FilmSnobReviews

Title:The Bridge
Network:FX
Airtime: Wednesday 10 PM
Starring: Demian Bichir, Diane Kruger, Matthew Lillard, Adriana Mendez, Ted Levine, Thomas M. Wright

About Episode: “The Eye of the Deep”: The title, at least on the surface, refers to David Tate’s gouged out right eye. As the episode opens, we see David Tate, Marco’s son’s killer, mopping the floor in prison. But we know that this is really the beginning of Marco’s revenge and his indebtedness to Galvan, whose influence allows the entire plan to go forward. After all, it is hard to get close to a federal prisoner and even harder if you are not a prisoner there. The plan provides for Marco to get into prison and next to Tate, but he does not kill him. Instead, he thumbs Tate’s gouged out eye, again. That was a difficult scene to watch, and I wonder if this will come back on Marco, as Galvan understood that Marco wanted to Kill Tate not torture him.

What We Think: This is perhaps the strongest episode thus far. While the show does well developing the motley crew of characters, it also pays mind the larger developments. Recently, several banks have been charged with laundering cartel drug money: USBS had to pay billions in fines, but of course no jail time for any of the people involved. So when a CIA agent McKenzie arrives to tell DEA agent Buckley to stop looking into Crupo Glia Internacional , it seems ripped right from current events. As the McKenzie tells Buckley, it’s the scale of the crime not necessarily the crime itself and apparently, Galvon is small time in the eyes of the CIA—and that is truly terrifying. Why is the CIA even interested? Adriana and Daniel may well find out.

Our Grade: A. The expansion into the highest levels of power is a fascinating development and makes the episode feel real and honest. The world in The Bridge is not so different from the one we have now, sadly. But what drives, or least influences, many of the characters is a sense of justice. While justice is often elusive in the real world, I wonder if it will be in The Bridge. Another interesting development concerns the Mexican Prosecutor, who, like many good-intentioned people, is at serious risk. Sonya saves him, but for how long. And now Sonya, as Galvan intimates, is in grave danger. The Bridge continues to be one of the strongest shows on TV.