I like continuity in my serialized shows. I feel it harkens back to the comic books where everything is set in the same universe, and that you need to invest into the characters and the environment because you never know where they might pop up again. Obviously, in the Femme Fatales universe, everything is beginning to really take shape in how they tie together. We are starting to get callbacks from previous episodes or seasons and I dig it. The current episode of Jailbreak reflects that.
Now, when I see someone pull up with a gun and a giant bag of cash, I start to get a bit uneasy. I don’t care if you’re the authorities or a sweaty, AXE body-spray covered fanboy from Comic-Con, that combination of bad news screams more red flags than a Tom Cruise audition for a ’24-35 year old actress’. It is revealed that we see a dead body, and the person that discovers him – Holy Crap – that’s Rafe Daniels (Will Poston)! Dude, you got to stop getting into trouble…
Lilith stops by to give us an update on poor old Rafe, and the messes he tends to get caught up in with beautiful girls. I will say it is interesting to get two episodes in a row with a recaps. Forced me to go back and both read about the review of the first episode Behind Locked Doors from Dr. Kronner, and rewatch the episode (thank you MaxGo because streaming is the way of the future).
Now that you are caught up with that, you get treated to the conjugal visit sex scene where Rafe gets to uncomfortably stand watch outside as people get to bump uglies and get reacquainted biblically. Of course, we find out why this girl is here and what her back story is. So three weeks ago, Jess (Jo Newman) was folding some prison laundry (presumably after stamping license plates or whatever prisoners do in jail, I have not had that lovely experience), but is taken to the boiler room for a little introduction to Big Aggie (Heidi James).
Yeeeepppp, she’s back and she wants a piece. And hey, there’s Lacey Rivers (Kit Willesee) too and man, those times of being Big Aggie’s cellmate have not treated her well. They share a moment but then we realize why Jess is scared to stay in jail with a fun twist. I am also going to add that having Lacey come back was brilliant in two ways. I won’t reveal the second way, but her presence and her crazy laughing haunted me and made me double take on how unhinged she truly became over the last however long she has been rotting in prison. Okay, back on track.
Jess and her lovebird Ace (Charlie Weber) got a plan to get Jess out to smell that sweet stench of freedom and they got the whole idea setup perfectly. Time, motel, freedom, money, boom, it is happening. However, as with any plot to escape jail there is a complication: Looks like curiosity just got another inmate involved. Seems Kendra (Anne Lee Greene, champion of one syllable names) is now involved in the plan because she decided to spy on the couple during their play time.
She wants in and is taking no for an answer. Unfortunately, the plan calls for Rafe to just get completely taken advantage of. I mean, you would think that his luck would change because he just gets screwed (seriously, that’s my favorite joke in this review), and has nothing to show for it. So he gets roped in with a lil’ sumpin’ sumpin’ delight only to get ambushed by the girls and looks like he is coming along for the ride (seriously, second favorite joke.)
As I said, Rafe is getting tugged along (okay, that’s excessive, I’ll stop) to the meet up point and now we got issues with Ace and Jess. There’s two people too many. The girl stays because, let’s face it, she needs a sex scene and she has not gotten up to bat yet and Rafe? Sorry bro, we have to give you the shiner we showed in the beginning of the episode for continuity sakes. They pull up to the house we see in the beginning and the live version of the body they showed. At this point, I want to stop because there are some twists and turns and gasps and moans of ecstasy which makes me feel awkward in having to tell you about without ruining the episode.
I will say that I dug the episode and the idea of bringing people back from the past. Again, for me, the whole mythology and same universe stuff excites me. It provides ideas of collaborating characters and ideas together, and seeing what type of exposition can come from it. The stories of episodes can keep everything contained as a stand alone, but this show is really a love letter to pop culture throughout several generations. Whether it be sci-fi, gangster, film noir, horror, or heist films, Femme Fatales is an homage to that and the determined and sometimes twisted things people will do to advance the plot of their goal or mission.
The episode works in regards to showing the actors willing to play with the environment and script given. I do think the sex scenes, always the one thing that shows the most ability to distract from the actual episode if obnoxious, worked in the confines of the episode and the situation. Kudos to rookie director Steven Kriozere on that. Also it ends satisfactory and keeps the pace up without any lulls that past episodes have had. As long as the pace flows and everything makes sense on the screen, you keep the audience into the episode and mission accomplished, this will do the job. Sometimes the pace does make for random situations in dialogue and acting to where the actors seem to stand and let the action around them dictate what is happening instead of having fun with the scene, but overall, I have no issues. Props to Will Poston for constantly showing how much it sucks to get crapped on and still make the character believable in his determination to power through. You want him to succeed because well – he deserves it.
Rafe just wanted some love, not to get the shaft. Last one, I promise.
Grizzly Bomb 