Home Featured TV Shows All TV Shows Movie Reviews Book Reviews Articles Frequently Asked Questions About Us

Rectify: Sown With Salt

Note the word "Help" in the background,
like a cartoon balloon. I love this show.
"You don't think I'm in over my head, do you?"

Daniel isn't coping well with the restrictions of probation, and with his freedom in general. He actually said that going back to prison wouldn't be so bad. Is Daniel giving up? Please tell me that the weekly parole appointments and the humiliation of having to pee in a cup in front of Sheriff Carl while being interrogated about George's death has just set Daniel back a little. I simply couldn't handle it if he went back to prison. They wouldn't do that to us. Would they?

Just like redoing his mother's kitchen was really about fixing his relationship with his family, Daniel painting the apartment complex's swimming pool is a lovely metaphor for fixing his life. He's painting over his rough and dirty past, and making it so that it will hold water again. He cares about it so much that he's even working in the middle of the night. I liked the perspective shots of the empty pool from above. Not quite as gorgeous as the shots of the river, but that's okay.

It was kind of Melvin of the turtles to give Daniel a short term job, and to chat with him like Daniel was just anyone. Daniel doesn't know where to go when his month is up. Tunis or Tennessee? Does it matter? Wherever he goes, he feels his life will be "sown with salt," ruined. The flashback reflected that theme, too. When Jon told Daniel that he was finally getting out of prison, Daniel was worried that Janet had gotten rid of him in her mind in order to survive, and now she would have to conjure him back up, like a ghost.

Janet doesn't care about the kitchen remodel anymore because, of course, it was never about the kitchen. Her anger at Ted Senior for throwing Daniel out was never mentioned, but it was always on her face and in her tone. I'm glad she mentioned the income from the tire store. It should have been Daniel's, and Daniel will need money wherever it is that he ends up going.

Amantha is also having a difficult time coping with her less-than-wonderful new life. I think Amantha feels like her life is ruined, too. The scene where she told everyone in the Thrifty Towners of America training session the painful truth about what had happened with Daniel felt like she was in a therapy session, or an AA meeting. (The best thing about it was their shocked expressions.)

I've said it three or four times already, but it's sad that Amantha is so angry at Daniel about the plea deal. But I do understand her anger. She didn't go to college. She's had no career, no marriage, no kids. All she's done in her adult life is work to get Daniel off Death Row. And now, here she is, forced to pretend that her dead-end job is a career. What does she do now?

At least she got to pass up the "karaoke express" in favor of a one night stand with Michael Vartan. I must admit that when she sat down at the bar and there he was, I shrieked. (Well, just a little.) I liked how perceptive he was. I think he meant it when he said that he thought Amantha was unusual, amazing and impressive, as well as that she self-deprecates every other sentence. Although he probably just wanted to get laid.

Seriously. How cute are they?
Of course, Teddy isn't coping either, because he can't seem to make Tawney stay with him. He's not only stalking her, he's incapable of keeping his word about even small things like letting her pack up her things alone while he's at the store. Like Daniel and Amantha, Teddy needs therapy. Of course, Tawney offered marriage counseling again, and he refused. Was that just blowback because Tawney was going to the counselor without him?

At least there is progress on the George Melton front, although none of it is good. Trey is doing his absolute best to casually implicate Daniel in George's murder without seeming too obvious. Oh yeah, he tried to strangle me, he seemed to be in a trance. I thought Sean Bridgers (Trey) did a fabulous job in that scene with Sheriff Carl because we could tell Trey was lying, but he was doing it so well that I thought he might be pulling it off. Especially when you contrast it with Daniel matter-of-factly and somewhat angrily telling the Sheriff the truth about what happened with George and Trey later on.

(Gold acting stars to J.D. Evermore as the Sheriff, too. It was impossible to tell what the Sheriff was thinking in any of the questioning scenes.)

I liked that Daniel expressed his anger about his best friend Kerwin being murdered by the state of Georgia. If Daniel is allowing himself to get mad about what he has lost, that's a good first step.

Bits:

-- Teddy mentioned his biological mother, which probably means that she'll show up in some future episode. I don't know why I thought she was dead.

-- In the flashback, Daniel seemed surprised that the DNA test had cleared him. This show seems to like making us go back and forth about Daniel's possible guilt, but I think Daniel was just unable to believe that after being railroaded for twenty years, something good might actually happen to him.

-- I am so hoping that they'll bring Michael Vartan back. Although I don't think that was the point.

Quotes:

Amantha: "He got out! DNA's a mofo, y'all."

Daniel: (standing in the empty pool) "You don't think I'm in over my head, do you?"

Daniel: "I'm not used to deciding on anything. Postponing is more my strength."

Sheriff: "Holden literally put his hands around your neck?"
Trey: "Well, it damn sure wasn't a metaphor."

Forrest: "I'm Forrest."
Amantha: "I'm trees."
Forrest: "Wow. I have never heard that one before."

Daniel: "You search for the truth with a machete, Sheriff."

Sheriff: "Tawney Talbot."
Daniel: "Yes, Tawney Talbot."
Sheriff: "Of all people, why her?"
Daniel: "She was someone I could trust."
Sheriff: "Trust with what?"
Daniel: "With who I am."
That's such an interesting exchange.

Three out of four trees,

Billie
---
Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.

2 comments:

  1. For me, this was among the worst of the six installments of season three, which still makes it among the top 1% of television of the year.

    The rest of this season is mindblowing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. >>"Of course, Tawney offered marriage counseling again, and he refused."
    Probably the most audacious thing I've seen on the show, not counting the guy who wouldn't pay for Ted's tires actually beating him up for trying to get them back. The fucking cock between your legs, Teddy... There's nothing to think about when she first suggested couples' therapy - just grab at the lifeline!!! This fucking guy, actually trying to negotiate. But there's that slight satisfaction from being infuriated that only comes from knowing the man and understanding that that's definitely the Teddy thing to do.

    >>[...]"because we could tell Trey was lying, but he was doing it so well that I thought he might be pulling it of"
    I dunno, I thought it would be ridiculous for Carl to really believe Daniel's the one who pushed for the drug binge between the two of them. I hope Carl smells something off about it.

    >>"Gold acting stars to J.D. Evermore as the Sheriff, too. It was impossible to tell what the Sheriff was thinking in any of the questioning scenes."
    Absolutely, and he's not inscrutable the same way Ted Sr is. That's actual acting-without-acting

    Anyway I thought it was a decent episode, mostly because I was thrilled to see Jon yanked back in with a cane hook just when he's trying to move on and away. But I really did NOT need the Amantha subplot. It feels so typical of other shows that have an ensemble cast and needs to do a little wheel-spinning with their female characters. Give Jared something to do instead!

    ReplyDelete

We love comments! We moderate because of spam and trolls, but don't let that stop you! It’s never too late to comment on an old show, but please don’t spoil future episodes for newbies.