Review: The Event 1.03 "Protect Them From The Truth"

Ah, there's that emotional core I was looking for!

In last week's review, I noted how The Event was essentially two stories trying to work as one. This week, the two have finally found some kind of peaceful co-existence, though they briefly rubbed against each other towards the end.

Sean Walker doesn't really know it yet, but he's caught up in a giant conspiracy. Like Yorick in Y: The Last Man, however, he's focused on one singular goal: finding his girlfriend. That gives him the drive needed to keep the story pushing slowly forward, but leaves the vague "truth-is-out-there" search by the wayside. He even manages to convince an FBI agent to help him in this episode, thanks largely to the interference of government agents under the command of Laila's kidnappers.

Yes, government agents. On the President Eli side of things, the layers of conspiracy are reaching mind-numbing levels. This time, however, we finally meet the "alien" who was willing to give up his people for freedom -- a choice Sophia was not going to make. Unfortunately, he met a simple, yet effective, tragic ending at the hands of his girlfriend Maya. This works just fine for Blake Sterling, who continues to insist that everything be under his complete control.

"Protect Them From The Truth" features the best use of the flashback structure to date. In previous episodes, I felt that the flashbacks were too long and too expository, though I understood how they were meant to function within the structure of the episode. With all the major background information out of the way, flashbacks are now shorter and contain only the information necessary to move the plot forward or develop a character a little bit more. I'm not sure if the show can continue to survive on cliffhanger endings, but the meat of the episodes is now in place, and on a narrative level, it works.

Another thing I really appreciated about this episode was the moments that defined each of the major characters. Sean is desperate, but he's also smart, a fact that was established by the end of the teaser (one of my favorite teasers so far this season). Blair Sterling tells his partner to keep the discovery of Sean Walker on a "need-to-know" basis and, in an earlier scene, politely and tersely tells a superior that his concern for "who investigates the investigator" is noted. He's tough and unreasonable, a combination that's sure to get him trouble soon enough.

I'm still not 100% sure where the show intends to go with its sci-fi elements, but -- dare I say? -- the rest of the show is actually pretty good. It's a joyful cohabitation of LOST and 24, a combination that can provide solid storytelling now that the boring expository scenes have been cleaned out. There's still work to be done, but the way ahead for The Event is lit much brighter than any other serialized show attempted by any other network -- notably Flashforward, which had a much more interesting premise but stumbled far too much far too quickly.

So I guess I've made my judgment: I'm along for the ride. Look for reviews a day or two after the episode airs -- I want to know where this is going!