1x02 Suicide Sprints

(1,078-word review) This episode, coupled with the premiere, supposedly aired as a two-parter, which is apparent to a degree – not in a negative way; these first two episodes complement each other. The first part went strong concerning its presentation and straightforwardness as if to make an impression – understandably, given it was the introduction to the show. It went straight to the point, throwing you in with the characters. At the same time, this one was more subdued, giving you some downtime and breathing room to absorb everything that happened previously, in addition to everything happening here, allowing you to spend time with Tandy and Tyrone as they and their respective stories are further fleshed out.

From one perspective, that means this episode didn't have as much excitement, on top of not necessarily surpassing the premiere, which undoubtedly occurs often in TV shows where, after an excitement-filled, possibly minorly action-y one, its follow-up/follow-ups are less so with a more prominent emphasis and focus on things of greater importance than being exciting to watch, though that could potentially be avoidable and it's likely been accomplished a few or many times; conversely, that doesn't mean it's automatically mediocre. Less exciting does not equal terrible; it's not a negative thing to momentarily tone that down slightly.

Besides the necessity, relevance, and importance attached to episodes like this – giving a more encompassing focus on the development of the characters, slipping some appreciative and needed depth in there, continually fleshing them and their storylines out is extremely paramount – this, in its fullness, wasn't successful at devaluing the on-paper, logical purpose and intention; it didn't manage to be boring or ineffective, as was (and is likely) the case with similar ones in other shows.

Tyrone's story arc was the most engaging for me. The concept of revenge and the attempt to commit it, with the intermissions of the meaningful conversation with Father Delgado and causing his ongoing clash with his teammates from punching the player on the other team in the premiere to come to a head because of being preoccupied with that attempt – though way more blame is on them –, to the conversations with each parent, especially the one with his mother at the end, in addition to seeing her fear, is, without a doubt, more interesting than attending a wedding to steal the remaining money you need to get out of town.

And there's absolutely significance behind the shot of the bullet and the ballet slipper – speaking of shots, that earlier transition from the shot of Tandy's hand to Tyrone's hand with a bullet on his palm was sublime – specifically, the fact that he chose the bullet, at least beyond the crystal-clear course of action – getting rid of the bullet that's in your room; hopefully, he also got rid of the trash basket. I assume it was meant to represent the choice of revenge over whatever the slipper symbolizes: undeniably something less extreme, like possibly "the light" – to look for the light, and we all know what that is, right? WHO, that is? Only together can both characters grow, take control, and overcome their demons.

But I'm not additionally indirectly implying that Tandy's story arc was the complete opposite – because that's far from the truth. It was decent. I particularly liked how Liam's a caring and sweet enough boyfriend – who's also ride-or-die – instead of being the opposite, which is probably somewhat cliché and stereotypical. My biggest takeaway was Tandy's reaction to seeing his hope of marrying her and spending the rest of his life with her, followed later on by what she said to Delia about it, especially HOW she said it, and her harsh closing words to him at the end to push him away because she's familiar with that, with running away from situations and avoiding them but probably also because of not loving him as much as he loves her.

Those three things are foreshadowing that they'll grow further apart or at least go separate ways, paving the way on her side for cozying up to Tyrone, whose counterpart of romantic relationships is Evita, both of whom are likely heading to romantic waters: only for a short while, as I assume that they, too, will eventually separate, following in the footsteps of Tandy and Liam, resulting in the availability there on both sides regarding her and Tyrone.

Diving into that further, I liked the texting scene between him and Evita. His initial impression and evaluation of Tandy regarding who she is as a person/what kind of person she is was spot-on; he read her perfectly, like a book. He's already on the same page as her, and he's only had two interactions with her thus far: their encounter at the party and the one afterward when he caught up to her – technically three, should you include their first-ever contact with each other when they were children. That's about to change permanently from this point onward due to the ending.

As pleasant as Liam is (for now), and how he knows she squats in the abandoned church and when she's lying, having a bit of an insightful glimpse into her, I can't help but feel his insight into her isn't quite at the level Tyrone has managed to achieve before him, beating him to the chase by a long shot, given the massive gap in the time each of them has known her, which is unfortunate for him, but things are what they are. He and Evita can get together to wrap up the loose ends.

This episode also introduced three new characters, all of whom I remember having recurring roles: Det. O'Reilly, Father Delgado, and Greg. I don't recall much about them, except a specific thing that occurs with O'Reilly's character, either at the end of this season or at the beginning of the second season somewhere; a memorable thing with Greg's character that happens a few episodes from now due to its nature, while I barely remember any specifics concerning Father Delgado. Tandy and Tyrone's characters are the draw – the source of investment in any of the characters: the ones to care about, though his parents, specifically the mother, are two others. But the priest seems likely to reach that point relatively quickly, and the detective, from what I remember, ends up being brought to a similar place over time, at least in the next season.