Crash

This episode was mostly laying the groundwork for the season, introducing me to all the characters, since I had never watched the series before. I was a bit confused by the start of the episode, since it seemed that Inez was in prison in the "previously on" segment. I'm not quite sure where Ben Cendars went or why he separated from Anthony, and it took me a while to figure out that his daughter was murdered and that this wasn't the woman from the "previously on" segment.



I'm afraid to say that Dennis Hopper seems the worst actor of the series, often having a tame and unemotional delivery that isn't very believable. Everyone else seems fine, though. There was a particularly funny incident involving a hotdog seller's angry reaction to graffiti painted on his stand by teenagers (including hilarious hand gestures).



The Inez storyline was decent, but not particularly shocking. She's a seemingly good girl attracted to bad boys and can't find the will to get out of a bad relationship, though she has plenty of fight in her.



The Grace Park storyline was the most dull. A children's storybook writer, who can't stop drinking; this is an interesting idea, but it just involves lots of scenes of her looking bored and drinking. Still, I trust Ira Steven Behr to heat things up in future.



It turns out that she's married to a very rich man named Seth Blanchard, who plans to build LA's first football stadium. Yet, due to a perhaps drug induced collapse, he now seems on the verge of entering a transformation of sorts, after reporting that he has had a vision. Hopefully, Behr will use this character to discuss issues of religion and faith.



I liked the idea of a hobby store owner who is facing economic difficulties because people -- like myself -- tend to look in stores for what they like and go home and buy it online; I do try to buy things from stores once in a while, though, to keep them in business.



The owner's son Bo seems the ideal human being for most of the episode. He's a devoted son, and he eagerly offers an amateur baseball league pitcher advice on how to improve his pitch, based on the similar experience he acquired before getting shut out of a professional career by an arm injury. Still, in the episode's most understated and chilling moment we see him in his car, watching the young amateur leager player make out with a woman in the stands. What's going on here? Am I misinterpreting that anything is wrong and slightly creepy here? Is it just innocent concern and curiosity about his student? Is he jealous of this player for having all the chances that were taken away from him years ago? Is he interested in the girl? I don't know, but I want to find out.