Gary McCurry reviews the third episode of Bloodline…
Around the age of 9 or 10 I owned a whole bunch of magazines wherein you built a boat, plane or railway set with the parts included in each edition. The thing is, after issue #1 and the first 4 or 5 segments, I’d either forget or want to move on, leaving these pieces discarded.
Bloodline is like this, each week you receive another small part to build upon the original main piece you have from the first episode. Some may choose to be like my younger self and move on but I’m eager to see the whole thing complete for once.
This is spoilers country.
The unidentified Hispanic girl found in the lake makes another fleeting appearance at the start of “Part 3” and once again nothing is said for the remainder of the episode. The show seems to be trying hard to keep her in our minds but it’s starting to feel like an afterthought, shoved in to keep the thread open.
We have the introduction of an absent Rayburn named Sarah. The audience are given hints of a tragic early death but no conclusive words are said regarding what has become of her. Focusing on Meg (Linda Cardellini), we navigate through the presence and effect Sarah still has. Woman in Bloodline had so far taken a back seat so it was interesting to see it from another vantage point. The problem was that all her problems centered around other men. A father, brother, partner, even the bit on the side is making up who Meg is. Robert Rayburn’s will and testament provides an area of depth for Meg, showing her past and more importantly, her future choices.
Cardellini does a great job doing the lifting in this episode. Hopefully this continues to develop all the woman into fully formed characters. You get the sense that secrets aren’t confined to one member of the Rayburn clan, all have something hiding in their closet or the boot of their car. Quick scenes are commonplace here, jumping back and forward from the hospital where the still sick, often delusional Robert lays and the resort where Danny has taken up the slack.
The free-flowing nature of the camera reminds me of Kyle Chandler’s previous show Friday Night Lights and here, this method allows the action to retain its flow and keeps you captivated even in the less dialogue heavy scenes.
We have a boat explosion, an unidentified gun and a person in a boot all we need now are the remaining parts to tie all these together. “Part 3” didn’t give me the same wow moment as the first two, due in part to it being bogged down by not fully realized characters, mostly Chloë Sevigny’s role as Chelsea O’Bannon. Bloodline still has me in its grasp, twisting and turning its way around the truth.
Gary McCurry – Follow me on Twitter
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnc360pUDRI&list=PL18yMRIfoszFLSgML6ddazw180SXMvMz5&feature=player_embedded
Originally published April 10, 2015. Updated April 14, 2018.
