1.07 – John May – V Review | DauntlessMedia.net

1.07 – John May – V Review

Posted by Samuel Walters

With “John May,” V tries to establish an explicit emotional and moral context for its narrative — namely the human emotion of love can be a double-edged sword. The premise, therefore, is an interesting and engaging one. The execution, however, is clumsy and obvious, resulting in an installment whose reach exceeds its grasp.

The primary focus of the episode is one of consequence. There’s the fallout from the “John May Lives” message that the Resistance was able to broadcast. There are the repercussions of Georgie being captured by the Vs. There is the specter of Erica’s past finally catching up to her family. And, of course, there are the consequences of Ryan’s initial confrontation with John May (Michael Trucco) many years before.

The concept of love runs throughout these plot threads and gives a semblance of legitimacy to each of them. But it’s Ryan’s relationship with John May which takes prominence. As we learn, Ryan is the one responsible for hunting down and executing John May, after May had “gone native” and fallen for the emotions of being human. But Ryan doesn’t escape from his experiences unscathed. In fact, he learns from John May that emotions are important — and its a lesson which continues to motivate Ryan to this day.

In a sense, this is a rather significant amount of character development, offering not only a solid rationale for Ryan’s beliefs, but also a profound commentary on the power of love (Huey Lewis would be proud). The notion that love — the act of empathizing with others — can be transformative is compelling. And the revelation that the Vs have organized a resistance against their own kind out of love is, in fact, a very worthy development for the series.

Unfortunately, the way it’s portrayed — with a measured and wooden performance from Ryan — the message is muddled by the execution. But his performance is masterful compared to the bleating from Erica.

Yes, it’s true that Erica’s life seems to have been turned upside down by a false blood test — one which suggested that her son had a different father than her onetime husband. But her portrayal in this episode hardly evokes any semblance of sympathy. Instead, she comes off rather silly — which isn’t helpful considering how her story is supposed to fit into the overall theme of love. It’s a shame because her story is one in which love falls victim to mistrust. True, technology provided the false report, but it was her husband who lacked the faith in his wife — and the love they supposedly shared — which brought about their personal problems.

Worse still for the episode is how all of this comes to light. In a truly soapy, sudsy scenario, Lisa inexplicably drops by Tyler’s father’s place. While there she eavesdrops on Tyler’s father’s call to Erica. And it just so happens that, during this call, Dad says out loud that he’s not Tyler’s father — giving Lisa exactly the ammunition she needs to work her Visitor-y magic against Tyler and his family (eventually leading to the horrendous scene in which Erica bleats at Tyler).

What fun.

Then there’s the manner in which love can be used as a weapon. Georgie has proven to be almost superhuman in his ability to withstand excruciating physical torture at the hands of the Vs. He’s not really in danger of breaking until Anna uses images of his family being murdered as a psychological weapon — using Georgie’s love of his family against him. It’s enough that Georgie will finally ask a Fifth Column V to kill him, to avoid the pain — and to rejoin his family.

And speaking of family. There’s the silly subplot of Ryan’s wife finding a hidden safe and getting a safe employee to reset the sucker — all so that she kind find the actual medical reports detailing her rather … unique … pregnancy. Pure sudsy, soapy, sappiness.

Also of note are two subplots on the V ship. Decker suspects that Anna is up to no good. He even confronts her — but only does so to the extent that he can further his own career. And as for Anna, she’s ready to lay her eggs.

Overall Grade: C+

I did like the attempt by “John May” to create a legitimate thematic element to the story. And on that level, the episode worked. But wit was all too melodramatic (complete with the obligatory pop-song montage) to be taken seriously.

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