1.02 – There Is No Normal Anymore – V Review

Posted by Samuel Walters

Ah yes. Xenophobia. After watching “There Is No Normal Anymore” I’ll say this: I’d have more respect for the series if it took a more balanced and objective approach to the notion of whether or not to let “aliens” into our country. But the sheer paranoia that infects this episode (and the series thus far) is categorically juvenile. Add in a decidedly pedestrian mystery/conspiracy plot (really, the TV world is replete with these kinds of tales) and there’s very little to distinguish V as anything more than, simply, average.

This is an episode about fear – and about how lives can quickly become consumed by and driven by fear. It’s an emotion which politicians love to prey upon during election cycles and it’s often responsible for irrational and overly aggressive behavior – by everyone. That the series seems intent on showing how fear can be vital to survival is, of course, an interesting point of view. But the inherent agenda with which it seems to be operating – that only through fear, and not through any other emotion, can survival be achieved – is myopic at best.

What the series needs is a counterbalance … someone (or something) to show that moving past fear, particularly of anything “different,” is a legitimate way to proceed. There is the beginnings of this in the character Ryan, the turncoat Visitor who is in love with a human and who wants to find peace between both sides. It’s an important point, but everyone else is acting purely through fear (Who among us is a Visitor? It could be anyone! They want to have diplomatic relations with the United States? Egads!). It’s all more than a bit silly and, truth be told, the whole interrogation angle for Erica and Jack, and their subsequent fear of the ever-present Visitor bogeymen, mark them as weak.

Oh sure, I get the counterargument about what these characters are facing. And there is a bit of plausibility in not knowing who to trust. But consider the ridiculous spat between the two in the FBI offices. They may have tried to reconcile later on in the episode, but the scene is the perfect example of how and why acting on fear is fruitless and pointless – something the whole premise of this episode (and, from the previews, the next one as well) should have taken into account.

These characters need to grow a pair. Or, at the very least, grow up. Heck, even the brat, Tyler, is more believable with his reactions to the Visitors than just about any of the main characters. About the only one who seems to be presented with any real complexity is Chad Decker, the reporter. He caved to the Visitor’s demands in the first episode, but his subsequent ruminations on the incident provide a fascination exploration of character. He certainly recognizes a meal-ticket when he sees one. But there’s just enough of a conscience to him to know that he’s not just selling out a country, but more importantly, selling out The Truth.

His choices in this episode, to use his power as a popular TV personality, make perfect sense. He manages to regain at least the semblance of a level playing field with the Visitors, while also giving voice to the other sides of the argument. It’s a small, but important point … should the series have any designs on being a legitimate drama.

Through Decker and Ryan, there is still room for this series to portray a truly balanced exploration of the issues it confronts. People ought to caution themselves to blind devotion, to empty rhetoric, and to forces that hide their true intentions. But rhetoric isn’t always empty. Sometimes it’s important to have something to believe in. And, once in a while, people do not hide their true intentions. If V can, somehow, find this balance, it can become a truly decent series.

But until then, is mired mired in mediocrity.

Overall Grade: C-

“There Is No Normal Anymore” is an episode about fear. I like the cautionary message about blind devotion to lofty ideas or charismatic figures. But when it comes to fear, the approach to the issue is, at best, simplistic. At worst, it poses a dangerously limited view of how best to react to the fear of the unknown. True, as an audience we expect that the Visitors will, ultimately, have malevolent designs on humanity. But the series thus far is less about fighting either oppression or invasion than it is about embracing fear – much to its detriment.

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Topics: Sci-Fi, TV Reviews
Filed under: V The Series