Sanctuary – The mob episode, with Michael Shanks as “The Marsupial”

Last week’s oil rig episode ended with Will and Helen treading water, lost at sea with no rescue in sight. Apparently, such happenings are commonplace enough that the writers felt no need to explain how they survived. (A clue: no.)

This week, “Penance” featured Michael Shanks’ long-awaited guest role as Jimmy, an abnormal with a sort of kangaroo pouch that he uses to smuggle dangerous things like guns, bombs, and Tunisian fire elementals. Jimmy brings the mob to town after stealing an elemental from Chicago gangsters led by the Duke, an abnormal with serious anger management problems.

Quick! Dial the cliché police while I finish eating my deep dish pizza and Chicago style hot dog and then take the El to Wrigley Field to watch the Cubs play the Sox!

Yeah, the gangster stuff was a bit much, especially the cheesy mob lair (though I liked the golf club scene). As a Chicagoan, I will acknowledge that they got a lot of details right, but they also managed to hit a lot of clichés. I mean, Jimmy and Kate even had the Cubs-fan-or-Sox-fan conversation.

Still, I enjoyed Shanks’ performance and the character he played. I liked Jimmy’s banter with Kate (“You stopped breathing, so I took the opportunity to make out with you”) and the ambiguity early on about whether he’s really a good guy or not. I found it quite touching when he put his gun down and was ready to let Kate shoot him. He seemed so sincerely sorry about his past, while never getting emotional.

Shanks’ performance notwithstanding, the connection between Kate and Jimmy was too much of a coincidence. He just happened to be the guy who killed her dad? That’s such a contrived way to reveal Kate’s backstory, and it didn’t succeed in making me like her more.

Although I appreciate the fact that they cast an Indian actress in an action role, I find her character and her entire story unconvincing. As an Indian girl who really did grow up in Chicago, I simply cannot swallow my disbelief long enough to imagine her dad working for a gang. Indians who manage to get to America don’t come all this way to pick locks.

So, back to the episode. I expected a little more sorrow from Helen after her friend of ten years blew himself up in front of her eyes. On his dramatic death, all she has to say is, “He’d been living with the guilt for so long — it must have been a relief.” Last week, I wrote that Helen Magnus really does have feelings. Well, I take it back. Shed a tear, woman!

Some other fun things:

• I loved it when Henry walked in on the homeless guys cooking hot dogs in their abandoned building. He seemed so apologetic about interrupting their dinner.
• Will and Jimmy didn’t have any scenes together. Last season, viewers were complaining that Will was too similar to Shanks’ Stargate character, Daniel Jackson. For that reason, I wanted to see the two of them in a scene together. After viewing this episode, I’d say Will is small and wimpy by comparison.
• And now you know what to give a mermaid for her birthday.

Clacked by Ruby T.
on Dec 12, 2009 @ 08:47 EST5EDT