1x05 Episode 5

(384-word review) Here, we have another slow but enthralling episode. Build-up continues, with boiling-up undertones, and it seems to be heading towards, in a tipping point fashion, an explosive (like James' premonition) distribution of climax.

The plot didn't progress in a broader sense, though it did more subtly: thanks to the 4D chess move of making both sides of the opposition face each other for the time being by James, more time has been bought, except he's now in a race against time because of the third side; however, due to a specific conversation between him and another character, that's a false alarm, concerning what it supposedly was on the surface, as it's still a race against time in a different way.

But there was also the tediously slow process of making a particular substance that I'll refrain from specifying, which achieved some headway, too. Those two aspects stood out the most regarding plot progression.

Besides that, the subplot with Zilpha and Thorne had significant development, especially at the end of the episode. My interpretation is that she's been suppressing herself, her nature, primarily because she was in denial and unaccepting of it, and that's on top of enduring the abuse; for religious reasons and the (religion-fueled) belief that it's deserved because of the 'her' suppressed: but now, that's over, exorcisms are what crosses the line for her, she's untethered and embracing herself, although one might wonder whether the exorcism directly did something regarding that. The supernatural is intentionally ambiguous in this show; it can go both ways: up to individual interpretations.

More subtly, I considered two instances with score cues impactful. The primary instance was during the scene with George Chichester and Solomon Coop, and it came across as the most impactful; the slowness and subtlety of it (both adding to the tension) were sublime. Then, there was the scene with James and Cholmondeley that occurred before that; the silence for most of it, transitioning to the score cue at the end, conveyed an impactful sense of possible impending danger and urgency.

I believe this episode could be the least liked/enjoyed one for some; it did seem the most "uneventful" one yet. But I still had an engaged time with it. I've yet to be bored; quite frankly, I don't see how anyone could.