BrainDead - 1.04 "Wake Up Grassroots:" - Review: Destroying Yesterday's Names

After taking a brief a hiatus due to Forth of July, BrainDead returns with it's fourth episode setting out to shake viewers up in the 'love and friendship' department.

The episode starts out with a what could of been love story, gone wrong, as Jules (Natalie Gold) meets her new neighbor Noah (Michael Esper), who lives in the apartment next door, but ironically the space ants come for both of them during the same night and both awaken radicalized to their opposing political sides, leading to some serious road rage!

Throughout the episode we see Noah go to Laurel and demand that the Democrats take a violent stand against the Republicans. In turn, Jules becomes a kind of leader or spokesperson for Red's grassroots movement: The One Wayers. Noah continue his plight and becomes stalkerish, as he follows Laurel at night and threatens her at knifepoint spouting on about the recant negotiations of Government shutdown with loss of The Endowment for the Arts and, that somehow, the biggest crime will be not having NPR or PBS shows that feature murder mysteries or stories that, without, people will never know the answers to! In the meantime Jules pushes for bomb-making instructions links as a precursor to the movement, which even takes Gareth aback!

This is also nicely contrasted by the unfolding of a love triangle between Gareth, Laurel, and Anthony, the escalation between the infected Ella Pollack and Red Wheatus, and the death of Laurel's friend Abby Summers.

Towards the beginning of the episode Laurel goes on a date with FBI agent Anthony Onofrio, only for Gareth to show up with his date, a reporter, Misty Alise (Megan Hilty). Gareth approaches Laurel at the bar where they just previously went to on their date, which Gareth is quick to point out, despite also bringing his own date there! Each orders an "Old Fashioned" for themselves and other drinks for their dates. Gareth does most of the talking. He aggressively accuses Anthony of being a kind of mercenary and torturer and warns Laurel that Anthony is not what he seems.

Gustav then interrupts Laurel's and Anthony's date by bringing his cat to her attention. (It's alive!) They take him to Rochelle for a brain scan that reveals that the cat is missing part of his brain! From there Rochelle makes arrangements to meet her friend who works at the CDC. Being more open to Gustav's personality and "the screw worm" theory than Rochelle would of thought, her friend tells them that they will need more than the information provided, and asks if they could provide a person whom they believe is infected!

Laurel and Rochelle then proceed to approach Laurel's friend, Abby, who rejects the notion of being infected and asks them to leave. Laurel takes a chance in confiding in Anthony, who does have authority to attain civilians for public safety, as Laurel could attest.

He goes to Abby's apartment and Abby again resists. He tells her he can attain her, and realizing that she doesn't have a choice, she says that she needs to get her jacket and cell phone, but instead kills herself by throwing herself off the balcony! Anthony calls Laurel to tell her the bad news just at moment she is talking again to Gareth, whom also tried to provide evidence against Anthony,--And, despite sleeping with Misty, contributed 750 dollars and "10 cents" to Laurel's Island documentary fund!!

Later at her apartment, Anthony stops by with cookies trying to make Laurel feel better. She confronts Anthony on what Gareth proposed about his time in Iraq and his water-boarding practices. He explains that there is a false rumor about him and the he was actually a whistle-blower. Feeling reassured the two sleep together, but the episode ends with Laurel suspecting that Anthony may have be infected himself due to a mark in his inner ear.

Other parts of the episode also feature Luke, who teams up with Republican Senator Andre Amarant (And Jim the Crypt Keeper) in a hilarious and actually legal attempt to go around Red and Ella to reopen the Government with a 3-person unanimous consent vote! They are successful, however Ella storms off to do who knows what and Red threatens Luke's life promising that Luke will be dead!

What I liked:

Potential love stories and the polarization that may come between people were more at the forefront of this episode, giving it a bit more of a personalized and dramatic feel. It was nice to make some effort in discovering whom Gareth and Anthony really are and how they each would go about impressing Laurel. It's clear that Gareth's jealousy speaks volumes about his affection or attraction to Laurel along with his donation contribution, but Anthony's more kind and easy going demeanor is also hard not to like, but ultimately viewers and Laurel herself are left wondering if and when Anthony has become infected?  He showed empathy, ate at least one non-healthy cookie, and didn't hesitate to explain himself to Laurel when she asked about the details of his past job. So up until that point I find it hard to believe the ants had visited him, but it's entirely possible they came while he slept in Laurel's bed. If Anthony is or was innocent, it also shows again Gareth being under-handed and a bit ruthless in getting his way, which to some may be a rather unappealing quality and not a good sign for a longer lasting relationship, but I was happy to see he drew a line with Republican's becoming bomb-makers!

It was also fun to see Rochelle and Gustav have a little more screen time together, as Rochelle fears the kind of impression Gustav's personality may have on others, like Dexter Wu and the sheer enjoyment for viewers that her speculation was absolutely false in this instance! The same could also be said for seeing Red Wheatus and Ella Pollack going neck to neck, while Luke finds a way to play hero again and is able go around the fanatics of their parties with the help of Republican Senator Andre Amarant and was able reopen the government!!

But the episode still was able to make this sharp contrast between it's fun love stories and it's more dire extremity in the death of Abby, the life-threatening aspects of Noah, Jules/The One Wayers, the death threat made to Luke by Red Wheatus, and the potential for loosing Anthony to the Space Ants all gave the episode a more serious bite.

Mythology/Observations:
-Gustav's Cat Lives! I was definitely happy that the poor cat made it, but am disappointed that it was not used to further the absurdity or add more a little more to the mythology. However, that doesn't mean the cat can't be used later!!
-We know that those infected have and do converse, but strangely we haven't seen situations like those presented in The Pilot with either The Burkes or the crew of The Alba, where we see them presented in little collectives.
-The mystery of how The Space Ants where signed out on behalf of Luke's office still has not been resolved, but I found Rochelle's comments (to Laurel feeling paranoid about Stacie and Abby), "When someone close to you dies, you look for reasons." interesting, when we consider the series starts with her father asking Luke for money to pay for the meteorite excavation and transportation that Luke denies, but that is not to say that I still also have suspicions of this relating to Red Wheatus, Gareth, and/or Dean Healy.
-Sadly, we also now know that the radicalization of the infected will extend itself to the death of the Space Ants' host, in order to not be discovered or fully examined. However, when one considers how the episode highlighted "death threats" and to see they way Abby died, one has to wonder what the over all point /agenda of Space Ants need for a host and capacity for intelligence and health fanatical practices of that host are, if the only outcome is death for humanity???

The Good Wife Factor/Odds and Ends:

- Love triangles with mass accusations, sometimes true and sometimes not, are familiar trademarks of The Good Wife, including it's earliest plots between Alicia, Peter, and Will.
- Although she has made brief appearances in previous episodes, Megan Hilty's BrainDead character Misty Alise, was more aptly introduced in this episode. Some may immediately recognize the stage actress from her The Good Wife role, as Holly Westfall, Kurt McVeigh's protege whom may have been having an affair with Kurt, despite being married to Diane Lockhart in the final episodes of the final season. It should also be noted that Kurt is a gun-toting cowboy-ish Republican, -a ballistics expert, and Diane comes from generations of liberal-legislation-passing Democrats, paralleling the love-hate or "across the isle" relationships of BrianDead, including Laurel and Gareth romance.
-Actor Michael Esper also appeared on one episode of The Good Wife titled, "The Wheels of Justice" in the role of Gregory Steck (perhaps a reference or spoof to Gregory Peck--Think Film Version: To Kill A Mockingbird), a clerk for an Illinois Supreme Court Justice and a stereotypical Harvard blowhard. That particular episode happens to be an episode where Diane takes her relationship with Kurt to next level and continues the absurd escapades of potentially lethal, but always entertaining, "Wife-Killer" Colin Sweeney. It's easy to see a shade of Sweeney in Esper's Noah, especially as he confronts Laurel with the knife and goes on and on about his passions for things like, All things Considered and Masterpiece Mystery!
- Actor John Procaccino appeared in the role of Douglass Tabak, but reoccurred in four episodes of The Good Wife as Judge Tom Glatt.
- Actress Natalie Gold also appeared on an episode of The Good Wife in the episode "Unorthodox". Her character's name in the episode is ironically Anna "Loeb" (pun on lobe), previously known as  Anna Stern, the daughter of the law firm's other partner and founder, Jonas Stern. He is not unlike Colin Sweeny in being one of the more absurd and over dramatic character introduced on The Good Wife, but also Alicia, upon helping with his daughter's case, discovers that her mentor has dementia to the point becoming passionately enraged, occasionally incoherent, easily distracted, and with some memory issues--not unlike how the virus infects some people on BrianDead! Anna Leob also was a former party girl and drug addict who fell in love and married an Orthodox Jew. This could be seen a 360% turn from whom she once was, which is not unlike how Laurel and Stacie had characterized Abbie Summers once infected.
-And actor Wayne Duvall who plays Senator Amarant, also guessed on two episodes of The Good Wife as detective Harcourt.
- Just like TGW, I love how food and drinks continue to work their way into the episodes.
-I have never heard of the US Code: 2-64 in relation to the FBI helping the CDC
- Abby's comment, "It Takes A Village" (To Raise A Child) was an interesting word choice or proverb to use by connecting us again to Laurel wanting to save the culture of the indigenous Island People and really thematic to the idea of how can any "child" in a corrupt society ever become a good healthy adult and/or in parallel to the idea, it's going to take the nation as a whole to stop these space ants from killing people.
- Love the association between The Revolutionary War with "red coats" to Red Wheatus.
-Also the fun idea of a cat getting a CAT scan!
- Jim the Crypt Keeper no doubt conjures up a reference to Tales of the Crypt. Also having Jim, someone who works at night, being sleepy while voting, and only having 3 people attend this vote, while Red and Ella are arguing on TV while the government is in fact "shut-down" might be some fun juxtapositions to phrase, "sleeping on the job!"

About the Author - Darthlocke4

Laura Becker (Darthlocke 4) is a long time commentator, TV addict, and aspiring writer participating with other fans on SpoilerTV. She writes reviews and analytic type articles. Some of her other interests include philosophy, cultural anthropology, reading, drawing, and working with animals, as she grew up and continues to work on her family's horse farm.

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