'American Rust' Episode 2 Review: Wedding and celebration in focus in slow chapter
Spoilers for 'American Rust' Episode 2 'Happy Returns'
A major portion of 'Happy Returns' diverts from the main storyline and if there were any doubts on police chief Del Harris (Jeff Daniels) having a clouded judgment in the case he was investigating. With Billy Poe (Alex Neustaedter) becoming the prime suspect in the murder of cop Pete Novick (Jim True-Frost). The episode moves swiftly from Del figuring out Billy was part of the murder and sending him off on his way with some valuable escape advice when he finds the young man lurking near the murder location.
The episode then switches to Lee English (Julia Mayorga) who returns home after her brother, Isaac (David Alvarez) vamooses from the house with a fat wad of money that his father saved for his treatment. She returns home to see the house in a dismal condition and a father who's an absolute prick when offered help. There's enough distraction after what comes as a heavy pilot. There's some reunion paving way for steamy sex, some great moments further sweetened by Kool & The Gang's 'Celebration' and very less focus on the larger picture.
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Safe to say, this is an intentional move to tie the other plot points that had less light shed on them in the first episode. The arrival of Lee spells good and bad news for Billy. Their romantic past makes him more vulnerable and throwing a spanner in his escape plans. Isaac is still in town shivering in the aftermath of the murder he and Billy have potentially committed. It is possible that Isaac was the murderer while Billy and Novick went at it. The episode ends with Billy taking a dip in the lake after burning whatever proof he could think that would tie him to the murder while Isaac skips the train that would have taken him west.
What 'American Rust' shines in is in capturing the emotions. The characters are solid and make up for the clunky writing. Hopefully, this just gets better as the episode shows enough promise that it will be an edge-of-the-seat whodunnit. 'Happy Returns' was meant to be a filler and makes an honest attempt on taking the focus away from the larger picture. This series has a lot to offer and hopefully it does. For now, Billy and Isaac are suspects and it's going to stay that way.
'American Rust' airs Sundays 10 pm ET/PT on Showtime.