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From Dusk till Dawn: Self-Contained

"If you still believe in that God of yours, now would be a good time to call him."

We finally arrive at the Mexican border. What could possibly go wrong?

I’m not quite sure why this episode is called “Self-Contained.” While most of our action is confined to the RV, we still left it often enough that it wasn’t really a bottle episode. I suppose it could be more about keeping oneself contained. Most of the tension came from the push and pull between impulse and control, with characters predictably falling on different sides of that line to varying degrees.

And believe it or not, Richie wasn’t the most impulsive character this time around.

No, instead that title belongs to Scott. I’m glad that he finally had something to do, but he’s just been casually carrying a gun in his backpack the whole time? So that he could scare bullies on his lacrosse team? What? There is something incredibly dark about that, not only the action but the mindset that spawned it, and it just comes out of nowhere.

It also really isn’t addressed in any meaningful way. Sure, both Carlos and the Mistress warn Richie about the darkness in his heart, and Richie saw Scott with a tail, but he’s been seeing a lot of innocent people as demons too, not to mention his incorrect assumption as to the fate of Jacob's wife. It’s not like that’s a reliable indicator.

He also saw Jacob as a demon (very cool makeup there), but it seems like the biggest sin there is his broken faith. There were only a few, brief flashbacks, but they all took place on the night that his wife died. There was nothing really shocking. It was truly an accident, one borne from trying to stop his wife from jumping out of a moving car in an act of self-harm.

It definitely seems like Jacob was one of those “pray the sick away” pastors, and sadly, that only made the situation worse. He truly did love his wife, though. That much was obvious. His anguish as he begged God to take him instead of her was real, as was the sobering realization that it really doesn’t work that way.

I’m just glad that this subplot is over now that he told his kids the truth. Hopefully the Fullers can move on to more interesting things. Because Jacob did have some moments of badassery. If his son was one of the more impulsive characters, Jacob was one of the more controlled. Sure, he couldn’t lie to save his life, but he tried, and he got some measure of respect from Seth as well.

Seth actually deferred to and went along with Jacob’s plan once things started to go sideways at the border crossing. True, it wasn’t like he had any other option, but he still listened. It’s a good skill to have, and yet another reminder that he truly is a highly competent man.

Like with how Seth talked Scott down during one of the many standoffs that we got in this episode. I still wish that we got to know him more as a person as opposed to him continuously being in crisis control mode, but there were glimpses in both his conversations with Jacob and his reaction to Richie telling him the truth.

It shows a lot about the brothers’ relationship that Richie was willing to be completely honest with Seth about what he had been experiencing. He was so earnest too, like there was no doubt in his mind that Seth would believe him if he only heard the full story. He trusted him completely. No half-truths. No cover stories. No lies of omission.

And the look on Seth’s face was heartbreaking. The way his voice shook a little before he managed to shove everything down and get his emotions back under control? The realization that his big brother isn’t just a little off, but is truly as sick as everyone has taunted him with?

I loved it.

I loved Richie’s overall behavior a little less. He’s just very erratic. I thought that we had gotten past the “Impulsively Kill Everyone In Front of Us” stage, but apparently not. Well, I suppose having visions of demons is enough to make anyone want to go a little trigger happy, especially if you have a goddess whispering in your ear.

The Mistress of the Night seems to have gotten stronger. Richie has touched her before, but this is the most corporeal that she’s felt all series. She can physically affect Richie, assuming that she truly did push him up against the wall and he didn’t just jerk back out of shock.

There’s an interesting contrast between her, a snake demon demigoddess, and Katie, the good preacher’s daughter. It strays into the Madonna/Whore cliche, but I still enjoy it. I’d enjoy it more if Katie wasn’t still in high school, of course, but the fact that Katie actually got Richie to humor her and close his eyes for a few moments there in ‘prayer’ was a really good character moment. As was the expression on Richie’s face throughout the whole scene.

Again, why is she in high school? If the show is planning on introducing a romantic relationship between them, then they should have aged her up a little. It completely ruins the vibes.

Freddie continues to hound the Geckos, and he continues to get very close to catching them. I mentioned this in my last review, but I really appreciate how he is continuously positioned as a genuine threat, a harbinger on their door that they can’t quite shake loose.

There was also something incredibly poetic about him needing to illegally cross the border into Mexico. He was so alone in that scene. He didn’t get permission. He didn’t fake his way through the checkpoint. He stripped down to almost nothing and waded through the river, much like how I’m sure a lot of people imagine when you say ‘illegally crossing the US/Mexican border,’ just going the opposite way. He left behind his badge, his family, the entire life that he had built, in order to fulfill the task that Earl gave him.

I’m a little surprised that Carlos didn’t just kill him once he got him alone in that office, but that’s plot armor for you.

More importantly, the episode ends at the Titty Twister, which is really just a great name. And if you’ve seen the movie, you know that things are about to get really fun really soon. Can’t wait.

Random Thoughts

Very good effect when Carlos took over the Border Patrol agent’s appearance. It was clearly Carlos’ back and silhouette even though we saw the agent’s face in the mirror.

However, I continue to be confused over whether or not vampires can go out in sunlight. Carlos was out in the sun while wearing his own face! Why didn’t he burn?

Also, how did Freddie not freak out when he saw Carlos shift like that? I mean, sure, he’s already seen ghosts/hallucinations but shapeshifting is something else!

No one saw Jacob just totally punch a guy out and drag him into his RV? Really?

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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.

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