'The Bridge' FX Reviews and Recap: Season 1, Episode 12 - 'All About Eva' Returns Focus to Missing Girls
It wasn't much of a surprise that "The Bridge" chose to return its focus to the missing girls of Juarez. After a huge chunk of the season was spent searching for the mysterious Beast, David Tate's story was finally (?) put to rest. Missing girls might not seem as compelling or in-your-face as a crazy serial killer. But like I've said before, the stories on "The Bridge" don't need to be compelling on their own. The characters and the environment are what makes this show compelling, and "All About Eva" showed this to the full extent.
This episode was slow. Not much happened. With all the excitement during last week's episode, which felt like the season finale, I didn't expect last night's installment to have the same amount of intensity. What we're looking at is quite simple now; the missing girls of Juarez has always been in the background of this show. Now that Tate's storyline is more or less finished, this story has come to the forefront, thanks to Linder and Sonya.
Linder made his glorious return after a two-episode absence, and guess what? His would-be bride Eva was missing. That is a huge maybe, by the way. Eva decided that she wasn't feeling the creep priest-ranch life, and decided to hightail it back to Juarez, only to immediately be led into the its world of corrupted cops. This involved being drugged and raped. What's unclear is Eva's motivation for leaving. In the pilot, she wanted Linder to take her to El Paso. Then, she wanted him to let her go. Then, she was all cool with living on the ranch. Now, all of the sudden, she decided to go back to the place she had originally wanted to escape. Eva still seems more like a plot device than an actual character, but maybe that will change in the finale or next season if she survives. (sidenote: FX has renewed the show for Season 2!).
Anyway, Linder wanted to find Eva and enlisted Sonya to help. Sonya agreed, as this seemed like a good way to get Marco to get back to work; specifically get back to work with her. Over a month passed since Gus's death, and Marco is a complete mess. If Demian Bichir has any chance for an Emmy nomination for this show, last night's episode may have been his best bet. Drunken and broken Marco was both comical and saddening to watch. He's been sleeping in Gus's bed every night, and well, drinking himself into a stupor every night. He didn't want to be bothered by Sonya, who forced him to interact with her. Although Marco said he didn't need anyone, he obviously needed Sonya to help him recover from last week's tragedy.
Diane Kruger was once again phenomenal, and it was a pleasure to see Sonya show some natural human emotion again. She cares for Marco and Marco cares for her, which is one thing that the show has done a great job of exploring. The missing girls of Juarez, many of whom have been at the hands of the Juarez police, were enough to get Marco to return to somewhat of his old self. Next week's finale will presumably have Marco and Sonya trying to find Eva, which may possibly lead to some sort of showdown between El Paso PD and the Juarez police.
Stray bullets
- Charlotte made a deal with Galvan, so she's basically the new Graciela, who was right. The two are alike, which could foreshadow Charlotte's demise. Also, where's Ray?
- Adriana's awkward family life was further explored in this episode, and it was great. Her mom knew she was a lesbian and kicked her out of the house, which Adriana may or may not have paid for since she's the only one with a steady job.
- I wasn't sure what to make of the final scene with Linder and the graves of the dead Juarez girls. He's just all around a weird guy.
- Frye is now in a wheelchair, but he's still as much of a funny jerk as he ever was.
- "My bride is missing."
- "The Bridge" may be going on hiatus after next week, but FX's next drama "American Horror Story: Coven" is just beginning. That will be a blast to recap.