Monday, September 7, 2015

From Dusk Till Dawn, Season 2, Episode 2: In a Dark Time



We begin with another epic voice over from Santanico about her freedom (and these voice overs ARE epic, I have to give them that) and both her quest to bring her old overlords down – and theirs to hunt her down.

Now to Seth and his own little intimidating speech about stealing stuff which is also semi epic

And then to Scott who has his chains broken by a ragged man in a very bad condition – clutching snakey vampire-fangs in his hand. Apparently, his own fangs. I think this may be Carlos but he is in such a terrible ragged condition it’s hard to tell. Carlos was ordered into the Labyrinth under the orders of Narcisco last season…

Upstairs, Narcisco is recovering from having his face ripped off and dealing with Malvado who is not impressed with the poor victims Narcisco is dredging up. He doesn’t seem best pleased that Carlos beat the Labyrinth. After some grooming, Carlos is looking more himself again and Malvado wants to know about a prophecy apparently revealed in the Labyrinth, something about a massive new blood supply. He demands that Carlos explains it; but Carlos babbles a lot about Dora the Explorer and the man who “knows the answer” Whoever that is. While he’s not that coherent, Malvado offers him Narcisco’s job if he can find this person who knows the prophecy.

Carlos and Scott go back under the club, and Carlos is not having a happy fun time down there nor is he especially coherent. Down there they’re attacked by the newly Calebros Professor Aiden Tanner. Yes, Sex Machine still lives. Alas.

He recounts how he was found while dying and turned into a Calebros. Then they find Narcisco who also wants Aiden – Scott tries to stop them taking him since he can win favour but Carlos folds and hands him over. Carlos is all humble and submissive to Narcisco.

Aiden is dragged up to read the prophecy – which he can’t, not entirely. But knows of a Codex that will be able to translate it. Which he describes as being “someplace safe”. To earn his place in his new family, Malvado tells him to go find this codex.

He goes out, in daylight, using a parasol. Yes he’s not exactly great at being a vampire.

Seeing that Carlos may not be the best star to hitch his wagon to, Scott approaches Narcisco and asks how he can climb up the organisation. Narcisco tells him to kill Carlos

Scott goes hunting Carlos – and fails badly. Especially since Carlos has cast himself new, metal fangs from his old sword. I’m with Scott – who sensibly runs.



Over to Ranger Freddie Gonzales who is having terrible vampire dreams. His paranoia has caused him to deck his house in solid shutters though his wife isn’t a huge fan of them. Still his life is adorably domestic despite his ongoing flashbacks and notes full of vampire-related drawing (which his wife finds and is suitably disturbed by – though they could be meso-American sketches) and the stakes her takes to work with him.

His first stop is to the burnt out car containing the bodies that Richie set up to look like the Gecko brothers – and he seems to fall for it, declaring to all the press that the Geckos are now dead. Though afterwards he confesses to Earl, his old mentor’s grave that he definitely lied. He did it to try and protect his family – he tearfully says how he couldn’t do it. He is also really disturbed at the idea that something ominous I coming – it probably doesn’t help that he has a hallucination of zombie Earl trying to kill him. The attack leaves a Y shaped mark on his arm – another symbol.

When Freddie goes home he finds his wife going through his notes – she’s not a fool and knows it’s all about his nightmares and fears. He just tries to intimidate her into backing off but she’s not accepting that – she also hits back that he’s hardly making her feel safe. As a bonus, she’s also interpreted some of his notes which he was confused by – revealing them to be referencing astronomy (she has checked out Professor Turner’s book) – including a mark that matches the new scar on his arm

Using her new clues he goes star gazing and goes to a location on the map where he hears a child crying. Between hallucinations of his baby daughter he finds a body – he digs it up and finds 4 more. 5 bodies arranged in a star.

The police come in, their assumption that the bodies are undocumented migrants, and see that all of them have Y-shaped marks cut into their heads. All of them died by bite-mark to the neck and their knees broken – and, by Freddie’s visions, they were all buried alive. Their legs were broken by obsidian weapons.

He goes looking for some answers which means looking for Professor Aiden Turner (Sex Machine). He finds his run down far – and finds his safe

On the roads, the scary, newly unleashed Regulator is stopped by the police, a corrupt cop trying to shake him down. It does not go well for the cop – The Regulator eats his eyes and sees what he saw. Including Seth

Seth is still trying to get fake IDs – and avoiding the sexual advances of the nice lady providing them – and preparing another heist in between training Kate in various criminal ways. She’s been doing a fair bit of research and recruitment as well. They also get the news that the Gecko’s deaths have been faked.

They argue, it’s not all good between them. He doubts she’s ready for any heist, while she tells him Richie left him (Seth is clinging to the idea that he was kidnapped) and she calls him on his desperate denial that the Calebros exist. She also throws her own losses at him – her brother and her father, he’s not the only one grieving here, especially since she had to kill her own dad.

Kate is now working with her Calebros contact, Rafael, and helping lure victims to him (a man who was trying to lure her to a private place – and she under aged at that). Looks like Rafael’s talk about finding victims last episode means finding people who are deemed to deserve to die. They manage to be all romantic over the new corpse he’s just made.

He joins Kate and Seth for a planning session – and Seth is really suspicious, confronting Rafael about the religious and superstitious things he sells and who to. Rafael dodges the question, claiming he’s just selling nonsense to people who will pay him, avoiding the whole idea of being a Calebros.

Time for the theft – with Seth acknowledging her work and skill and even calling her a partner. They begin – with Rafael giving them updates, Seth seducing and chloroforming the woman making him fake IDs, and Kate finally managing to break open a door at the back of a hair salon. All part of a plan to steal cash gathered by the guys running protection rackety on the market. This comes to Seth making his little speech about theft we opened the episode with.

They leave – and run into The Regulator who shoots Rafael and chases them. He’s completely immune to gun fire. Which means they have to run from them, shoot the minions of the Protection Racket guy and even take on the nice lady who runs the hair salon and has a shotgun (who clearly didn’t appreciate Seth’s speech). Alas, she’s killed by the Regulator’s impressive gun.

He holds them at gun point, planning to use them to get Richie and Santanico – when he’s attacked by Rafael. Calebros aren’t stopped by being shot in the neck. But they are stopped by sunlight, unlike the Regulator – and Rafael burns to ash trying to stop him.

In their getaway car, Seth confronts Kate about Rafael being a Calebros – she admits to knowing but that he was going to help her find her brother. He rages that her whole family is dead, including Scott and she screams at him to stop the car. He kicks her out with half the money they stole – with a simple thanks she leaves. She’s not ready to let her family go.

He drives off. Then comes back for her and gives her the rest of the money and the car








Kate continues to impress me – her calling Seth on his self-destruction was a particularly powerful moment. She has lost as strongly and as epicly as him – more so – but he is spiralling into depression and anger, lashing out and pouting. I loved her complete rejection of his oh-so-special manpain. I now want to know where she goes from here – I think her story above all else intrigues me

Freddie’s pain and paranoia are really well acted and well done, including how it’s damaging his family and his peace of mind. I also like Margaret’s reaction to them. She’s not happy about being frozen out and is both reacting to that – and his attempts to intimidate her while also asserting her own intelligence. It’s a nice touch.

I kind of have mixed feelings about “Sex Machine”, he’s a ridiculous, comic and fairly repulsive character, but he’s also an academic. It’s not how we normally see our academic experts depicted on television and I’m intrigued by the novelty if nothing else.

I am surprised by the lack of Santanico and Richie in this episode - I thought they would be the main characters and the main focus of the second season.