Kill him with a cursed jack-in-the-box, of course!
First of all, I can't tell if it's the same pool that was in the beginning of "The Long Road Home". Or I don't care enough to make a screen by screen comparison. Take your pick. :)
I'm not sure if "Jack-in-the-Box" is a subtle masterpiece, or just goofy. I tend to the former. On the one hand, the idea of a lifeguard dying in a fitness center pool, knocked there by drunks, seems just a bit odd. It doesn't see like the kind of thing that makes sense on even syndicated TV, or in dramatic TV in general. Yeah, I'm sure it happens in real life occasionally, but it seems a bit too... "normal" for American TV.
The episode also uses the now-familiar trope of the antique "just happening" to be connected to someone they know, without their actually hunting it down. The production staff has avoided that most of the third season, so it's a shame they used it here. It doesn't stick out like it did in the first two seasons, because it isn't as overused as much in the third season. But it's not a thrill to see it here.
On the other hand, it's probably the most in-depth F13 has done with its antique users. Megan is a child who has lost her father. Her mother has turned to alcohol, there's nothing the police can do, and Megan is grieving. Cue Megan finding an antique jack-in-the-box, which lets her get revenge on the drunks who killed her father.
Like several second and third season episode, it puts the user in a sympathetic light. It helps that they use a child actor, as they did in "Repetition". And actress Marsha Moreau is a decent actress. She's helped by the script, by Dennis Foon. Foon is another of the writers who only worked on the show for one episode. That's a pity, or maybe the production staff asked him to do something different. In either case, "Box" is a touching tale of death and acceptance. Set to Fred Mollin's music, which helps to capture the grief and depression.
Too often on the series, death is overlooked at best, treated as a horror plot device or an inconvenience at worse. In "Box", Foon digs into the trauma of losing a loved one. And how the box and Lewis' curse exploits that.
Either way, "Jack" is a standout. There's not any body horror, and it's... quietly tragedy. I wouldn't exactly call the events of previous episodes "epic". But the events in "Jack" seems like something that could happen, and are more "realistic" (for lack of a better word). Megan makes a better villain than a dozen early-season Denis Forests or even Colm Feore. They're mostly evil, but they're not acting out their grief the way that Megan is here. Moreau not only does grief well, but she looks appropriately sinister, particularly when killing Sandra.
Despite the lack of body horror, the deaths are effective. Particularly Mike's, when he drown inside of a car going through a car wash. The real horror comes, like the 'Twilight Zone' episode when the grand mother is trying to compel her grandson to join her in suicide, is when a grief-stricken child consider suicide to be with a loved one.
We also get to see Brock come back. And back. And back. Which raises the question, what do the cursed objects do with the souls of those they kill? We saw them get whisked off into a black void in "Spirit of Television", and they seem to be trapped in the cameo in "Repetition". Here, Brock seems to be brought back against his will. And has to watch his daughter turned into basically a serial killer as she's slowly corrupted by the object. Not to mention that Brock-the-ghost appears independently to Micki. Which suggests that there's an afterlife that the objects can tap into. Yes, it's been hinted at in previous episodes, but it's interesting to see it laid out clearly here.
It's also the best of actor Wayne Best's three appearances on the show. Or at least his most sympathetic: Best does sell the part of a man brought back as part of his daughter becoming a killer, and trying to get her to stop.
Johnny gets some characterization, and Monarque gets a chance to act. It's probably his best performance to date, and there's only two new episodes left. I'm a bit tired of hearing him talk about his dead father: talk about one-note characterization. But it's better than nothing.
On the other hand, Johnny figures that the manifest entry is nothing, despite Jack's suspicions. Even with joining the team relatively recently, you'd think that Johnny would have learned to trust Jack's hunches. I guess he doesn't know what the audience knows: it's always a magical object, and usually a cursed one. If It's in the manifest, it's probably involved in the case of the week.
Wiggins doesn't have much to do except the legwork of the investigation. His closing statement seems most appropriate to the next episode, "Spirit of Television" (which precedes this episodes on the DVD), since he'll deal with grief first-hand. Robey doesn't have much to do as Micki other then set the story in motion. Because she's has a vague "friend" connection with Brock. Robey is okay, but doesn't have much to do.
Overall, "Box" is a good exploration of grief, and the strength of the episode and Foon's writing overcomes the couple of tropish story elements.
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?
First of all, I can't tell if it's the same pool that was in the beginning of "The Long Road Home". Or I don't care enough to make a screen by screen comparison. Take your pick. :)
I'm not sure if "Jack-in-the-Box" is a subtle masterpiece, or just goofy. I tend to the former. On the one hand, the idea of a lifeguard dying in a fitness center pool, knocked there by drunks, seems just a bit odd. It doesn't see like the kind of thing that makes sense on even syndicated TV, or in dramatic TV in general. Yeah, I'm sure it happens in real life occasionally, but it seems a bit too... "normal" for American TV.
The episode also uses the now-familiar trope of the antique "just happening" to be connected to someone they know, without their actually hunting it down. The production staff has avoided that most of the third season, so it's a shame they used it here. It doesn't stick out like it did in the first two seasons, because it isn't as overused as much in the third season. But it's not a thrill to see it here.
On the other hand, it's probably the most in-depth F13 has done with its antique users. Megan is a child who has lost her father. Her mother has turned to alcohol, there's nothing the police can do, and Megan is grieving. Cue Megan finding an antique jack-in-the-box, which lets her get revenge on the drunks who killed her father.
Like several second and third season episode, it puts the user in a sympathetic light. It helps that they use a child actor, as they did in "Repetition". And actress Marsha Moreau is a decent actress. She's helped by the script, by Dennis Foon. Foon is another of the writers who only worked on the show for one episode. That's a pity, or maybe the production staff asked him to do something different. In either case, "Box" is a touching tale of death and acceptance. Set to Fred Mollin's music, which helps to capture the grief and depression.
Too often on the series, death is overlooked at best, treated as a horror plot device or an inconvenience at worse. In "Box", Foon digs into the trauma of losing a loved one. And how the box and Lewis' curse exploits that.
Either way, "Jack" is a standout. There's not any body horror, and it's... quietly tragedy. I wouldn't exactly call the events of previous episodes "epic". But the events in "Jack" seems like something that could happen, and are more "realistic" (for lack of a better word). Megan makes a better villain than a dozen early-season Denis Forests or even Colm Feore. They're mostly evil, but they're not acting out their grief the way that Megan is here. Moreau not only does grief well, but she looks appropriately sinister, particularly when killing Sandra.
Despite the lack of body horror, the deaths are effective. Particularly Mike's, when he drown inside of a car going through a car wash. The real horror comes, like the 'Twilight Zone' episode when the grand mother is trying to compel her grandson to join her in suicide, is when a grief-stricken child consider suicide to be with a loved one.
We also get to see Brock come back. And back. And back. Which raises the question, what do the cursed objects do with the souls of those they kill? We saw them get whisked off into a black void in "Spirit of Television", and they seem to be trapped in the cameo in "Repetition". Here, Brock seems to be brought back against his will. And has to watch his daughter turned into basically a serial killer as she's slowly corrupted by the object. Not to mention that Brock-the-ghost appears independently to Micki. Which suggests that there's an afterlife that the objects can tap into. Yes, it's been hinted at in previous episodes, but it's interesting to see it laid out clearly here.
It's also the best of actor Wayne Best's three appearances on the show. Or at least his most sympathetic: Best does sell the part of a man brought back as part of his daughter becoming a killer, and trying to get her to stop.
Johnny gets some characterization, and Monarque gets a chance to act. It's probably his best performance to date, and there's only two new episodes left. I'm a bit tired of hearing him talk about his dead father: talk about one-note characterization. But it's better than nothing.
On the other hand, Johnny figures that the manifest entry is nothing, despite Jack's suspicions. Even with joining the team relatively recently, you'd think that Johnny would have learned to trust Jack's hunches. I guess he doesn't know what the audience knows: it's always a magical object, and usually a cursed one. If It's in the manifest, it's probably involved in the case of the week.
Wiggins doesn't have much to do except the legwork of the investigation. His closing statement seems most appropriate to the next episode, "Spirit of Television" (which precedes this episodes on the DVD), since he'll deal with grief first-hand. Robey doesn't have much to do as Micki other then set the story in motion. Because she's has a vague "friend" connection with Brock. Robey is okay, but doesn't have much to do.
Overall, "Box" is a good exploration of grief, and the strength of the episode and Foon's writing overcomes the couple of tropish story elements.
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?