From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series – Episode Four Review

There comes a point in every TV show where they reach the tipping point. After three very strong episodes of good direction, great acting and brilliant character development, From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series is showing no signs of reaching that point. Episode four, Let’s Get Ramblin’, is another example of why this show should be ‘must see TV’. It might be the weakest episode thus far, but it’s by no means weak.

After Ritchie’s disgusting murder of Monica, the Gecko Brothers need to get out of the motel and find a safer way to cross the border. To do so, the pair take the travelling Fuller Family hostage and force them to take them in their RV to escape the authorities into El Ray. However, ranger Frederico is closing in on their tails and the gap between them is getting shorter.

If there is one thing that From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series should be praised for, it’s the show’s ability to take a five minute scene of a feature length movie and stretch it out over 45 without ever feeling contrived. Let’s Get Ramblin’ is never dull, the drama never slows down and the climactic end sequence is an excellent payoff. It’s a testament to how good the writing of the episode is by Robert Rodrieguez’s brother Marcel. At no point does it ever cross your mind that this has previously been accomplished in a fraction of time.

This is mostly down to the quite intriguing character expansion of Ritchie. For the past few episodes they’ve been hinting at his powers and where they might have come from, but Let’s Get Ramblin’ is the first time where were seeing them in their full state. Frederico, now in possession of Ritchie’s knife, is also starting to see delusions of his past cop busts which are haunting his visions while it is revealed that Ritchie is an almost clairvoyant who can see into people’s pasts as well as his own future. One does have to fear that this could get a little silly (which is a weird thing to say given the show) as Ritchie transforms from a slightly unhinged bank robber into Professor Xavier.

Which is to say that the episode isn’t perfect and at times it can be down right clunky. There is a portion of the episode where Kate (who is getting less annoying as each episode progresses) is laying by the pool reading the deposition of her mother’s death which is shot with a voice over from Madison Davenport as if she was reading it aloud. It’s incredibly jarring and it feels contextually out of place in the show’s style, particularly when she repeats her end line as spoken word. What’s funny is that mere moments later, Ritchie talks about what she read, which could have been sold much better had we not heard Kate’s narration. The use of ‘flashbacks/flashfowards’ also gets a bit confusing at one point coming off a break and it took a few moments to realise that it was a flashback for Frederico and not set in the present day. A lot of the show works brilliantly, but this is the first time where Rodriguez has put to much thought into style rather than focusing on the good story.

Let’s Get Ramblin’ should have been the stopgap episode before we get them crossing the border, and in some ways it was, but it is just another example of how great From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series is. The script and story are juggling a lot of balls and ideas but it never feels like it’s going to drop them. Time will tell on Ritchie’s X-Men like turn, but one has the faith that they won’t ruin what has been easily the most interesting aspect of the show.