The finale brings us to a psychopath unlike any Nick has tangled with, and the investigation drags up a memory of how he and La Croix finally came to be mortal enemies.
Also, like a good season ending, "Love You to Death" ends with a reveal that will change everything about the show. After this, nothing will be the same on Forever Knight.
Our Killer of the Week is sick. Really sick. He wants to keep women safe, so he traps them in a decadent prison, cutting them off from the outside world while keeping them completely isolated from human contact. That's bad enough, but once his captured dove stops acting like his fantasy, his only response is to kill them.
Part of me thinks this guy is unrealistic, but there are some real freaks out there.
Since this aired during the "Crimetime After Primetime" slot, it's going to involve visiting a lingerie shoot that's crawling with scantily clad models, and where else would they host a shoot like this but The Raven? But it doesn't take long for Nick to realize the main attraction is a model with a striking resemblance to someone in his past, and his mind slips back a few centuries...
(Normally I make the flashbacks their own section, but this time it's easier just to put everything together.)
Nick remembers going to a ballet (which seems hard to do if you have to wait for a late night showing) and watching a ballerina, who is played by the same actress he's been watching at the modeling shoot. Did I say he was watching the ballet? Scratch that. He's leering at his new crush like a naughty schoolboy. According to Janette, he's been doing this every night, and the entire vampire community apparently wants him to get over her. Janette certainly isn't amused.
La Croix is pissed, and that's because La Croix is a possessive jerkwad. He doesn't like it when Nick falls in love, because it means they'll spend less time together. Nick doesn't care. He's decided this woman is special because she's... pure. He's placed her on a pedestal that he insists he cannot reach. It's nauseating.
Back in the modern world, the parallels continue. The murderer's MO reminds Nick of how he mooned over the ballerina and wanted to violently defend her "purity." Nick has to be a little embarrassed to realize he's similar to the creepiest murderer they've tracked.
Back in the past, La Croix wants to convince Nick that being a vampire means he can't have love. He should take the woman and enjoy himself. Janette thinks he should go backstage and talk to her. Nick is horrified by both of these ideas. He's evil. It would be wrong to defile her with his darkness.
But he does make it backstage, only because La Croix tricked him, and he finds out that the ballerina actually reciprocates his love. She's noticed him in the balcony and has completely fallen for him. Which seems pretty remarkable since she's only been able to see him sitting in a chair.
Instead of being flattered, Nick is crestfallen. He's evil. If she loves him, then she's not the pure and perfect creature he imagined. Because, I guess, her natural purity would magically deflect his advances? I don't know how he thinks that works.
Nick's already working with a pretty stupid thesis, but then he goes insanely overboard and kills her. THEN he blames La Croix for tricking him, which kickstarts their whole rivalry. La Croix is a huge jerk, but this one is really Nick's fault. There's plenty of other reasons for hating his master.
Once our investigation is ended, there's still something wrong. Janette feels her connection with Nick being strummed, and she doesn't know why. The two of them have no idea that their dead master... isn't so dead after all. Mind you, Nick stabbed him with a burning stake and let the sun burn him to dust, so you can understand why they think he's a goner.
Only a few minutes ago, Janette complained that today's vampires don't get to feed on humans like in the old days. Well, it's still the old days for La Croix, who drains a poor bloke and throws his body under a bridge, all while keeping his sinister eyes on Nick's window. And he must be pretty upset, because his eyes change from green to red.
Little Bites
-Familiar Faces: The ballerina/Lucy Preston is played by Andrea Roth, who has done very well for herself. She shows up on Lost, 13 Reasons Why, Rescue Me, and Cloak & Dagger, to name a few. If you are a TV watcher, you've seen her face a few times.
-Vampire Lore: La Croix's eyes change colors at the end. I'm guessing this indicates his mood, or maybe the blood that's filling his body just after feeding. I'm honestly not sure. They used multiple techniques for making the creepy vampire eyes, which is why the effect looks different across the series.
-La Croix says they have attended the ballet 17 or 18 times.
-Janette says she's showing off her club's "new decor," but the truth is that they moved the production away from a real Toronto club into a proper TV set, and they needed a way to explain the changes. I have to say, most people don't even notice that it's a different room. The producers did a great job making a smooth transition to a new space.
-Also, the wife and I, being huge fans of this show, couldn't resist checking out The Raven when we visited Toronto. It's a bar/restaurant with an outdoor theme these days, and no one there had heard of the show.
-This episode has some confusing aspects. Nick is upset and turns up his radio really loud, and then manages to not hear his phone ring several times throughout the day. That's some really extreme listening, and there seems to be no point in any of it happening. There's also a random shot of the ballerina in a tub of water that doesn't line up with anything. La Croix tries to tell Nick that two men who left the ballerina's room were there to pay her for sex, and then... Nick gets upset because he thinks they stole something? Some parts of this one get confusing.
-Charlie's murder method is smothering ladies with silk covered pillows. It takes a lot longer than people think to pull that off, and it's really hard to hold someone in place under a slippery silk cover.
-My favorite scene in the entire series happens when Janette shows up at Nick's office. The moment she walks in the door, Nick is unable to stop his two worlds from crashing together and can't wait for it to be over. Janette, on the other hand, is wildly amused. She flirts with Nick and needles him as much as she can, because nothing makes her happier than bothering Nick. It's fun to watch every time.
-I love how creative this show is. The idea of having La Croix as a flashback-only character is a lot of fun, and reminds me of what Highlander wanted to do with Darius (before the actor sadly passed away). But having La Croix show up and suddenly join the modern world is a powerful change to the rest of the series, and it's a lot more interesting than the stories we were getting from mainstream shows at the time, where nothing ever changed.
Final Analysis: Great ending and a villain who's creepier than a vampire, but the end product is oddly written and oddly edited. 4 out of 5 new club decorations.
Adam D. Jones is a writer, historian, and undefeated cat wrestler. He's also something of a ballet expert himself, having recently made it gracefully across his nephew's room without stepping on a single Lego.
Adam, congratulations on finishing season one! Loved your story about visiting the nightclub/restaurant where they filmed. Boy, did I ever do that with Buffy the Vampire Slayer when I was living in Los Angeles. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for completing season 1, looking forward to rewatching season 2 and reading your reviews.
ReplyDeleteIf I wanted to get someone new to watch Forever Knight, are there three or four episodes you would recommend in particular?
Good question. Believe it, or not, this show does best just starting from the beginning. The plot is unfolded with a very fun opening, and you'll know from the first double episode whether or not you'll enjoy it.
ReplyDelete"La Croix tries to tell Nick that two men who left the ballerina's room were there to pay her for sex, and then... Nick gets upset because he thinks they stole something?"
ReplyDeleteHow I interpreted it was that he saw it as sexual coercion/blackmail rather than something she fully consented to, so I didn't see it as him being upset but making a stupid point about it being "theft" and not a confirmation of her uh wickedness.