Scratch That. SECOND CHANCE Glitches in a Good Episode!
Episode 5 “Scratch That Glitch”
Directed by Félix Enríquez Alcalá
Written by Richard Hatem
Last week’s episode was terrible due to the tired, overused writing. This episode turns it around, proving that the show just might yet make use of its great characters and premise to their full potential. It definitely made me give it a second chance.
This episode is a breath of fresh air, especially compared to last week’s episode. The premise of this week’s episode starts out simply enough: news of Mary’s (Dilshad Vadsaria) cancer is leaked to the public the day before an important product launch. While this does cause the stock to start going down, other problems spiral out of this news leak. On a drive home, Mary’s car is shot at, prompting Jimmy (Rob Kazinsky) and Duval (Tim DeKay) to investigate any recent threats on Mary’s life.
They want her to delay the product launch, saying it’s not safe for Mary to go out in public with threats on her life, but she refuses, saying she cannot allow her company’s stock to decrease any further. They receive a ransom video from the attacker, saying if Mary does not come to meet him in a cabin in a remote location alone, he will kill one of her assistants he has kidnapped. Mary, Duval, and Jimmy go to the location, Mary succeeding in rescuing the assistant while Duval and Jimmy take down the killer.
The episode ends with two revelations. One is that Mary’s health is improving due to the transfusions. Jimmy’s DNA is evolving past what Otto (Adhir Kalyan) predicted, meaning that extra work must be put in into keeping Jimmy alive, with no knowledge of what his DNA will eventually mutate into.
Mary takes the center of attention this episode, which I love because hey, secondary lady characters getting their own episode! However, that’s not the only thing that’s great about this episode. The knowledge of her very fatal cancer is reiterated in a creative way, in that now it’s public knowledge. For anyone who’s had a private secret leaked out without knowledge or consent, her pain is readily felt. Yet she proves why she’s the head of Lookinglass. She never misses a beat; she schedules press releases and does not delay on her product, even when more immediate threats on her life become more apparent. Mary also valiantly offers herself to the butcher’s knife in an effort to save her assistant, all while fighting her fatal disease. She is the true hero of this episode, which is a refreshing change of pace. Honestly, she’s more fitting of the ‘hero’ status than the other characters of the show.
Meanwhile, Jimmy is portrayed as more unsympathetic and unwilling to cooperate with Mary, first missing his blood transfusion instead opting to go gambling. The gambling then leads to a brawl that incapacitates him from finding the person behind the death threats. Though he redeems himself later by taking down the assassin and saving Duval and Mary, he still needs work in order to fully obtain his ‘second chance’.
I also enjoyed the show’s new sympathy to Otto’s mental problems. Everyone considers him brave for volunteering to go out in public even though he is not that capable of talking to a public audience. Also when he starts to flounder at the conference they quickly bail her out.
All in all, this was a great episode full of tension and great character development, with great setup for the rest of the season being Jimmy’s mutated DNA and the uncertain future of Lookinglass.
Second Chance airs Fridays at 8/7c on FOX.
