3x02 Anything Short of a Blow to the Head

(486-word review) Oddly enough, this episode seemed a little "better" to me than the premiere – and I say that ("oddly enough") because, by all appearances, the assumption would've been the opposite being true. At least as far as I am concerned.

Case in point: more plotline/character introductions (Moseley, Yan Mi, and Douglas – I'm interested in Yan Mi the most, mainly due to her character's purpose/that plotline, but Moseley's character (and likely thorn in everyone's side for extra suspense but perhaps not in a dislikable way) has the potential of going further if only for the satisfaction of impactful nuisance he may have on other characters – and while it is too early to be sold on Douglas and that plotline, I'm not sold; there's a noticeable overarching sense of convenience for the sake of manufacturing unnecessary conflict and the feeling of not knowing what else to do with that plotline, not to mention how that seed was planted with him seeing them; you're telling me Nellie trusts him enough to NOT use that against her, even if there's no racism involved?), more set-up; the stand-out being the presentation of three love interest subplots, the reliance on your investment and engagement, and the more scattered structuring of scenes compared to the premiere that could've been tighter to allow certain things happening to breathe.

Therefore, it's surprising that, through those aspects, against the odds, I – somehow – found this episode to be more effective, entertainment-wise and engagement-wise. I don't precisely know why; one possibility is that I had to get more into the swing of things: and now that the premiere is out of the way, I'm on a more compatible wavelength with this season so far (yes, only two episodes, but still).

I also want to mention how (nostalgic – because of the previous two seasons – and) practical the score/score cues are at enhancing scenes. The ones from the past that are continuously reused are great: but in particular, the new ones (during the scenes of Leary's fight (specifically walking away after its conclusion) and of Yan Mi going to work ("Money Maker"), which may have been the same score cue playing when she came to Ah Sahm – either way, that one was the best.

Two closing tidbits: (a.) the two kids on the right that Ah Sahm and Ah Toy looked at were not Asian – the Asian-kid-shortage is getting dire; (b.) Dominique Maher (Catherine Archer) looked similar in my eyes to Jazzara Jaslyn (Eliza Pendleton, who I'm expecting will be akin to Regina George: inauthentic and performative), and I had the thought that Catherine could be Eliza's mother; Eliza's last name is probably her husband's. Maybe the fact of the actresses' similarities in appearance is only a mere coincidence.

Now that I've gotten in the groove/more in sync with this season, this episode surpassed the premiere for me, assumably shaping its remainder for an even better effect.