Containment – Episode 2: I to Die, You to Live
Posted on April 30, 2016 by Kituria Gaines in Containment // 6 Comments
Previously on Containment, “Pilot”
Images: The CW
“Once we’re 48 hours disease free, we can go back to normal.” – Sabine Lommers
It’s day two of the cordon sanitaire and there is an upside: If people follow the rules, the transfer of the virus is actually preventable. The downside? In times of fear and chaos, people never follow the rules.
Stay four to six feet away from each other, stay inside, and don’t exchange bodily fluids.
The family ties are further explained. Jan and her co-worker are more than friends; they appear to share a history as orphans. Teresa’s grandfather is the old man quarantined in the hospital with the kids. If I appreciate anything about the casting of the show is they did not allow race to strictly determine who loves whom. This a show with three interracial couples and they chose not to make the characters colorblind. After a journalist records Alex breaking up an altercation between a white officer and black male, he is touted a hero. He is also accused of being the perfect token mouthpiece for the government and face for the media.
As per protocol, the government and police are controlling the information shared with the public and just when the CDC thinks it has the virus under control, Lizzie with the blonde hair throws a wrench in the plan. She was in contact with patient zero’s family and is running loose inside the cordon. The “no one in, no one out” mandate set in place by the CDC continues to place Jake at the forefront of this outbreak, and in a den of sex, drugs, and the most deadly of STIs.
Upon the discovery of dozens of potentially infected kids, Sabine pulls the trigger and the cordon sanitaire is in place indefinitely.
Teresa’s interaction with one of the infected teens puts her, the unborn child, and her ailing grandmother in danger of contracting the virus. 48 hours and they may be in the clear, but I fear grandma may not be long for this world.
While the cordon may not prevent the spread of the virus, it is successfully testing relationships. At what point do you take your cop hat off and tell your girlfriend and best friend they are going to be trapped behind an electrical fence and sturdy wall of ship containers for an indefinite period of time? At what point do you question the origins of this disease and how Sabine and her minions were so far ahead of it, yet claim it is related to terrorist activities? At what point do the riots start? When the food runs out? What is Sabine’s end game? Unlike my co-reviewer James, I did not watch the original Belgian series, so I have no inside information on how this story will unfold but I am dying to find out. I’m also growing hesitant of physical contact.
Containment – Episode 2
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Plot – 8/108/10
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Performances – 8.5/108.5/10
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Dialogue – 7/107/10
Summary
The performances felt a little clunky. Last week may have been the pilot, but this felt like it was filmed first. There were some unnatural exchanges between Teresa, her grandmother and super-hero boyfriend Xander. Jake had a tantrum and the 3rd grade teacher is the one to rein him in; not really necessary, but he pulled himself together. These scenes fell a little flat, but anytime David Gyasi and Claudia Black were on screen, my hope was restored.
Victor Manning is on Containment?? What am I doing with my life??
I said the same thing!!!
It’s good but I don’t really like the way they are trying to shoehorn in some of the race stuff. For example in this headline photo that reporter character talking to the Black police major says something like “they just like having a Black man being the mouthpiece” as if the chief is being played which he’s not. And he says it in a jive voice. I didn’t like that and I wanted to punch him. Also it makes no sense because it’s Atlanta and you know the demographics of Atlanta! Plus it makes no sense for the context of the show. It’s like they are trying shoehorn it in.
I went back and forth on that exchange, and I wonder if there is a disconnect with the showrunners and their choice of location. I need to see who the producers are. Maybe they didn’t do their research and just assumed there would be racial unrest because it’s topical ans set in the South.
The grandmother referred to her dead husband as Teresa’s “actual grandfather.” Teresa is 15-16, the only grandpa she knows is the black guy at the hospital. I thought it was a very weird exchange/choixe of words.
Julie Plec (The Vampire Diaries) is the EP and you would think she’d know better having been in ATL for the past 8 years.
I keep watching but why nobody is wearing a hazmat suit at this point irks the hell outta me. He sent his cop buddy out again and dude just has his shield down over his face? Wtf??? Have none of these people seen Contagion or Outbreak? Next time I have a cop in my office, I’m straight up asking them do they have something better than a helmet with a face mask in case of viral outbreak or something.