The Bridge, 1x02 -- "Calaca"

Announcement: The Bridge, a.k.a. The Killing: El Paso, is my new favorite summer series.

Ok, as easy as it is to compare The Bridge to The Killing, it’s not a very fair assessment. There’s a lot that the former has been doing right in these initial outings that the latter did not. The Bridge has us absorbed into these characters already, something The Killing had never truly been able to pull off. But enough with that comparison. The point is, I’m fascinated with this detective duo, Sonya Cross in particular. Diane Kruger is absolutely killing it, stealing the show every time she walks on screen. She impeccably portrays every tick Sonya’s struggles to be a police detective with Asperger’s striving to be socially and professionally appropriate yet, more often than not, failing. But Sonya’s mental illness isn’t exploited in ways other shows might feel the need to do for laughs. Yes, there are several moments where Sonya’s reactions to things serve as comic relief, but while it would be so easy for this character to become almost unbearable, Kruger works her magic and makes Sonya compelling and intriguing. 

This second episode was a well-paced hour full of twists that kept the forward momentum of the pilot and even built upon it. This show grabs you and leaves you craving more at every commercial break. The plotting of this murder case so far is damn near perfect. However, that’s not to say everything in this show is working. The Charlotte (Annabeth Gish) storyline has yet to prove its relevance in this series, and it’s quickly becoming boring. Which is silly, because her late husband (who we can all agree she herself killed in the hospital, right?) turns out to be a smuggler with an underground tunnel stretching from his ranch in El Paso through to Mexico. That kind of material shouldn’t be boring, but it is. Presumably, the big connection this holds to the rest of the show -- and this seems fairly obvious to me, which means I’m going to feel really dumb when I’m proven wrong -- is that Charlotte’s late husband was helping the serial killer smuggle in women from Juárez through the tunnel. Whether or not my theory is correct, the longer the writers keep this information from us, the less interesting this storyline will be. 

The Bridge is pretty damn good so far. Let’s just hope it stays this good.

Random Notes:

• I have no idea why they chose to hold the tunnel reveal for the second episode. It was painfully obvious that the door led to a tunnel. It was a ridiculous cliffhanger last week.
• Matthew Lillard is also turning in great work on this show, as the arrogant journalist being used as a pawn in the serial killer’s games. 
• Guest Star Corner: Some of you may recognize Emily Rios, the young reporter working with Daniel Frye, from her days as Andrea on Breaking Bad. 
• This show literally has the worst theme song I’ve ever listened to. Whenever it plays, I feel like it’s sucking away all the joy and happiness from the universe through my TV to disappear forever in an endless black void of despair. Who listened to that song and decided to put us all through this weekly torment? 

My Grade: A-