This episode of The Returned dialed things back a bit, relying a bit too much on adapting Les Revenants as opposed to deviating more like last week’s episode did. So while I thought this episode was just okay, it did have some good moments. Also, many of the returned’s storylines are beginning to merge with each other, so I’ve adapted my review accordingly.
Tony & Adam
We finally get some backstory on Tony and Adam. Tony, as you may recall, owns the bar where Lucy works. Lucy was stabbed repeatedly in the pilot by Tony’s brother Adam. Adam did the same thing to Julie seven years ago. One the same night Adam attacked Julie, Tony killed him, and now he’s one of the returned. Still with me?
Maybe I’m crazy, but I just wasn’t that involved with Tony’s story. I thought the moment where he confessed his murder to Adam was a nice bit of acting from Aaron Douglas. We also got some cool gore from Adam eating Julie’s stomach in the flashback, but other than that not much more was revealed about the siblings. I think my disinterest might stem from a slight annoyance with the constant “been there, seen that” from the original. Five episodes in and I’m still waiting for more differences. I find the American version kind of hard to review because many of the scenes are photocopies of the original.
Victor & Helen
Helen had the most screen time she’s had all season with this episode. How much do you want to bet that the episode named after her (episode 9) barely features her in it? That seems to be the trend with The Returned. Michelle Forbes did fantastic work (as always) in her scenes with Victor (whose real name we now know is Henry). The reveal that Helen know Henry/Victor and his family back in the 80s is a clever twist, so I’m curious to see where their relationship goes. Their lunch date provided some fascinating insight to Helen’s mindset, as she thinks the town is cursed and that it’s the problem, rather than the newly alive.
Victor is still playing into the standard creepy child trope, and I think it’s starting to get old. Luckily, he did actually speak tonight when he confronted Peter about his part in murdering him and his family. Nikki also receives word from a fellow officer that a boy matching Victor’s description was found by a woman four years prior. This is all well and good, but did anyone else think that cop was a little inappropriate regarding Nikki’s lesbianism or is it just me? Laure’s (Nikki’s French counterpart) sexuality was never an issue on Les Revenants, so I don’t really see why it should be on The Returned, but you know, it’s America.
Simon & Camille
Meanwhile, Simon gets brought over to Camille’s house to stay after Peter views his presence as too much of a cop magnet (smart move, Peter). This leads to the very interesting pairing of Simon and Camille, two of the returned who both speak and are able to hold a conversation. This was the most fascinating part of the episode for me, as Camille asked Simon how he died and how he feels. I (and the rest of the audience I would imagine) want to see more situations like this. The Returned is not a show that is going to reveal all the answers in the first season, but when we see the characters asking the same questions we are, it becomes more relatable and interesting.
I’m also starting to believe that the returned can’t get drunk, as Camille easily down’s five or six shots in a row with no effect. Her winning prize is a makeout session with Ben, but her joy is short-lived as her telepathic connection to Lena wakes her up at the hospital. Lena rushes over to the bar and slaps Camille, only to run away and pass out in the woods and be found by Adam. Of all the people for Adam to find passed out in the woods, Lena probably isn’t the best choice. It will be interesting to see if this storyline remains the same as the French version, though.
Random Notes
- Julie gets one 30-second scene (and that’s being generous) as she goes to look at Lucy’s stab wounds. I hope Sandrine Holt got paid a lot for this episode.
- The town deer are drowning themselves in the river. It’s appropriately disturbing, especially when we see Helen practically bathing in said river once she sees the deer.
- Is anyone else wondering how all of these dead people have money to buy food and bus tickets?
- Rowan throws all of Simon’s things away and stands him up at the bus stop. Smart move Rowan. She also decides that her wedding to Tommy, the man who spied on her and kept the suicide of her ex-fiance from her, is back on. Dumb move, Rowan.
- I try not to compare The Returned to Les Revenants in my reviews, but I dabbled a little bit in that area with this one. For those of you who have never seen Les Revenants, what did you think of this episode?