Writer: Nichole Beattie
Director: Jeremy PodeswaCast: Austin Nichols (John Monad), Rebecca DeMornay (Cissy Yost), Luke Perry (Linc Stark), Keala Kennelly (Kai), Brian Van Holt (Butchie Yost), Greyson Fletcher (Shaun Yost), Ed O'Neill (Bill Jacks), Paul Ben-Victor (Palaka), Luis Guzman (Ramon), Emily Rose (Cass), Dayton Callie (Freddie), Chandra West (Tina Blake), Paula Malcomsen (Jerri), Matthew Maher (Dwayne) & Garret Dillahunt (Dr. Smith)
Linc's reign at Stinkweed is challenged, Dwayne considers Shaun's internet profile and Dr Smith tends to a poisoned Palaka...After the improvement last week (I say "improvement", but what I really mean is "something exciting happened"), I was expecting the show to start picking up the pace and pulling together its plot strands. I was wrong. A few things develop, most notably with Linc Stark (Luke Perry), but it's basically business as usual.
What becomes clear with His Visit, Day Six is that nobody remembers the "cookout speech" from John Monad last week. It seems they were all bewitched at the time, or had their memories erased, so there are no huge proclamations of divinity in their midst. Even Cissy Yost (Rebecca De Mornay), who witnessed John outside her window, armed with unknowable knowledge about her abuse of Butchie (Brian Van Holt), hardly bats an eyelid when John turns up again.
The episode also introduces a few more characters. First there's internet geek Dwayne (Matthew Maher), who had a small role last week, but whose placing in the Yost pantheon of "hangers-on" is made clearer. Dwayne runs the Yost website and has noticed the site's getting more hits after Shaun's "miracle" (a so-called "halo effect").
Then there's Jerri (Paula Malcomsen), a friend of Kai's who helped her hide Butchie's surfboards so he couldn't sell them to get more dope. Speaking of whom, Butchie finally realizes his addiction has left him (no doubt a result of John's presence), so it looks like his character might blossom.
Maybe that's the point of this show. Everyone's affected by John (whether they know it, or not), so perhaps the last episode will cleverly have turned every unlikeable or questionable characters into a decent citizen?
The Yost family are particularly difficult to like, although I have a fondness for Butchie's bluster. Cissy's screeching was given context last week, but she's still hard-going. Shaun remains either tortuously wooden, or cleverly restrained. I suspect the former. Mitch (Bruce Greenwood) remains absent for the second episode in a row, building expectation as to how he'll return, and in what state...
The best plot in episode 7 is probably that of Linc, whose business, Stinkweed, is finally shown and his role given some depth. I particularly liked his handling of an in-house rival, who tries to dig some dirt on Linc through conquest Tina (Chandra West). Linc is still quite an odd presence, as his dealings with the Yost's haven't ended well, perhaps hinting that he's the disruptive "evil influence" to John's "calming good"?
I disliked a subplot with Palaka (Paul Ben-Victor), primarily because it comes out of nowhere. Here, Freddie's simple-minded henchman, is poisoned by a bad tattoo and helped by Dr Smith (Garret Dillahunt). It's interesting enough once it gets going, particularly when Freddie shows some emotion for his suffering friend, but it's very out of left-field. Still, Garret Dillahunt's performance is becoming something of a rock in the rapids of John From Cincinatti. It's just nice to have someone who doesn't talk in riddles and generally reacts normally to situations!
The problem with the show is it has intriguing characters, moments of beauty, solid acting, deep writing... but nothing holds it all together. It just doesn't play with the accepted TV rules; which is admirable, but rules are established for a reason...
Posthumous Review
Written: 2 August 2007
HBO
