VISITORSITE.NET - V REVIEWS

Previous Review/Recap

Review/Recap: V 1.12 “Red Sky”

Written by Cory Barker
Follow Cory on Twitter @corybarker
Check out Cory’s TV-centric website: www.tvsurveillance.com
Email: barkerc65@gmail.com

Apologies for the tardiness of this review, things just got away from me over the past week and a half. However, I decided to watch “Red Sky” another time just to make sure I wasn’t rambling about things I barely remembered. The bad news for the show is that the finale wasn’t much better the second time around.

You know, I thought V had turned the corner a couple weeks ago when the writers figured out that there had to be some emotionally-powered storytelling that gave the plot mechanics some heft. But over the past two episodes, that wasn’t there as much and it was back to “stuff happening!” style of storytelling.

I did, however, appreciate some of the nice little twists in “Red Sky,” most notably Anna murdering Val, manipulating Ryan and her feeling some sort of emotion at the end. Each of those beats could pay off in season two and I’m most exciting to see how she reacts to feeling emotion and if that leads some other Vs to take her down. And Morena Baccarin nailed all those scenes, per usual.

On the other hand, turning the sky red didn’t really do anything for me. I can’t imagine the series is jumping in to all-out war between the Vs and humans, if only because of budgetary sense. But more than that, it doesn’t really make logical sense, considering we’ve spent all season with them secretly manipulating the human race. So to just jump forward with a major throwdown doesn’t fly. So that means that by a the end of the premiere or second episode next season, the red sky will go away and the Vs will just say it was an accident – or something that they can fix. That’s all fine, but not a wonderful way to end your first season.

Bullets:

- The few character moments were also a mix bag. It was great to see Lisa finally put her money where her mouth is and join Fifth Column. Not only does that give her more to do in season two, but it will hopefully allow us to see more into the past relationship between Lisa and her mother.

- Chad’s recognition that the Vs are up to no good was fine, but I find it hard to believe that he was completely blind to their evil up to this point. I know that he’s been able to look the other way as a function to improve his career, but he seemed so overwhelmingly shocked. Those scenes could have used some more subtlety from both Scott Wolf and the writing.

- Father Jack’s speech to the congregation was spirited, but I’m not sure where that really leads in a second season. I guess it confirms that he’s out in the open with his anti-V rhetoric, which could lead to more than just the Visitors coming after him. That’s OK, but we’ll have to wait and see the other side of the execution before passing judgment.

- Joshua’s dead! Oh wait, no he’s not. 

- Hobbes has a secret! Meh.

- Was Erica even really in this episode? She blew up the soldiers, sure. But did anything else happen with her? Mishandling of the lead character yet again.

In the end, I’m ready for a second season of V because I think that with the summer break, the writers and producers can really figure out what they want the series to be. Scott Rosenbaum and his team had to work with what they were given in this back-eight, and with a full slate and a later premiere date ahead of them, there’s a good chance they can give us more character-driven stories. Here’s hoping they can do it.

Grade: 4/5

Swing by the V forum community at KryptonSite! - Send Cory Barker some feedback

Return to the VisitorSite home page

V returns possibly as early as November 2010 on ABC.