Resurrection - Prophecy - Review: "Where It All Began"

Inconsistent scheduling of episodes has been known to inhibit viewers from properly following programs they love or want to follow. It can adversely influence whether or not fans stick with the show. Resurrection, airing Sunday's on ABC, has had intermittent airings of it's episodes since the beginning of December, but the opposite has occurred with its ratings marginally increasing over the past two episodes. I bring this up because fans are concerned that the show might not get renewed for a third season. There are only 3 episodes remaining in the second season and it might be difficult to get all the answers to the shows mythology in that time. Either way, I hope for closure to what has been a great show with an intriguing premise and amazing characters.

"Prophecy", episode ten, introduced an enigmatic character, that fans of the HBO show 'True Blood', will remember as Hoyt (Jim Parrack). His mysterious entrance into Arcadia came during a lightning storm as he was reciting Latin prayers. He subsequently was struck by a lightning bolt and managed to survive without any after effects. Then a red tattoo of what resembled the 'Tree of Life' materialized on his back. We have yet to know more of his origins or what his goals are except for some cryptic remarks he made to Marty at the end of the episode. We know little about Preacher James, but did learn some interesting facts regarding his past. He does know Jenny (who was reunited with her brother, Marty, whom she knows as Robert) and Marty from when they were younger. At the end of the episode the preacher tells Marty, "I died trying to save you in the flood, Robert. This place is sick, but together we will heal it".

In the episode before the Winter break we saw Henry get into an altercation with members of the True Living. In the chaos, Jacob ran off with Margaret thinking that his presence in the community was the cause for all the hatred and violence that has manifested since his 'return'. Margaret takes him to 'where it all began' for her - The Old Cwik Farm where her and her family resided. We learn quite a bit of Margaret's past that helps us in trying to figure out her current motivations. Her father was a foreman at the Langston Furniture factory and forced her to marry a Langston to give her and her future children a better life. He was given this opportunity for his unwavering loyalty to the Langstons, especially pertaining to matters that needed to be covered up such as the infamous factory fire.

There are many questions viewers have in regard to the mythology of the show. One of which is where the 'returned' went after they died. While Jacob is with Margaret at the farm we get some answers while they are having an atypical conversation about their situation. Jacob doesn't want to be around any longer thinking that everything will be better if wasn't 'alive' anymore. He wants his grandmother to help leave and, for some strange reason, she wants to help him. We knew she was a little evil, but that was over the top. Jacob asks, "Will it hurt?", before they both confess they don't remember anything after they died the first time. Margaret soothes Jacobs fears by telling him it will be like a wonderful adventure after she helps him 'disappear'. So, we have our answer, sort of. The 'returned' have no idea where they went after they died or don't remember.

Jacob and Margaret's time together at the farm was the other highlight of the episode as it gave us more insight into Margaret's history and some clues about the 'returned'. Margaret tells Jacob that she believes they came back because they are being punished and need to pay for their sins. She is speaking of the sins of the Langstons from a long time ago that did whatever it took to keep their business afloat at the cost of some of the worker's lives. She goes on to say that she came back to help her children. She says Fred was hurting and she wanted Henry to become the man he once was. The interesting part of the conversation was that she said all this as if she had a say in the matter of her coming back at all. Hopefully we get some more insight into all of this in the coming episodes.

The episode was well paced and I enjoyed it more than most this season. It provided an extremely interesting new character with Preacher James that will be explored more in the final three episodes. I do hope the ratings continue to climb, giving the show even a slight chance of getting renewed. It's starting to get even more interesting now that another supernatural element in Preacher James has been introduced. Margaret is now at the government facility, which should provide even more interesting stories for the show. A third season would be full of amazing episodes considering the latest developments. At the very least, we have three episodes remaining this season that should provide answers to our long sought after questions.

Thoughts and Discussion

- Did you notice...Jacob and Marty exhibited some mannerisms that we have seen before in many 'returned' at the same time. They were both seen scratching their palms in subsequent scenes. Whether or not this is something relevant has yet to be revealed, but I thought I would mention it.

- When we first see Preacher James he is reciting Latin - "Rursum Circumbador Pelle Mea Et In Exterminium". Using a quick Google translation method it comes out to roughly being this - "Once again my skin is destroyed" or "I will once again be clothed in my skin". This may not be exactly right, but I am sure it is close. What does it mean? Possibly after they die and the return come back they have a prayer about coming back into their own skin, but also about their eventual "destruction", which could mean that will leave this plane of existence at some time. My theory is that the 'returned' will all 'disappear' with the exception of one or two.

- Did you notice...The calendar that Lucille is looking at in the flashbacks has the Langston family going to Disneyland (ABC company). I have said numbers play an important role on the show and on the 8th Jacob was getting his favorite meal made for him. It's worth noting that Jacob never got his favorite meal or went to Disneyland because he passed away in the days before November.

- Did you notice...History is repeating itself like Margaret said it would a few episodes back. Thirty-two years ago Lucille dozed off, not paying attention to Jacob. While she was asleep, Jacob went to the river where he drowned trying to save Barbara. In the present, Lucille also failed to watch over Jacob while attending to Henry and he disappeared with Margaret. Although he didn't die this time the two events do mirror themselves a little.

- Did you notice...The 'returned' have all had the color red somewhere on them when we are first introduced to them that we have referred to as 'Resurrection Red'. The Preacher is no exception, the tattoo on his back was red.

- What is Preacher James' main goal? Why does he have that "Tree of Life" mark on his back?

- What does the future hold for Margaret? I'm glad we found out how she helps the 'returned' "let go" and that is how she helped Barbara disappear. When Margaret was a little girl she overheard one of the first 'returned' say this to another and it worked. It also explains how Caleb disappeared last season. He gave up and willed himself to let go of it all.

Thank you for checking out my Review! Please comment below so we can discuss the episode more!

About the Author - Geo N

Geo N is from Detroit, MI. His favorite shows include The Blacklist, Hell On Wheels, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, LOST, The Leftovers, The Strain, Sons Of Anarchy, Sleepy Hollow and countless others. When he's not watching tons of TV, he enjoys reading, playing hockey, comic books, weightlifting, and writing. Thanks for checking out my post.

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