Melanie's Review
Laurie's Review
Melanie's Review:I haven't counted The Edge among my favorites in the past, but on this viewing I'm finding that it's growing on me. It's sharp and well paced, with a good balance of drama and humor. As is rarely the case on Due South, Fraser is actually doing his own job--so we don't spend any precious time coming up with an excuse for him to be sticking his nose in. Including a Mexican agent was a special treat, and showing her as a sympathetic, competent, confident person wins big extra points from me.
It's quite a change to see Fraser experiencing self-doubt, and trying to hide his self-doubt from everyone else. A nice change from his usual superior self-confidence. I do think the first dream sequence was a little overdone--they got their point across in the first few seconds and the rest seemed like piling it on. Let's move on! Dief's dream sequence, however, was my favorite moment of the show.
There's real tension in the airport scene, with excellent use of the space and numerous extras to create confusion. Did he see a gun, or didn't he? There was so much going on in that scene, I can't tell. (Minor nitpick: if security is that big an issue, don't bring the VIP's through the public corridors of the main terminal.) But having Fraser call a false alarm in such a public place was an excellent way to spotlight the central issue of the episode--that Fraser may have lost his edge.
"You--you stick to your strengths." And Fraser sits down to write placecards. What a zinger! Of course, another of Fraser's strengths is to disobey orders and go off on his own.
Bob is at the top of his game in this episode. His here again, there again presence is a delightful irritant. So much whimsy, peaking as Bob goes off in pursuit of Lacroix with his dogsled. (And baby Buster is in the chase, too!)
Lacroix's long monologue in Fraser's dark apartment was a gem. How often do we get such a long, careful exploration of a villain's motivations? His perspective seemed to teeter on the brink of sanity, while his history led me to view him very sympathetically. Interestingly enough, PG had just about nothing to do in this scene but react with almost no emotion at all. This was a star turn for the actor playing Lacroix.
Nitpick of the Week:There are at least four different agencies involved in providing security for this conference: RCMP, Chicago PD, Secret Service and whatever agency Anita works for. The episode opens with a very long sequence in which members of the various agencies run through a training exercise--all but Anita wearing elaborate all-black uniforms. Yet they never wore those uniforms during the actual conference--in fact, they seemed to be quite properly inconspicuous in business suits and evening wear. Why bother outfitting all your agents with fancy matching uniforms if they're not going to use them?
Runner-up Nitpick of the Week:
Fraser: Ray-Ray-Ray please. Please please. This entire situation was my fault.
Anita: The American shot him. Why is he apologizing?Good point, Anita. Why is Fraser so bothered by the outcome of the exercise? There was a (pardon the expression) Mexican standoff, nobody had a clear shot, and Anita tried to take control of the situation by biting her "captor" and trying to break loose. Well that ended the standoff, but then Ray shot Fraser. I still don't see when the ersatz villain had a chance to "kill the Secretary of State." But more importantly, why is any of this Fraser's fault?
Overly Picky Nitpick of the Week:
Bush: Did you observe anything about this person, Constable?
Fraser: I observed many things. His most salient feature was his hands. He spent a lot of time out of doors. He worked with his hands.If Fraser noticed that they were the hands of a man who spent a lot of time in the outdoors, why didn't he notice that the infiltrator was black? And what about describing the voice?
I recall someone reporting that the break-in at the Prime Minister's residence was a real event. I love little details like that. ;-)
Duesies:Ray: Look it was a simple mistake.
Fraser: No it was a miscalculation and I haven't made a miscalculation since....
Ray: Since when?
Fraser: Well-since the last time you shot me. I'm just grateful you had the presence of mind to shoot me again.
Ray: Well it wasn't my fault. She jumped the gun.
Anita: She heard that.
Ray: I know.Helms: Okay, listen up. The psych boys in Washington have been working overtime. We gotta profile on our man based on his letter. First, he's a woman.
Anita: What?
Casey: One of those retro-fifties types. You know, ban the bomb, kiss a whale. Your typical sandal wearing, lavender smelling--
Bush: --granola crunching, tree hugging--
Helms: --subversive.Fraser: Is this a dream, or are you still dead?
Robert: Still dead, son, thanks for asking.Fraser: Our man is one hundred ninety two point five centimeters in height and weighs . . . one hundred and nineteen kilos.
Robert: And fifty two grams.
Fraser: You can't possible know that.
(For those of us still using the imperial system, 52 grams is less than two ounces.)
Guest Star of the Week:Ken Foree as Macon Lacroix
Dief Moment of the Week:His nightmare of being replaced in the dogsled team.
Snack to enjoy while watching "The Edge:Coffee. French Roast. (Because you're a connoisseur.)
Grading:
Fraser's self-doubt A- (points taken off for over-the-top dream sequences) The NAFTA plot A Anita Cortez A (they should have let her do something other than kvetch) Lacroix A+ Overall Grade A
Laurie's Review:The Edge has always strongly appealed to me and though I don't like everything about it, it's still one of my top ten. As with so many episodes, this one has the perfect blend of drama and humor. It works on several different levels, the main story being the NAFTA summit, and the more intriguing substories spring from this. It's a real treat seeing Ben struggling with self-doubt and bad dreams, the best aspect of this ep. We see him sweat, flinch and vacillate, and when he's removed from the security detail, he looks rather unkempt with his slightly mussed hair and unbuttoned shirt.
Interesting that the three Secret Service agents are uniformly short, and though they don't seem to be considerably younger than Ben, he feels so much older. The boy agents who appear in his dreams used to annoy me until I realized that's how Ben perceives them, and he's made to feel like an old man every time they bring up age-related pitfalls. Even Dief, who's still in his prime, feels somewhat inadequate, and I can't help feeling bad for him when he's referred to as "old-timer" and replaced by a young pup.
The journey into Macon LaCroix's mind is executed perfectly. I see him more as a victim than villain but he's a chilling character. He seems to know Ben so well and considers him an ally (they know each other, he says) yet he thinks Ben will help him carry out his plan to kill the ambassador. The music playing while LaCroix is in Ben's apartment fits the mood perfectly.
Anita Cortez is strong and competent. I don't see her as a stereotypical damsel in distress. She never loses her cool, even in the face of deadly danger, and more importantly, she can hold her own against Ray's acerbic tongue. The barbs don't stop but they come to respect one another. Definitely a character who should have returned.
Bob is marvelous. He's been a ghostly presence in Ben's life for quite awhile by this time but their relationship takes on a new dimension, due in part to Ben's troubled sleep and doubts about his ability. At one point Ben asks, "Is this a dream or are you still dead?" and Bob replies, "Still dead, Son." When Bob joins him in bed Ben insists he's dreaming while Bob thinks Ben is awake. I love it when Ben tells Bob to move his shoulder.
The entire story is superb but there are many individual moments that stand out. Some of my favorites are:
Ben asking Ray if they shouldn't invite Ms. Cortez. Ray says that she's busy and is met with that "look" when Ben turns around.
Ray ducking when Ben calls "duck." "Duck means duck, duck doesn't mean duck," nicely illustrated by the flapping of his hands and arms.
Ray telling Anita to give him something flat, like a nail file, after she steps on the mine. She hands him a knife. Great expressions from both following that.
The end scene between Meg and Ben. Their interaction is true to form.
The music in this ep is some of the best I've heard. It's so subtle and blends in beautifully. The opening music while the assault team is moving towards the building was also used in The Wild Bunch.
Nitpicks:The out-of-place rabbit and duck. The rabbit looks and acts like someone's 4-H project (and it's tied in place), and the duck, of course, is only there so that Ray can duck when Ben tells him to. Come on, a duck sitting in the snow in the woods during the winter.
This isn't really a nitpick, more along the lines of an observation. When Ben runs through the trees into the clearing he's covered with snow. LaCroix comes up behind him, he starts to turn, still covered with snow. Next shot of Ben, there's not a speck of snow on him. He falls to the ground and has snow on him again. He turns twice (more accurately, Ben turns and then his double turns). It's also obvious that Bob is not the sled driver.
Duesies:Anita: The American shot you.
Ben: I don't think he intended to.
Meg: Thank you, we clean our own personnel here.
(I love the expressions on everyone's faces while Meg is cleaning her personnel)Ben to Dief: I made a mistake. No, I made two mistakes. Oh boy. They say your muscle tone and reflexes start to go in your early 20s. Of course, in your case that would be in your early threes.
Anita: Do you make an effort to be obnoxious or is it just a gift?
Ray: It's just a gift.Ben: Agent Helms.
Helms: You sneaky son of a. . .
Ben: Yes, that's quite true. . .LaCroix: What do you know about survival?
Ben: At the moment, very little it would seem.
Dief moment:Dreaming about being replaced.
Grade:A+ since I can't find anything monumentally wrong with it.
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