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Episode Recap: "Night 2"
With another two strong hours under its belt, The Company is really shaping up to be the miniseries of the year, and one to watch out for come the next Emmy nominations.
Though the second section of a three-parter often suffers a little from being necessarily transitional (see the Lord of the Rings and Bourne trilogies), this episode side-stepped that trap, starting with a tried-and-true device: Open with a shocking dramatic event — say, the capture and torture of a main character (Jack) — then fall back three days to show how we got to this point.
But what looked from the previews last week to be the climax of this episode was only the beginning of the excitement. You could have made two stand-alone films out of this one’s two main set pieces: The Hungarian uprising, shot as a bloody gun battle in an urban wasteland, and the botched Bay of Pigs invasion, a full-scale beach-storming under cover of darkness that rivaled any Hollywood war movie. While "Night 1" was about the dirty business of back-room deals and international espionage, "Night 2" was about the logical conclusion of many "moves behind moves" — death and destruction.
The further we get into this story, the grimmer the picture of the CIA gets, and of the U.S. government as whole. I found myself nearly as incredulous as Jack when the Company made promise after promise to desperate foreign rebels that it couldn’t — or simply wouldn’t — keep.
And with Jack’s disillusionment plain, it seemed like the medal he was awarded for bravery was really just another shady ploy to renew his loyalty in the Company, or at least ensure he wouldn’t be shouting too loudly about America’s duplicity.
One bright spot was the welcome introduction of a more compelling romantic interest for Jack in Natascha McElhone, who first turned heads (or at least this writer’s) in 1998 with The Truman Show and Ronin. I would have liked to see more of her Elizabet, and maybe we still will; but with such a broad historical scope, I guess some characters are bound to get lost along the way, and the British freedom fighter might be one such casualty.
Finally, I’d be remiss (again) not to mention the The Company’s striking — though too brief — animated opening, a subtle nod to Alice in Wonderland that succinctly illustrates the miniseries’ down-the-rabbit-hole theme. It’s another bold choice on TNT’s part that you’d probably never see from a wooden "Big 3" miniseries. As the broadcast suits continue to ponder where all the TV-watchers have gone, The Company is yet another flashing neon sign responding "Right here."
Watch online: For clips of The Company, visit TVGuide.com’s Online Video Guide.
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Aug 12, 2007 10:25 PM
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That first hour in Hungary was so intense! The torture of Elizabet made me cringe. When it got to the Bay of Pigs part, I lost interest. Maybe because even at that point, Jack was disillusioned and he had lost his true faith.
I still think the backgorund music is too loud and makes it hard to hear the dialogue.
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Aug 13, 2007 5:18 AM
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I loved it, eventhough I missed the Night 1 episode. I hope they are planning to replay or do a marathon.
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Aug 13, 2007 11:09 AM
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Dave J - I definitely agree about the music-to-dialogue sound issue. Even with the TV blasting, I was still missing whole sentences.
stolitx - With this miniseries reportedly costing $30 million, I'd imagine TNT will be rerunning it for a long time to get their money's worth - though a showing of the prior episode each night would be really helpful for people coming into the series mid-way.
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Aug 13, 2007 12:24 PM
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I think this was 100 times better than the first two hours last week. This segment, while I agree it was very intense, really held my interest and I felt drawn into the story and the plight of the people.
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Aug 13, 2007 4:19 PM
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i am totally bummed. i got hooked on the first two hours, but then i was not able to see the next two. (i saw about 50 min of the first hour.) then i got all excited because i could catch it online--but, no! you have to have WINDOWS! why? is there some sort of agreement going on? there are formats compatible to several systems; why restrict your viewers like this? i think the show is gripping and excellent, and i am very unhappy that i have missed so much of it.
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Aug 13, 2007 5:16 PM
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I'm recording the Midnight to 2:00 am broadcast and watching it the next day. I also use captions when I watch most shows, as the music overwhelming the dialogue is a widespread problem on television. Also, the actors don't always do a good job of enunciating their words.
I was very caught up in Sunday's episode because I'm old enough to remember both of the main events that were covered. I was 15 when the Hungarian Revolution occurred and I remember reading and hearing on newscasts the debate about whether or not the United States should have sent in troops to help the revolutionaries. I also remember watching President Kennedy's mea culpa speech after the Bay of Pigs fiasco. Would that today's politicians had the guts to admit mistakes. For them, the buck doesn't stop here; it stops over there.
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Aug 14, 2007 4:47 PM
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