CHAOS: "Song of the North"

Season 1, Episode 2

The continuing dance between drama and comedy

After tonight’s episode, I can’t help but wonder whether CHOAS’ attempts to blend drama and comedy will be its undoing, if not from a viewership standpoint, than certainly from a creative one. More specifically, the opening minutes – where we saw a bunch of displaced agents wearing cross trainers, preparing to walk the mile-long lap around the CIA offices – make me think that maybe this show would be better off as a sort of work-place comedy than a procedural with comedic elements.

Certain elements of this genre already exist here; you have the wacky co-workers, the uptight boss, potential inter-office romances. And given that the “office” in question takes place at a wacky version of the CIA, it’s rife with potential for individualized storylines.

But regardless of whether or not the show could be a work-place comedy, the real question at hand if whether or not the show can continue to be what it is already, and as to that, the answer is, for now at least, ‘no.’ Although last week presented us with several potential-filled elements, they weren’t on displayed here as much tonight, and the concerns me. For instance, though last week made it clear that each agent had a specific role to play, this week, the four of them mostly just grouped together and talked about what they were going to do next. Sure, Casey busted out some of his badass fighting moves, and Michael played leader, but Rick didn’t get to show off his language skills – or any other skills outside of ambition – and Billy might as well have been absent. If this show is going to be (mainly) about these four agents, then it need to make sure it gives them something interesting to do each week.

Which brings us to the episode’s problem with focus. This week, we had so much to deal with – all of the family members that had to be snuck out of North Korea and how they felt about it, and the congressman who was dropped in just to add another level of difficulty for the ODS team – that not only did it feel as if Rick and the other guys didn’t get enough to do, but that they were merely being pushed along by forces outside of their control. If we are supposed to believe that these are a group of rogue agents, then it makes far more sense for them to be leading the action rather than following it.

The other side of all tonight’s external forces was that everything seemed much more serious this week than last. While last week the show seemed intent on selling us a show that equally mixes comedy with drama, such a show was nowhere to be found this week, and instead we got a procedural peppered with some jokes, much like certain episodes of CSI, only with funnier punchlines. While I didn’t find last week’s blending of tones to be distracting (as most critics did), this week is was very distracting, as it felt like the self-serious ruined any comedic atmosphere the show was trying to pull off.

There were still a few things to like tonight – the agents sneaking into North Korea through a film festival, this whole mess starting off because the North Korean ambassador fell asleep at the UN – things that felt like they could be part of this wacky espionage world. As long as these elements are part of the show, it has my attention. But it will only be able to hold that interest in the long run if it can fix some of the more glaring stylistic choices.

What did everybody else think?

Additional Thoughts:

Ratings for last week’s episode weren’t terrible, but they also weren’t at expected levels. Though the show had the highest overall audience numbers of the night, though they were lower than the numbers either Medium or The Defenders had ever achieved in the slot, and its demo numbers were third for the night.

“It’s called American Totalitarianism.” “I love a good comedy.”

“You realize that will vindicate all his feelings about America…and yet in a weird way, it will probably make him happy.”

“North Koreans aren’t trained to connect the dots. If they were, they would connect ‘starving’ to ‘Dear Leader’ to ‘revolt.’”

Shakespeare, midday telenovela, same difference.

I know that “annyong” in Korean means “hello,” but I can’t hear the word without thinking of this.

“We’ll wail like angry forest witches, but that’s all the distraction you’re getting.”

“I can’t speak for Martinez, but your lack of openness offends me.”