cm reviews

I've been putting off writing this review for a long time - not because I have nothing to say, but rather because I love this episode a lot and feel I need to be verbose and articulate with what I say. The short version is, 'I love Counter-Measures so much and I think it's brilliant and I think this episode highlights what works about this format really well'. In longer form, I think the core of why this series is so good is its characters. Let me break this down a little. 

The actual plot of this episode revolves around an ex-colleague of Rachel who has stolen her research and used it to create a 'thinking machine' which is aided by people working on it while jacked up on hallocinogenic drugs. And of course, the machine has taken control of their minds. And now it's making them kill themselves. 

Rachel Jensen is, as always, the shining star of this episode. Her one-liners are sharp and cutting, her complete confidence in herself is a delight, and her furore over her research is a thing to behold. With a character such as this, how do you explore her doubts and insecurities - if she even has any? The answer is, of course, her own machine mind controlling her. By allowing SenGen into her head, we're able to dig into her frustrations of being overlooked and undervalued. Obviously, Rachel Jensen doesn't really doubt her own value, but I think it's a brilliant angle that they take in this episode to show that presumably years of comments have been taking their toll on her. And because this is Rachel, her response to the doubts in her head is to decide that she simply must bomb Toby's office. What a legend.

Meanwhile, Allison is also affected by SenGen. However, Allison hasn't got Rachel's mental resolve and she is plagued by her own self-doubt, and desperation to prove that she is good enough for her job, and aching need to believe that she's loved. At the same time that she and Rachel are investigating SenGen, she's being stood up 'yet again' by her rubbish boyfriend Julian who seems more interested in literally anything else except her. Which is why, when he abandons her on their anniversary, she drinks wine with Rachel - the same night that Rachel sends a bomb to Toby - and goes over to Julian's place to cut all his clothes to shreds. We love women who choose violence. Of course, I'm writing this with all the foreknowledge of the series to come, and with the deepest love in my heart for Allison Williams, so it's easy for me to roll my eyes at Julian proposing to Allison a little later on when SenGen is affecting her into pointing a gun at him. We're supposed to believe that SenGen has absolutely no power over him because he has no doubt in his love for Allison - which is exactly what she needs to hear. And of course he's lying. Someone catch this girl a break.

While the episode is exploring doubt with Rachel and Allison, over with Ian it's focussing on regret and missed chances. It's obvious enough that the creatives working on CM believe in the romance between Ian and Rachel (a point I highly disagree with, but that's for another time). However, what I find deeply compelling about Ian Gilmore and the way he treats his team is the upmost respect he has for them. When Rachel is doubting herself - even though he's still a little sore that she's stolen the ICMG leadership away from him, he doesn't hesitate in reassuring her that she is a great leader and a great scientist. And he means it. This, I suppose, makes Gilmore the best of them - he's honest and sincere, and might be a little emotionally closed but the true thing that makes him special is how much he cares. Again, we see this with Nadia, the Czech scientist he had a fling with at the end of the war. It's obvious enough that he never truly got over her, but he doesn't let that get in the way of his respect for her intellect. And at the end when she dies, his stiff upper lip act is quite truly heartbreaking.

Finally, Sir Toby Kinsella, the enigma that he is. At this point, we don't know much about him except that he's wily and manipulative, and that Rachel hates him. He's pulling the strings in the background, and though he could easily be cartoonishly evil, he's not. His apology to Rachel after the whole bomb incident where he tells her he's sorry for not valuing her work enough - I think this tells you everything you need to know about him. He understands Rachel's utility on the team, and he needs to keep her. And to do this, he needs to make her feel respected. He's a very interestng character, and watching his layers peel back as the episodes go on is absolutely fascinating.

I could say more. Indeed, I don't even know if I've said all I wanted to say. But the review of this episode is, it's a wonderful character piece with excellent sound design, brilliant acting, and a story that has been eating away at my mind since I heard it, and no doubt will continue to. What a series!