'Reaper': The rules come crashing down
The number 13 is often considered unlucky. But I felt lucky to have watched this, the 13th overall episode of Reaper. For all intents and purposes, the show actually started tonight, in the final five minutes, with something I've craved all along: an actual overarching plot. If everything before was setup, everything after will be payoff. (Assuming, of course, that the plot set in motion in those five minutes has a chance to reach fruition before the show's cancellation. OK, now I'm a bit depressed. Onto a bubble-filled recap!)
The demon of the week, the titular "Acid Queen," was in many ways merely a MacGuffin: a plot device that simply served to advance the story. The story in question? Sam's first steps towards beating the devil. The device? Putting Andi in direct harm's way as a result of his status as Reaper.
Until now, Andi's existed on the periphery, there as a sidebar to the main action of the show (Sam's soul-catching adventures). There was some initial intrigue concerning the history between Andi's mom and Sam's father (hinting at a sordid past potentially resulting in Sam's current occupation), but other than that, she's remained oblivious and, most importantly, untouched by Sam's newfound responsibilities.
That all changed with the car crash and subsequent hospitalization. To watch Sam's demeanor as he walked away from the Devil in the hospital was to watch a man who had fundamentally turned a corner in his life. I've complained over the last two weeks about the static nature in the relationship between the Devil and Sam: clearly, the show wasn't too fond of it either. And only through Andi's injuries could the show give Sam a compelling reason to change the status quo.
Color me also chastened with Steve and Tony, characters whose introduction gave me pause last week. As a gay demon couple next door who produce tons of awkward "demon homophobia" jokes? Horrible. As a conduit to a large network of demons looking to Sam to help them overthrown the devil? Fantastic. I'll drink a mango-tini to that plot, thank you very much.
After all, you can only go so far with "Demon of the Week" episodes, both from a narrative perspective and, in the case of Reaper, budgetary perspective. (This show doesn't even have enough money to cut new "Previously on..." clips at the beginning of each episode, for crying out loud.) It doesn't have a lot of money, but it does possess a lot of really interesting mythology: the story of Sam's contract, the relationship between Andi's Mom and Sam's Dad, the Devil's peculiar interest in Sam (highlighted by Steve), and the tension between fallen angels and Devil that could erupt into a hellish coup. That's really, really good stuff. Infinitely better than awful CGI acid corroding my television.
Five more thoughts about tonight's episode:
- Looks like tonight's accident will temporarily put a kibosh on the Andi/Sam romance, which is fine: they can't live happily every after at this point in the show. The accident should put things in focus for Sam, which means romance is pushed to the side for the time being.
- Sock's Line of the Night: "Uncles are creepy by definition, have you not been watching your SVU?"
- The Devil, like Sir Mix-a-Lot, likes him some booty. Reaper felt we needed to know this.
- Watching Ben unsuccessfully pick up models was like watching me pick up, um, let's see, everyone ever except my wife, whose taste should probably come under question.
- I would love, just once, for Sam to have the vessel easily accessible during a demon stakeout. He's consistently surprised when the demon shows up, even though the only reason he's in that place at that time is because he HAS TO CAPTURE THE DEMON WITH THE VESSEL, and inevitably botches the first attempt at capture. Bad Reaper, no dessert for you.
All in all, the last five minutes elevated this episode from "average" to "outstanding." Perhaps I'm projecting too much good will based upon a mere portion of the episode, but the possibilities for the show are incredible right now. Let's just hope we all get to see the story resolved satisfactorily.
What did you make of tonight's episode? Does the new plot excite you or seem overly ambitious? And what type of wood does one use to Devil-proof a tea room?
Ryan also posts every 108 minutes over at Boob Tube Dude.
Would it be possible to quit it with the negativity about the show being "on the bubble." We get it, the CW has yet to renew the series, yadda, yadda, yadda. It'd be nice for the media to stay a bit positive, y'know?
But yea, great episode tonight and it definitely has me excited for what's to come. Hopefully tonight's episode lured in some new viewers.
David,
I agree with you 100% about the negative comments. This is one of my favorite shows and I look forward to watching it every week. I think it just keeps getting better with each episode.
Bravo to Reaper. Tonight was a series turning episode and finally things are afoot. I loved that moment too where Sam walked away from the devil no longer a man child but now a man.
BTW I totally was thinking something else when the demon revealed that there are people against the devil out there. I figured he'd say something about well.. when he kept talking about the devil's fascination with Sam I was all shades of 'What.. is Sam the Devil's Kid??? WHAT? TELL ME NOW.." But I'm pretty satisfied with this.
I'm wondering if The Devil's interest in Sam isn't more mundane than a coup, if it's not just The Devil trying to get Sam to sell him his soul. The premise is that Sam's parents sold Sam's soul but in an earlier episode Sam's father was burning pages from the contract which leads me to believe that Sam can either get out of the contract or that certain conditions must be met before the contract is ratified. In other words, Sam's parents didn't really sell Sam's soul, they sold an option on Sam's soul.
I have to suspect that Sam's soul is still in play because (1) no one (not even his/her parents) can sell someone else's soul. I realize that this is someone else's story and they make their own rules but it makes sense. (2) It is so much more satisfying in hell if the devil can point to the contract and say, "If you had read the contract you would have known about the escape clause."
On a completely superficial note, I spent much of the episode trying to figure out why Emmanuelle Vaugier looked so different. My episode guide told me she was starring as the acid queen. But, no, some sort of last-minute casting snafu that was not communicated to TiVO or the satellite guide necessitated the switch to another actress who could be EV's long-lost sister.
I'm going to have to watch the episode again so that I can focus on it better.
That said, I'm loving Tony and Steve. I have loved both actors since The State, and I'm so glad that they are not only recurring but also pivotal in the over-arching mythology. Good work, show!
The CW has so few hits, especially comedies, that they would be foolish to cancel this one. I would have thought they'd learn from Buffy; demons + camp = win!
I hope the show gets renewed for at least another 13 episodes next season.
Great episode!
The next door Demons were great, and loved how they knew all about Sam being a Reaper from Gladys @ the DMV. Best episode of the season, if they cancel it after seeing this I will be so angry! Problem is, what do I send the network after its gone? Socks?
We got Erica Cerra! Deputy Jo from EUREKA, as the acid queen.
I suspect the gender of the writers explains the complexity within which the plot continues to unfold. Their ability to 'surprise' viewers is a testament to their talent. Each episode improves, exponentially, from the previous. It is a favourite in our house, which has the drama-humour-wit to keep all members glued to the screen to the last of the credits followed by much speculation and prediction for subsequent episodes.