So, after ending the last episode with most of the cast in danger, this episode starts by...getting several of them out of danger, as Toadie quickly transports five characters who aren't prepared for the stunt work to safety.This does, however, still leave a large number in the firing line.
What we have here is a tightly focused disaster scenario.Some elements seem convenient, for opposite reasons:Dan seems remarkably uninjured for someone who's just had a tree drop on him, Susan's MS disappears when she has to run from an inferno and Paul just happens to drive past where Karl and Susan are sheltering.On the other hand, there are a number of decisions designed to place characters in jeopardy:Kirsten running back into the blaze borders on suicidal, Steve's group take an inordinately long time to notice Nicola is missing and Paul doesn't really do a good job of checking on Kirsten before appropriating her way out, simply squinting at her from a distance.
And then there's Marco, who pretty much signs his death warrant with a comment of the "Nothing can possibly go wrong" variety.Having delayed his escape to collect Carmella's engagement ring, he is left trapped outside the building as the fire approaches and, despite a reluctance to have the actors and the fire in the same shot, the sequence is unbearably tense.It might have been better to end the episode on that rather than the arrival of the firefighters but the fact still remains that their friends are missing.
What we have here is a tightly focused disaster scenario.Some elements seem convenient, for opposite reasons:Dan seems remarkably uninjured for someone who's just had a tree drop on him, Susan's MS disappears when she has to run from an inferno and Paul just happens to drive past where Karl and Susan are sheltering.On the other hand, there are a number of decisions designed to place characters in jeopardy:Kirsten running back into the blaze borders on suicidal, Steve's group take an inordinately long time to notice Nicola is missing and Paul doesn't really do a good job of checking on Kirsten before appropriating her way out, simply squinting at her from a distance.
And then there's Marco, who pretty much signs his death warrant with a comment of the "Nothing can possibly go wrong" variety.Having delayed his escape to collect Carmella's engagement ring, he is left trapped outside the building as the fire approaches and, despite a reluctance to have the actors and the fire in the same shot, the sequence is unbearably tense.It might have been better to end the episode on that rather than the arrival of the firefighters but the fact still remains that their friends are missing.