"They're my kind. We're all ladies of the night.
At last, a deep dive into Janette's past. The world of prostitution and sexism frames a story of dark, twisted redemption, the kind only a vampire knows.
Forever Knight loves being sexy, so it was only a matter of time before we got a story about prostitution. This is an important topic that is often poorly discussed, especially by TV shows. According to Game of Thrones, prostitution is a fun job where empowered women take control of their lives, but according to this episode it makes a woman her pimp's property, essentially ending any happiness or agency in her life.
Since TV episodes have no time to develop ideas, any important topic is going to portrayed like a two-dimensional caricature, which is why people roll their eyes when their favorite show trots out a "very special episode." We all know there's more to prostitution than can be covered by a TV show or a blog entry, so I'll move on and let you take that journey on your own.
The best part of the episode is getting to know Janette. It's fun that she's a mysterious smoke show, but it's also nice to get a glimpse into her past and how she became a vampire. Janette is also unhinged for once, which is shocking since she's normally the most chill vampire in the underworld.
Flashback:
Back in time, Janette's a prostitute, trying to get enough work to help her pregnant prostitute friend. Apparently being pregnant makes the friend so unappealing that her pimp can't use her. Believe it or not, degenerate men will choose a pregnant woman at the brothel plenty of times. It's not an unusual fantasy... but I'm splitting hairs. The point here is that undesirable women are punished for not having value, and I'm not really bringing anything to the discussion by being picky.
La Croix stalks Janette long enough to decide she's perfect for his entourage. Why Janette? (I've got a theory; see below.) It's not entirely clear how he decides who to turn into a vampire, but he must have had some incredible insight because Janette is a vampire's vampire, the model of a dark and beautiful soul, clinging to the shadows and finding power in the night. You would be hard-pressed to come up with a more quintessential example in any piece of fiction. La Croix made the right choice, and the men who offended her were made very, very sorry.
Little Bites:
-"Not everyone can have your iron stomach, Schanke." This isn't just a throwaway line. Schanke is eating an apple over a dead body. He routinely shows his ability to look at mangled corpses and gory scenes without batting an eye.
-Even though La Croix is back, he only shows up in flashbacks. He's still mostly hiding in modern-day Toronto.
-When Nick drops off Janette at the Raven, she waits patiently while he goes around and opens the door on her side of the car. So old fashioned. Sometimes, they just act like lovestruck teensters.
-The mustached vice detective has a role in Tommy Boy, which was also filmed in Toronto.
-Major question: is Janette really of noble blood, or is that just something her pimp tells people? La Croix seemed to be taking it seriously. Also, in flashbacks we sometimes see Janette wearing a crown. It's an unusual affectation, and no one ever comments on it. According to fan research, she was turned around 1070-1100, which could make her potentially the offspring of French King Henry I. Of course, his offspring are all accounted for... or are they? Henry married a woman named Matilda of Frisia who gave birth to a child... but her and the child died four years later about the same time. Matilda's body is not accounted for and neither is the child's... what if they ran away? Then again, Henry's next wife produced a mythical woman named Edigna who may or may not have existed. She fled an arranged marriage, which reminds me of Janette's line in this episode about how laying down for many men is no worse than laying down for one. Maybe Janette is a runaway princess. Why not?
Final Analysis: Janette's backstory is nice to see, and you might not guess the killer, but the "very special episode" vibes drag things down a little. 3 out of 5 midnight nun parades.
Adam D. Jones is a historian, author, and undefeated cat wrestler. He is also something a vampire himself, having successfully avoided going outside during the sunlight ever since grade school gym class.
I noticed that in the 1st episode of this season they forgot to shoot some of the vampire scenes with the Dutch angle, so in this episode they made up for it by adding Dutch shots of the precinct exterior and Nick's car.
ReplyDeleteJanette as a missing French princess is a fascinating idea. Overall I like this episode for giving Deborah Duchêne as Janette a lot to do, even if it is a "very special episode".
Yeah, the dutching is extreme sometimes. But you're right about giving Duchêne more to do. She gets to do more acting and get out of her normal character, which makes the episode outstanding.
DeleteJanette as runaway princess is a fun theory!
ReplyDeleteI don't think she's of noble or royal blood though. I think that's just something her pimp said to try and up the price. I don't think LaCroix cares one way or the other since he wants her to be beyond all that. Why her though? Not sure. She sure is a perfect vampire though (until they donk it up in season 3).