3x04 Look Me In the Eye

I'd say this is the best episode of the season so far. But that's not saying much; it was barely the best episode. That's why my rating for it is a six out of ten, the same rating I've given every other episode.

• The fight choreography of the fight sequence between Hanna and Sandy was pretty much the best we've seen in this season. I like how it was structured: not that many punches and kicks; a life-or-death struggle for the upper hand. But I kind of wish it was more high-paced and fast action. What it was; still good.

• The cinematography was also good. There were a few specific shots that stood out. And, all-around, the cinematography in this episode looked pretty good. It was probably at its best overall, nearing the end of the episode. The contrast between the green and red tones was noticeable. I've said it before: something that's done well in this show is the cinematography.

• Mireille Enos' acting was good yet again, especially during the confrontation with The Chairman at the end. I guess there were a few moments in this season so far where Esme Creed-Miles' acting was pretty close, but Mireille seems to be the top performer up to now.

• And I liked the song at the end, during the closing credits: Ten Girls by Circe. It was the only one in this episode that seemed likable to me. All the other ones were still alright, I guess.

But, of course, it can't be a Hanna episode without a little something. A little:

P L O T C O N V E N I E N C E

• Let's see: you have Marissa Wiegler; then, you have Hanna. Smart individuals. Trained individuals. And I think you, someone watching, are supposed to believe that.

• Then, you have Sandy Phillips. And it's the same thing with her. She's smart, trained. That's what you're supposed to believe. The only difference is that she's cold-blooded. She's not going to spare certain people in certain situations.

Now, imagine with me for a moment. Imagine a scenario involving these three characters; Sandy is against them, and there's a fourth character. And that character happens to be someone who isn't trained, by the way. She's against that one, too.

In this scenario, she's not in control of the situation, yeah? But she needs to be. So, how? How can that be made to happen? Let's put some thought into this now. Let's see.

• You came up with: "The other two characters leave; they're trained, by the way. And that leaves the fourth character to stay and watch her. She's trained, and the fourth character isn't."

• Wow, you guessed it! Well done! I'm surprised you got that one! I thought it was a super difficult one, but you got it! Yay!

I can guess why that happened. It happened so Sandy and Hanna could face off yet again. Only this time, it will likely end with one of them dying. Not only that, it was so Marissa and Hanna would be discovered. That, too, was only possible because of plot convenience and having Marissa and Hanna talk right near her.

And, assuming that Ethan is dead and not knocked out, his character didn't serve any purpose anymore. But plot convenience is plot convenience.

Overall, this episode is the same as the others; nothing great but still entertaining. The quality of this final season had its standard set with the premiere and has remained more or less aligned with that standard so far; not worse, not better. It seems likely that it will remain so in the last two episodes, as well.

As I mentioned in my review of the previous episode, I'm interested in how all of this will play out, how it will end. That's still the case. Probably more so now due to the events of this episode and where it left off. I wonder how this show will conclude. I hope the ending is decently satisfactory.