *is* that one "reality" is a dream and one is real, and there is nothing science fictiony going on.
March 22, 2012 at 12:59PM ESTWurst Fiers
March 16, 2012 at 3:48PM EST Reply to CommentTHINGS TO DO WHEN I GET OUT OF MY COMA
1. Thank my wife for visiting me every afternoon, around sunset.
2. Thank my son for visiting me every evening.
3. Drop a dime on my corrupt ex-partner.
TO BE CONTINUED
aamadis
March 16, 2012 at 4:04PM EST Reply to CommentDid anyone else notice that towards the end of the episode they show a scene where Cooper is being released from prison, but it's clearly filmed with the GREEN tone even though Cooper is supposed to be dead in the green world already? Was that a mistake or some kind of clue?
KK I noticed the same thing and I was so confused! I went back and watched and it is 100% filmed with Green world tone. I can't come up with any reason if it is supposed to be a clue. The only thing it could possibly point to is Green being the dream because he imagines he was able to save him after all?
March 16, 2012 at 6:28PM ESTOverall, I am really enjoying the show. I think the acting is great overall and I like the premise. I have been thoroughly interested in each of the episodes. Like a commenter said said above, I wanted the son to be found. On most shows I would have more than likely secretly wished the teenager stayed abducted.
Anon Yup, noticed that too -- I assumed it was a mistake, but I suppose it could be a subtle hint for the future.
March 16, 2012 at 6:29PM ESTZacharyTF Britten was imagining Cooper being released from prison instead of dying in the green world. A dream withn a dream? Bwamm.....
March 19, 2012 at 11:43PM ESTJames
March 16, 2012 at 4:22PM EST Reply to CommentI love the premise of the show. My thought last night was that maybe he's the one that is dead/comatose. This is why he goes back and forth, neither are quite real but just as much they aren't quite fake either. I'm probably way off and it will be the RED reality is the true existence.
March 18, 2012 at 9:02AM ESTM.A.Peel This makes me think of the Jake Gyllenhaal movie Source Code, which had a slightly similar premise. Won't spoil that film. And this comparison could be completely wrong.
March 18, 2012 at 10:49PM ESTAnon
March 16, 2012 at 7:26PM EST Reply to CommentIs the show being too obvious about which world is real?
Just like the lead character, I genuinely don't care which world is real. In my opinion, however well done the reveal is, the fact is that the audience will have effectively wasted 50% of their time and emotional investment in a fake, inconsequential world. Thus, it worries me that, after the pilot, the show seems to have given up on making each world equally believable.
For example, in the 2nd episode, Britten finds out from his wife that his son used to actually work on building a motorcycle whenever he claimed to be at the beach -- something he whips out to great effect, later in the son's world. However, this ONLY makes sense if the red (wife's) world is real and the son's is the dream (ie, he imagines confronting his son, after his wife clues him in, in reality). If the son's world is real then, given that we know for a fact that he was clueless about the bike sessions, how did his subconscious know about the bike?? Even if you assume that he subconsciously knew that his son was lying about the beach, it would still take a big leap for him to know exactly WHAT his son was doing when claiming to be at the beach.
Similarly, in this episode, Britten gets a specific address from Cooper in the wife's world, which leads him to his son in the green (son's) world. Obviously, this can only work if the wife's world is real, since his subconscious would never be able to supply a precise real-world address. To be fair though, this episode is a little more ambiguous than the 2nd one, since he only finds out about the desert shack in the son's world, which is then confirmed in the wife's world, implying the son's world is real.
In short, unless they have a couple of episodes where they turn this on its head by having the main plot be resolved by using specific information from the son's world to save the day later on in the wife's world, the whole audience may soon assume the son's world is fake and just start tuning out during those scenes.
Huell Goodman Good points. The son's world does seem more dreamlike - understanding shrink, his son's hot tennis coach, his understanding old partner.
March 17, 2012 at 1:44AM ESTAlso, I don't recall him being hassled much at work in the green world. He's partner has been curious about his "hunches," but otherwise all seems normal. Wouldn't his bosses take the same precautions with him regardless of which family member he lost?
Anon @Goodman: Good point about the workplace treatment! Perhaps he has a different, nicer chief in the son's world? Maybe even one not involved in a conspiracy to murder his family?
March 17, 2012 at 3:58AM ESTHuell Goodman @ANON
March 18, 2012 at 6:49AM ESTOn the other hand, the red world could be overly paranoid. I understand assigning a shrink, but is it normal for the force to assign a new partner, etc. just because a cop experienced a tragedy?
Maybe each world will gradually evolve into a more extreme, but opposing version of reality. The Red being more sinister and the Green more pure.
This puts me more at ease regarding the conspiracy. I'd rather both worlds take place in snow globes next to Britten's hospital bed than see everything based around some silly conspiracy in the "real" world.
femmeperdue I actually don't feel that way about it wasting 50% of my time once we know which world is "real". No matter which one is real, they are both important in showing Mike's emotional journey. As long as they keep up that part of the story, it won't matter to me what the big reveal is.
March 18, 2012 at 7:53AM ESTXK I don't think either world is real. I think he's in a coma from the accident, and both of his family members are alive. :)
March 19, 2012 at 7:46PM ESTSlackerInc I agree with FemmePerdue that the dream world is not a waste of time, any more than dream sequences in other shows or movies are (though I guess some may think those a waste of time as well). To me this show is not primarily sci-fi or a procedural, but a psychological drama.
March 22, 2012 at 1:04PM ESTThey do seem to be heavily loading the evidence toward it being the son who actually died. Which makes me naturally suspicious! But if they flip it the other way, I am going to call BS on them.
Hwat
March 16, 2012 at 10:49PM EST Reply to CommentI'm afraid I would have left already if it wasn't for Jason Isaacs, but I fear even he won't be enough.
OldDarth
March 18, 2012 at 12:53PM EST Reply to CommentFinding out which world is real, or that neither is, or any other such combination is true; is secondary to me.
Enjoying the fine acting by the leads and especially the son as a sympathetic teenaged character.
That's where the meat of the series lie and doubtless this will be a journey versus destination story.
So far I am quite enjoying the journey.
malfoyfan13
March 18, 2012 at 7:30PM EST Reply to Commenti liked it...the family stuff remains the strongest draw for me in this show. glad they didn't mention the conspiracy crap. the cop stuff was OK, a little overdramatic.
Jason Regan
March 19, 2012 at 12:44PM EST Reply to CommentThere should be a dream state where he's not wearing that ridiculous hairpiece.
XK
March 19, 2012 at 7:38PM EST Reply to CommentI was fine with the conspiracy not coming up in episode 3. It seems clear that it's meant to be an underlying 'mythology' storyline running through at least the first season. I'm not sure if we'll ever get to that payoff, given the ratings, but certainly the episodes are interesting enough on their own that I don't care.
XK I also like that, particularly in the first two episodes, where the cases differed, the cops in both realities are actually pretty good at their jobs, making reasonable assumptions, paying attention to what they see, etc. I think it's as much a result of the time crunch (two cases, two home lives, two psych evals) in each episode, but it's a refreshing change from most procedurals that either make their cases unbearably convoluted or their main characters unrealistically oblivious, simply because they have to extend their case for the full 40+ minutes of time.
March 19, 2012 at 7:41PM ESTHowie
March 20, 2012 at 3:53PM EST Reply to CommentWas the dirty cop part of the conspiracy? I just assumed that busting him was the start of the conspiracy unraveling.
AM7
March 25, 2012 at 4:53PM EST Reply to CommentAlways good to see William Russ on screen - Another good episode, one of the better shows on TV.
I don't understand why they killed Cooper in the Green world especially if he was the only person to know of the son's whereabouts. Never would happen...