Powers: Season 1, Episode 5: Paint it Black
Wolfe = Awesome. That is the formula I have put together so far. Seeing as how this is a fairly low budget experiment by Sony to get into the streaming world, they’re doing a pretty decent job. The effects are questionable, but the acting and the story are superb. Eddie Izzard’s Wolfe is both terrifying and cool. He was once a wise mentor to younger powers, but now he is simply a glutton and a threat to almost everyone around him. His power is unmatched and it took everything that could possibly be thrown at him to stop him. Luckily there was a drainer ready in his cell. Hopefully for the Powers Division, he stays put next time.
Speaking of the PD, we need more Deena, she’s kind of just a warm body with a bad attitude so far. Let’s get a little focus on her moving forward. I understand the first arc was mostly about Christian and his past and present, but his partner is severely suffering in the likability department. As a main character, she’s getting way less screen time and explanation than pretty much everyone. I’m even more familiar with Cross and Triphammer at this point.
Seeing Johnny Royale’s regret at not killing his mentor and then using him as the source for his street drug was strong, even though he had such a small amount of screen time. Seeing the past and Christian’s need to quickly rise to heroic fame. He took a shortcut that meant selling out his old teacher instead of killing him and permanently ending the danger. As Wolfe told him: “Heroic acts in the pursuit of glory have no virtue.”
We see how much the thought of that affected both Retro Girl and Zora. Retro Girl has gotten to the point where she prefers being a hero for the sake of helping people. She took no credit for her role in the fight against Wolfe and only arrived when she had no other real choice. If she could’ve made a decision, she would’ve stayed and helped hurricane victims. She even went as far as to lie to Christian and give Zora the credit the three of them deserved.
Zora on the other hand, took credit and embellished her role in the battle. The press took her words and ran away with them, but she clearly had no intention of stopping them, even though she was barely a factor against the monster.
The flashbacks showing Johnny and Christian’s background with Wolfe were awesome. It explored more of Christian’s relationship with Retro Girl and gave us a good look into Johnny’s reluctance to have any part in the whole Wolfe situation. Maybe we will see a little change in morality from the teleporting villain. I also hope we get to see more of his henchman (henchmen?) Simons.
Triphammer’s attempt to join in the fight was very noble, but ultimately and predictably a failure. He was very lucky Wolfe didn’t think he was worthy enough to kill.
Christian had a pretty awesome comeback during the fight, but I’m wondering what’s the plan going forward. Is he going to keep his powers? He apparently doesn’t remember getting them back, so what’s going on? Also what was the deal with what the Sway did to him? The red eyes and seeing that weird landscape in Wolfe’s head. Maybe I’m not smart enough, but I didn’t get the point of all of that. It was very symbolic of their situation, but seemed unnecessary.
Lastly, what’s Calista’s deal. She’s sure she’s a power but hasn’t gotten her powers yet. She just sounds insane. What is going to be her role in all of this since we’re so far away from the possibility of the comics? Maybe they’ll move into the “Who Killed Retro Girl?” arc next. I doubt they’ll want to sacrifice the potential cast members though. I’m very interested in seeing what happens next.
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Jonathan Thomas Jones is a speculative fiction author and founder of geekhavenreviews.com. He has been passionate about all things geek for his entire life. See more about him at jonathanthomasjones.com and follow him on twitter @jtgloryjones.
