The Bridge - "The Crazy Place" Review

by Lee Padrick, October 9, 2013

WARNING:  This review contains spoilers.

The Bridge has wrapped up its initial season and is poised for 2014.  The Big Bad of Season 1 was defeated a few episodes ago, and we've been treated to a few episodes of Season 1.5.  A bonus thrown to the audience for tolerating David Tate?  Perhaps.

Hank (Ted Levine) and Sonya (Diane Kruger) spend some time at Hank's ranch, where he shows off his rodeo skills while Sonya decompresses.  These two characters are fun to watch, and I hope we get more of their backstory next season.  Sonya is concerned that Hank is considering retirement, but he assures her (and us) he will be back next season.

Marco (Demian Bichir) is still dealing with the aftermath of David Tate's shenanigans.  He will be working with Sonya on the "Girls of Juarez" case, but he is damaged goods.  Marco and Sonya seem to be comfortable with their partnership at this point in the show, and I look forward to seeing where their relationship goes next season.  I did think it was strange that Sonya showed up at Marco's in the middle of the night, and I must confess to getting nervous about where the writers were taking us, but thankfully she just wanted to check in with him to ensure he's OK.  I'm definitely not ready to see a romance develop between these two characters.

Frye (Matthew Lillard) and Adriana (Emily Rios) contributed for comic relief this episode, UNTIL they discovered $65 million in cartel dollars and euros at the home of a 100 year old woman they were to interview for a fluff piece at the newspaper.  These two characters have great chemistry onscreen together, and they are fun to watch.  

Charlotte (Annabeth Gish) has hired Monte Flagman (Lyle Lovett) to help her facilitate her fledgling criminal enterprise.  She is in deep with Fausto Galvan (Ramon Franco), and Ray and Cesar will assist her.  But there's a new guy in town, Arliss Fromme (Timothy Bottoms), and he seems to know a lot about Charlotte and her operation.  Not sure where his character will take us, but I can't imagine it will bode well for Ray Ray.    

And Linder has Eva back now, but she's a battered soul (physically and emotionally).  Linder is the odd character out; I can see how the others' paths will intersect again, but I can't see a plausible way to link our story back up to Linder's.  I also want to find out more about the ranch he takes the girls to.

The cliffhanger we face is whether or not Marco gets to kill David Tate, with Galvan's help.  This is a story I hope doesn't survive the break, and I would be very comfortable if the writers scratch this arc altogether.  But there's enough about this show that will guarantee I tune in for next season.
Random Thoughts:

- "Does Cesar grab my ass?"  "No, senora."

- More Lyle Lovett, please.

- Who is Millie Quintana and what's her connection to the Cartel?

- I'm still not sure what was going on with Marco and the knife.


What did you think?

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