A lot of my memories with my grandfather involve the two of us sitting on the couch at his house, watching something that I absolutely should not be watching. I remember watching this very weird crime movie with him, one that had George Clooney in it, and he was telling me that Clooney was actually a television star first, which completely blew my nine year old mind, when my mom came into the room, took one look at a very bloody motel room, and promptly made him turn it off.
It was only later that I found out that the movie we had been watching was actually a vampire movie. This is a lot less coy about that fact.
Alright, so what actually is this?
From Dusk till Dawn: The Series was the first original scripted program to premiere on the now semi-defunct El Rey Network, created by Robert Rodriguez. Rodriguez is also the director of the original movie, which he had made with his friend, Quentin Tarantino, and has frequently talked about how it was one of his favorite movies that he ever made and that he really wanted to go back and expand upon it, specifically the movie’s Mesoamerican mythology. This is that expansion.
This episode in particular definitely follows the movie very, very closely. To the point where I’m fairly certain that a lot of the dialogue is identical, which makes sense considering that Rodriguez both wrote and directed the episode. We have the Gecko Brothers, Seth and Richie, who are attempting to flee to Mexico after a bank robbery ended very bloody. They’re theoretically our protagonists for the series, but they really weren’t displayed in the most sympathetic light.
Seth, played here by D.J. Cotrona, is a lot more reasonable than his brother. Cotrona has a tough ask in trying to mimic Clooney’s charm, but he does well. Seth’s greatest asset is his ability to keep a cool head. Even though he’s clearly struggling in the brief, private moments that we get from him, he’s calm and collected in front of everyone else. All he wants to do is to get to safety with his brother.
Not that Richie is making it easy for him. He might be my favorite character so far. There’s this mix of creepy, awkward, and vulnerability that intrigues me. He’s not just a deranged, psychosexual sadist like he was in the movie. He definitely has a temper – just look at his reaction to being called crazy – but there were also moments where he just came across as a kid trying to do what he thinks is the right thing only to get scolded for it. Of course, that ‘right thing’ is killing almost everyone in sight, but I’m not sure how much of that is really his fault.
Richie is having a lot of hallucinations, and is reacting to the threats that they are posing. At least, I’m assuming that’s why he took the girls and clerk hostage. We didn’t actually see what prompted that decision, but given how often the hallucinations are occurring, it feels like a safe bet. There’s something else going on that seems to tie back to the woman that we saw in the opening scene.
Which, side note, talk about horrifying! She had a snake slide down her throat! No!
Although, apparently that didn’t kill her if she’s whispering in Richie’s ear about how she’s the only one who can protect him. Protect him from what? It’s notable that he only saw the girls as monsters after her warning, but I somehow doubt that they were actually monsters. But that does seem to imply that his hallucinations are tied to the supernatural in some way. Which, hey, I’m here for it. It definitely promises some interesting dynamics further down the line.
Beyond the brothers, we also have Texas Ranger Freddie Gonzalez, who is almost our protagonist for the episode. We’re given the most backstory about him, and he consistently comes across as the most reasonable and moral person in the room. He’s just a good guy! A good guy who might be a little bit out of his depth, though.
And a good guy who wears a black hat.
And sure, maybe the whole white hat/black hat trope isn’t as common nowadays, but there’s enough imagery going on here that I’m willing to read into it. Especially since we did get a literal white hat in Earl.
Immediately, there’s a strong theme of family versus duty, and no one represents that better than Freddie. The conversation with Earl regarding how many days you actually spend with your loved ones really was a punch in the face. Twenty-six days. It’s amazing how sobering it can be to put an actual number on something. Freddie doesn’t seem like a workaholic or a deadbeat either. He clearly loves his mother, and was even proud over how he saw her every birthday and every other Christmas, like he had just proved Earl wrong somehow. And his relationship with his wife and baby, Billie (who clearly has the best name), was warm and very cute.
Every personal conversation that he had with someone involved his family, and since he was specifically asking Earl to become his daughter’s godfather, there was a lot of faith attached to it as well. But by the end, Freddie made an oath on his daughter’s life that he would hunt the Gecko’s down to the very Gates of Hell if he had to in order to take revenge and kill them.
It’s a far darker path, but what really intrigues me about it is how we heard him make that oath only after his ‘resurrection.’ Sure, he was wearing a vest so he wasn’t actually dead when he got shot, just unconscious. But the dramatic gasp for air and the emphasis on Hell was striking. Freddie isn’t a lawman anymore. He’s almost closer to a curse. I’m curious to see just how far he goes down this path. After all, one of the most striking images was him standing with his hands up, one clean and one drenched in Earl’s blood.
So if Freddie is going to forsake family for duty, then Seth is poised to do the opposite. We don’t really get a lot of background or internal thoughts from him, but there’s definitely some heavy implications that whatever is happening with Richie, it’s a lot worse than before Seth went to prison. There were multiple times where he seemed very uneasy with his brother’s actions, and it’s undeniable that Richie made things worse for them.
Freddie was right: the smart thing for Seth to do would be to ditch his brother. But there’s also no way that he’s going to do that. They’re a pair. Brothers. It’ll be interesting to see if Seth does end up having a line, and where that line is. If it doesn’t include killing multiple police and rangers, then it’s hard to say what it would be.
But this review is already far, far too long, so I’m going to wrap it up.
Random Thoughts
Sheriff Earl McGraw is a recurring character that has appeared in multiple Tarantino movies. This is the first time he is played by someone other than the late Michael Parks. Funnily enough, he’s played by Don Johnson, who was also a lawman in a movie I recently reviewed.
I only realized later that the conversation about Ramona was code that Earl was going to pretend to be dead. I love characters being smart.
The switchblade is cool. What was carved into the handle? An eye of some kind?
Richie’s hole in his hand made me cringe. It was a big hole! Looked awesome, though.
Briefly saw Carlos, who is supposed to get Seth and Richie to some kind of safe haven in Mexico. What were those statues that the camera focused on? They were cool.
Josie wrote an excellent review of the movie From Dusk till Dawn, by the way.
The mysterious woman is played by Eiza Gonzalez, and yes, that is 100% why I started watching this show.
The Gecko Brothers were said to have taken a hostage... so where were they?
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An Honest Fangirl loves video games, horror movies, and superheroes, and occasionally manages to put words together in a coherent and pleasing manner.
I haven't seen the original movie, and I haven't seen the series. Do you think I should watch the movie first?
ReplyDeleteThe movie is definitely not required watching. The series stands very well just on its own. So I think it's a matter of personal preference. If you enjoy seeing moments or scenes that are similar/the same and recognizing them makes you smile, definitely watch the movie first! But if you're going to be comparing the two in your head the whole time and differences will annoy/distract you, then don't. Or at least hold off until the end of the season where this does very much transform into its own thing.
DeleteAlso, just to note, while there are a lot of very key differences (like Freddie's existence), a lot of the overarching plot and story beats are the same between the movie and season one. So the movie could technically count as spoilers if that matters to you.