Lights Out: "Head Games"

Once I determine how Ed Romeo could have survived those cuts to his arms, I'll offer up a review of tonight's episode, after the jump....

What dreams have you been forced to give up during your time on this earth? Whether it is a simple childhood fantasy or dreams of being a rock star, we all must give up on some the dreams that we are so sure of, be it due to societal pressure, or due to out lack of skills.

In tonight's Lights Out, we are presented with several characters abandoned dreams. Lights had to give up on his dream of being a boxer in order to appease his family. Teresa had to put her dreams of becoming a doctor on hold so Lights could fight. Johnny had to crush his family's dreams of him being a boxer because his heart wasn't in it. Pops had his dreams crushed when Lights lost his first fight. And Ed Romeo had his dreams – and his spirit – crushed when he was fired by his fighter, and surrogate son, Death Row Reynolds.

Ed Romeo is an interesting character, the one that walks the fine line between archetype and cliché. While the old, grizzled boxing vet with a training program all his own seems to be ripped straight out of The Karate Kid, but the show smartly imbues him with enough actual insanity to keep him dramatically interesting.

Since Ed is essentially one part plot device/drama generator, it is only natural to approach him with a degree of skepticism. But luckily, the show knows this, and that makes sure that the drama he created is simultaneously realistic and gripping. It makes sense, for instance, that Johnny, Pops, and Margaret would resist the changes that Ed would try to bring about. But Ed's methods aren't crazy; in fact, they make a good deal of sense. Lights got into his financial woes after throwing all of this money on whatever batshit schemes his family wanted to invest in.

But what makes Romeo compelling is the fact that he actually is crazy. Suddenly the rest of the Leary clan's concern don't seem to be out of bitterness, but rather out of actually compassion. Now longer are we sure if Lights is making the right choice. What do we make of Reynolds claim that Romeo can get him in the air, but doesn't know how the land? What is going to happen if Lights loses? If he wins? Can he win? This, dear readers, is compelling drama.

The other character who seems to have given up on her dream is Eva. (Or is it Ava? If that's the case, then that's stupid.) According to Teresa, she used to want to be a doctor. According to Lights she also used to want to be a racecar driver and a Muppet. Eva has often been played as a bit of a cipher, a hollow valley girl stereotype, so it's admirable that the show would want to expand her characters, to fill in her back story.

However, I'm not sure what this adds to Light's story, or even the show overall. It's almost as if the show got six episodes in, realized it couldn't take the story any further, and then decided it would switch to another one of the Leary women. But regardless of that, the story kind of falls apart on its own, as Eva's reveal that she gave up on her dreams because of the family's financial troubles doesn't really match up with the shows timeline. The real question now is whether or not the show will return to this storyline in the future, for as pointless as it is in terms of the show, it has its own interesting nature, and I think any show exploring what make women tick generally indicates good television is somewhere on the horizon.

What did everybody else think?


Additional Thoughts:

“You never think I can win, and then I prove you wrong. That's our drill, dad.”

“Damn Lights, how many titties you got?”