Picking up at the place the Pilot episode brought us in, this is an example of all that is good about this show.
2 Reviews
oh indeed it is Chaos
RavenGlamDVDCollector28 March 2017
Warning: Spoilers
And what a shambles it is. Chaos! Dazed and stumbling, has Daniel been shot too? There is blood over him. Blood splatters? And when that guy was shot, it was Daniel that went down, the profile is clearly his. There were three shots, first the one, then the two that were shot into the prone figure, Tyler, it turns out, by the gloved hand of a young girl, 'Amanda.'
Just watched, and I'm really not sure just exactly how much everybody's conned into accepting something that wouldn't have occurred this way. It doesn't happen in real time, so we are left to figure it out ourselves? So, Tyler's the one that got shot, I figured that out episodes ago. But the scene of the crime just doesn't make sense. I expected it wouldn't be cleared up, and it's most certainly not. The producers just couldn't pull off the lie, and didn't do much to hide that fact.
What's gonna happen to 'Amanda' now, driven off by the Sensei, a totally out-of-place contrived character? Gonna get turned into sushi? Much as I like Margarita Levieva, it would be for the greater good of the story if fake/actually original (hoo! confusing!) Amanda vaporizes, for the beleaguered story-line got riddled like Swiss cheese the moment she set foot in the Hamptons. Why did 'Mandy' go back to Jack there on the pier? Take me with you, she urged. Taxi honks. She runs off to go pay. That blood on Jack's hand? I do not understand. I just don't. Do you? Thought so.
The plot is so haphazardly idiotically we've- bitten- off-more-than-we-can- chew bad, it's laughably funny. I write stories myself, and lie awake at night shuddering at my inconsistent sequences, at least trying to hammer away at them. This is just plain Take It Or Leave It Folks, We Know It's A Goodie, You'll Tune In Next Week Whatever.
But it's one big gyp!
Oh well, we shouldn't take our TV/DVD watching too seriously, huh, screenwriters?
Perhaps I'm too demanding? Viewer rating for this currently at 9. 9!!
You lot who gave it a 9, could surely explain this stuff to me. For can't you see...???
Great leggy calves and Louboutin high heels shot of Emily (Emily VanCamp) early on, and later on, dressing for war, the full-length camera sweep... Okay, I'm an artistic kinda guy, I notice such things, I can't help it, it's a Raven trademark, and if you think it's trite, it's not nearly even nearly not even remotely nearly as trite as this sorry excuse for a plot reveal...
Anyway, where was I explaining away why I don't give it a lower score?
A nice performance by personal favorite Christa B. Allen. She has a DYNASTY's Fallon look, okay, Charlotte's a tame bunny compared to that firebrand lady, but the makings are there, and she's ticking now. With the femme fatale heroine of the story more an anti-heroine, it's as if Miss VanCamp can hold up a magic mirror and ask "who's the fairest of them all?" and the answer will be co-star Christa. The Doe! Enamored!
Which is not to say that I am missing out on the appeal of Emily VanCamp. The Tigress. Wow!
As mentioned in previous episode's reviews, I am totally in awe of the performance of Madeleine Stowe. She is a force of nature, she has aged without withering, the Hollywood air agrees with her, obviously. And the lady can act! She has an immensely strong presence, it's as if she is inwardly a black jungle cat sitting there. The Panther! Awed!
So, plenty to keep The Raven locked on. But I still feel kinda amazed by how much slack there is in the presented story. In this day and age, a total lack of credibility in a top-rated popular show! Scandalously shoddy!
Update, the next day, after watching ep. 16. This review is now recanted, major above discrepancies explained, the bit about it being Daniel that DID go down anyway. Still far from satisfactory though, so I let this stand. The whole thing plays out ex- treeeeeemly unlikely. Follow my comments in further episode by episode reviews.
Just watched, and I'm really not sure just exactly how much everybody's conned into accepting something that wouldn't have occurred this way. It doesn't happen in real time, so we are left to figure it out ourselves? So, Tyler's the one that got shot, I figured that out episodes ago. But the scene of the crime just doesn't make sense. I expected it wouldn't be cleared up, and it's most certainly not. The producers just couldn't pull off the lie, and didn't do much to hide that fact.
What's gonna happen to 'Amanda' now, driven off by the Sensei, a totally out-of-place contrived character? Gonna get turned into sushi? Much as I like Margarita Levieva, it would be for the greater good of the story if fake/actually original (hoo! confusing!) Amanda vaporizes, for the beleaguered story-line got riddled like Swiss cheese the moment she set foot in the Hamptons. Why did 'Mandy' go back to Jack there on the pier? Take me with you, she urged. Taxi honks. She runs off to go pay. That blood on Jack's hand? I do not understand. I just don't. Do you? Thought so.
The plot is so haphazardly idiotically we've- bitten- off-more-than-we-can- chew bad, it's laughably funny. I write stories myself, and lie awake at night shuddering at my inconsistent sequences, at least trying to hammer away at them. This is just plain Take It Or Leave It Folks, We Know It's A Goodie, You'll Tune In Next Week Whatever.
But it's one big gyp!
Oh well, we shouldn't take our TV/DVD watching too seriously, huh, screenwriters?
Perhaps I'm too demanding? Viewer rating for this currently at 9. 9!!
You lot who gave it a 9, could surely explain this stuff to me. For can't you see...???
Great leggy calves and Louboutin high heels shot of Emily (Emily VanCamp) early on, and later on, dressing for war, the full-length camera sweep... Okay, I'm an artistic kinda guy, I notice such things, I can't help it, it's a Raven trademark, and if you think it's trite, it's not nearly even nearly not even remotely nearly as trite as this sorry excuse for a plot reveal...
Anyway, where was I explaining away why I don't give it a lower score?
A nice performance by personal favorite Christa B. Allen. She has a DYNASTY's Fallon look, okay, Charlotte's a tame bunny compared to that firebrand lady, but the makings are there, and she's ticking now. With the femme fatale heroine of the story more an anti-heroine, it's as if Miss VanCamp can hold up a magic mirror and ask "who's the fairest of them all?" and the answer will be co-star Christa. The Doe! Enamored!
Which is not to say that I am missing out on the appeal of Emily VanCamp. The Tigress. Wow!
As mentioned in previous episode's reviews, I am totally in awe of the performance of Madeleine Stowe. She is a force of nature, she has aged without withering, the Hollywood air agrees with her, obviously. And the lady can act! She has an immensely strong presence, it's as if she is inwardly a black jungle cat sitting there. The Panther! Awed!
So, plenty to keep The Raven locked on. But I still feel kinda amazed by how much slack there is in the presented story. In this day and age, a total lack of credibility in a top-rated popular show! Scandalously shoddy!
Update, the next day, after watching ep. 16. This review is now recanted, major above discrepancies explained, the bit about it being Daniel that DID go down anyway. Still far from satisfactory though, so I let this stand. The whole thing plays out ex- treeeeeemly unlikely. Follow my comments in further episode by episode reviews.
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