‘Briarpatch’ Episode 3: Is the series’ attempt to retain mystery hurting its characters?
Only three episodes in and USA Network’s ‘Briarpatch’ already has us suspecting everybody in the home town of Texas for the tragic death of Felicity Dill’s (Michele Weaver). Allegra Dill (Rosario Dawson), who is on a mission to track down her sister’s killer, is faced with one too many obstacles in a city that’s bound in corruption.
In Episode 3 of ‘Briarpatch’, titled ‘Terrible, Shocking Things’, Allegra’s effort to put together the pieces of evidence surrounding Felicity’s demise only opens the door to newer suspects.
The latest episode undeniably had an intriguing plotline. However, it seems like ‘Briarpatch’ in order to tightly hold on to its mystery factor has introduced us to several subplots that have clearly sidelined its character.
‘Terrible, Shocking Things’ saw the police chief Kim Dickens (Eve Raytek) work with Mayor Antonio Salazar to frame Floyd Ferness (Jon Beavers) for Felicity’s death, which is indicative of his involvement in Allegra’s sister’s murder. Even before we could achieve any clarity about his true intentions, AD Singe (Edi Gathegi) was brought into the picture, as yet another suspect in the mysterious death of his friend.
Although Singe has maintained innocence before Allegra, his most exquisite kind of interest in Felicity’s death is indicative of something beyond our comprehension.
In the same episode, Allegra is seen being suspicious of Jake Spivey (Jay R. Ferguson) after his deposition gets stolen. She blatantly asks him if he blew up her sister. And, in the later segment of ‘Terrible, Shocking Things’, we saw Allegra walk in on Harold Snow (Timm Sharp) while he was rummaging through Felicity’s stuff, on the pretext of looking for one of his things.
Harold, who until now was only a lousy neighbor of Felicity’s trying hard to make ends meet with his rather insane girlfriend Cindy McCabe, is presented as a potential suspect. While the series tries to include new subplots in its already intricate plotline, it barely scrapes by on its characters, whose roles deserve more time on screen to be justified.
The series' effort to retain the mystery factor is commendable but for a noir which is running high on mind-boggling elements, diving deeper into the lives of the characters could have served better.
‘Briarpatch’ airs on Mondays on USA Network.