Fallen and Risen Again

First of, just two questions because we all love to speculate, right? So what about JJ? Whose babies is he planting, or if that is not it, what is the evil plan behind it all? The creepy son did seem to show emotion right there when he looked at Nicky, but there is no doubt he will do whatever the plan is asking for. Right? There is just that quick flutter of his eyelids, the close up holding on that moment. Nicky is not screaming, but begging, pleading, for her to be allowed to claim her life as a woman. This show knows how to pull our strings and play them beautifully, although Nicky will possibly remain a psychological miracle to me forever. Her actions so unexpected at times, make this series so good, so realistic, too. For the broken is erratic, is full of logic that destructs itself, bit by bit by bit.
And then there are the Greens. I retract my earlier statement. Their evil has for the first time reunited what was broken, or so it seems. They came back at the right time, and for a long enough while, with potential for the future? Mom, Dad, Bill, Joey, and Ben all at their lowest, ready to rise to the occasion and try again to make things right. But then Mommy steps up to save her son and that, well, that was just pure genius. She demonstrated her motherhood, gave quick-thinking Bill an edge, and single handedly saved them all. The genius in the scene lied with the simple tones, the music that did not push the action, the quiet that allowed us to hear single calls for action, not screams, not tumult, just shock and surprise.
But all this is taken back to zero in the shows final moments today. Margene is ignored by Ben, and Barb stands alone, in thought. Pondering why she was not trusted again? Protection? But there is no argument. We are past family meetings and talking things out. This is where we are: the brink of the end. Ultimate loss of communication. Each one to deeply concerned with saving their own life, in whatever form necessary.

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It does not matter if we talk about business security, fertility, fighting for acknowledgment, love, or the right to be in the open. They all strive to make their life sustainable in a world that is hurting them. It hurts them by conventions, social norm, laws, regulations that protect no one, and religious pressure. It keeps them trapped in a past within their present. No real life, just an image of it, a faint promise ringing in your ears of that which is not and may never come.
What strikes me here is that the future they work towards, no matter how often they call upon ‘heavenly father’ no longer is in the afterlife. That was the struggle they faced last season, last year, last opening credits Then, marriage, and babies, priesthood, family and Roman still most often preoccupied their minds. Nothing is light now, no heaven to aspire to. All of their wishes now lie right here, on earth. And didn’t we see it coming, when Bill turned his back, on his knees, to the Holy rising behind him. His eyes firmly fixed on the ground. Who he now makes peace with is the man he blames for all the bad in his life. That, is acknowledgment. This season is the awakening.
Only few episodes left this season. Much is unresolved. Where does Alby go from here? Does he get that his wife did this or will he blame Bill? AGAIN: What is up with JJ and that creepy Walker family from Kansas?
9 Episodes is all they gave us this time around. But it works. The story is streamlined, straight forward, no deterrence, no new churches, just a few lose ends I believe they will resolve or bring to the next season. Just a good old fashioned burning all bridges. The less they carry over, the better, I think.
I sure hope this, in my eyes best season, will not be diminished in the aftermath by becoming redundant. For it would be to easy, to send the family through another trauma induced reunion once again. So momentum has to keep up. Only one question then remains. Where do we go from here?
-I can hardly wait.