It’s been a couple of weeks between my reviews of NBC’s (recently renewed!) Aquarius, but I’m back now with a look at Episode 7, “Cease to Resist.” If you read this before it airs, be aware of some spoilers throughout. As usual, though, I’ll try to keep these light and talk more about the overall episode as a whole.
“Cease to Resist” begins with Charlie deciding to take matters into his own hands after his previous confrontation with Sam, and he heads over to the Hodiak house after finding the address in the phone book (hey, we’re still in 1968, remember?). Unfortunately, though, Sam doesn’t live at his house after his separation from his wife, so he instead runs across Hodiak’s partner. The situation manages to get resolved, but not in the way that Manson would like.
Meanwhile, Emma is continuing her descent into her new life while Sam uses the department’s FBI liaison to find information on his son as he begins to work a new case. Luckily for us, in my opinion, this case involves Paramount Pictures. Ever since we found out that Hollywood would play at least somewhat of a role in Aquarius, I’ve been looking forward to seeing its portrayal of the film industry during the time period. As with everything else in Aquarius, the set pieces are absolutely on-point. It’s pretty incredible to me how well this show has managed to capture the era in which its set, especially after the standard that has been set on television on other series, such as Mad Men.
I’ve mentioned it in previous reviews, but I’m really enjoying Aquarius‘s characterization and growth of Charmaine. It’s nice how the show is managing to show us how horrible it was for women in the “man’s world” of law enforcement during the time period, but I’m really liking how she looks up more and more to Sam. The show is managing to use him in a mentor-type role without actually making him a mentor. This allows the interactions between the two to be very poignant while not limiting Charmaine’s storyline by only allowing her to be in scenes with him. Claire Holt’s acting also really helps out this portrayal, and I’m amazed after every single episode at just how much talent is present in this cast.
Another aspect of “Cease to Resist” that makes it stand out is its inclusion of 1960s homosexuality. This is something that we haven’t gotten to see much of in Aquarius. As interesting as this is to see in and of itself, it also shines some light on prejudices held by Brian Shafe. Shafe is a good man and is usually portrayed as the show’s moral compass, but “Cease to Resist” helps show that, as good as he may be, nobody is perfect. It goes a long way to help humanize these characters even more.
I feel even better about letting myself get hooked on Aquarius now that it’s gotten picked up for a future season, and “Cease to Resist” was a great episode to jump back into. This show is really firing on all cylinders, and I’m hopeful that, despite its low ratings, it has the power to continue on for a long time.
Have you been enjoying the first season of Aquarius? What are your thoughts on its second season renewal? Let us know in the comments below!
[Photo via NBC]
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