Alan Shore, the title character, is a man who can see the evil in people. He is cynical and dark. But through his darkness, he gets what needs doing done, though often through less than savoury methods. Katie Lloyd, however, is his opposite. Where he sees darkness and evil in the world, she sees what is inherently good in man. And that is what makes this episode so great. In past episodes, Joseph Washington was shown to be this huge, evil man with past criminal convictions. He even looks like the bad guy, and it sets up Katie's personality as she grows to care for him. In this episode, he is denied rights and is hated by the town he chose to live in due to an unfair and wrong rape charge. She manages to make the charge disappear, but the town still urges him to leave. In the end, and if you have not seen this episode, this is the largest spoiler, he is murdered by someone from the town. Katie then chooses to go to the Church and speak on his behalf and pray for him. This show is dark, at times. But Katie is like a light that shows the beauty of some people, while at other times throughout this show we only see what is ugly. Her ability to see the best in a man that is initially shown to be a brutish rapist/murderer is the one quality that is such a refreshing change. Of all the characters that would come and go throughout the series, Katie will always be one of my favourites, for this reason entirely.
Review of Hope and Gory
