(429-word review) The structure of this episode was the most natural and least chaotic of the season, which went a long way toward making it the best for me. This season has far too much going on. It's discernible that those behind the show intended to go big after its cancellation and subsequent renewal, biting off a little more than they could chew, resulting in some pacing and structural crowding. A significant part of the coherence this time was likely due to calming down the over-ambitious act of constantly attempting to have a finger in every pie - the absence of Leary and Douglas helped - which isn't doing all that's set for this season any favors: toning down the quantity and focusing more on quality, conciseness, and condensity - allowing what's happening to breathe without constant interruptions to something else.
That was most noticeable throughout Young Jun's period in jail/the scenes of Ah Sahm and Hong's efforts to get him out, in addition to the moments on the other side with Mai Ling. As I've established in my review of the prior episode, I'm most interested in those plot threads: whenever the attention is on the tongs and any of the characters within them. It was inevitable that I would like this one the most.
Father Jun's return was convenient because he was where Young Jun was rather than simply returning to Chinatown, and the nature of his return didn't have much writing leeway because the writers wrote themselves into a corner regarding how he was lumped together with Young Jun's court-order release, despite the extreme logical stretch of that. It was also unnecessary, given his earlier acceptable send-off. That closure must not have set well with the writers, leaving them unsatisfied. But there's some wiggle area to regard it as incomplete, so another send-off must be imminent: this time, a more permanent one, 100%.
In addition to going in a different direction with Young Jun and Mai Ling's double capture than the previous episode made you expect, even though it was also too obvious, thus considered unlikely - how they DIDN'T meet each other due to one being in jail and the other awaiting deportation -, this episode's ending, in a similar fashion, while expected because of an earlier scene, had an extra component to spice things up. And, to add to the sense of encompassing convolution, twists and turns. I'm kidding. It was appealing and should widen the horizon even further now that those two characters are in those situations, particularly Lee. It will be interesting to see how both plotlines develop.
That was most noticeable throughout Young Jun's period in jail/the scenes of Ah Sahm and Hong's efforts to get him out, in addition to the moments on the other side with Mai Ling. As I've established in my review of the prior episode, I'm most interested in those plot threads: whenever the attention is on the tongs and any of the characters within them. It was inevitable that I would like this one the most.
Father Jun's return was convenient because he was where Young Jun was rather than simply returning to Chinatown, and the nature of his return didn't have much writing leeway because the writers wrote themselves into a corner regarding how he was lumped together with Young Jun's court-order release, despite the extreme logical stretch of that. It was also unnecessary, given his earlier acceptable send-off. That closure must not have set well with the writers, leaving them unsatisfied. But there's some wiggle area to regard it as incomplete, so another send-off must be imminent: this time, a more permanent one, 100%.
In addition to going in a different direction with Young Jun and Mai Ling's double capture than the previous episode made you expect, even though it was also too obvious, thus considered unlikely - how they DIDN'T meet each other due to one being in jail and the other awaiting deportation -, this episode's ending, in a similar fashion, while expected because of an earlier scene, had an extra component to spice things up. And, to add to the sense of encompassing convolution, twists and turns. I'm kidding. It was appealing and should widen the horizon even further now that those two characters are in those situations, particularly Lee. It will be interesting to see how both plotlines develop.
