Bloodline, in its own way, is an odd show. Sometimes, like in “Part 4,” it plays like less of its own entity than an oleo of other shows. Ben Mendelsohn at times seems like the only actor “on” Bloodline. This shouldn’t work – and it doesn’t, at times – but like I said, Bloodline is an odd show.
To wit: Kyle Chandler seems like he’s starring in his own spin-off, and occasionally checking in with the rest of the family in this show. “Part 4” saw him and Marco catch a break on their burned girl case. In a grisly opening, a boat full of immigrants (presumably Cuban) is lit on fire and sent speeding off into the ocean before it finally explodes (the exploding boat is visually reminiscent of the flash-forward from “Part 1,” where John tosses a flare into a boat with Danny’s unconscious body on the deck). The men behind it were the very same crew that Danny and Eric left cans of gas for, so I guess that answers my question about how the murder mystery would dovetail with the main plot.
That’s just background noise, though; the main purpose of “Part 4” is to show the camaraderie and friendship being fostered in the Rayburns. We’ve been told over and over again that this family is incredibly close, but this is the best job that Bloodline has done of actually showing it. Danny and Kevin are actually working together to fix Bob’s old truck, in a none-too-subtle metaphor for their relationship. Sally has afternoon wine and cheese with Meg and John and Kevin’s wives. But, this being Bloodline, things have to sour eventually.
I gotta admit, when things go to shit, it caught me off guard. Bob and Danny go out for a beer, and Bob flatly tells his son, “I want you to leave and never come back.” This is the most alone time that Mendelsohn and Sam Shepard have had all season, and they don’t waste the opportunity. Mendelsohn is predictably great. He imbues Danny with so many little tics and nuances that it’s no wonder his performance is the highlight of this show. Take for instance the moment Danny takes a sip of his beer. His hand quivers just barely, and with that small gesture, Mendelsohn belies his character’s breaking heart. The scene as a whole turns terrifically nasty when Danny refuses the check that Bob offers him, saying that it’s going to cost him a lot more to pay Danny to leave. Director Todd Kessler (who also co-created the show) wisely stays away from any camera trickery or fanciful editing, and lets his two titans go to war with each other. Shepard is an Oscar-nominated actor and a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, so it’s no surprise that he’s great, and deserving of that “titan” status. But Mendelsohn? He’s a relatively unknown quantity who has been quietly killing it in supporting roles over the last few years, but Bloodline, for all its occasional faults, is proving that he is his own kind of titan – and something of a fucking genius.
A Few Thoughts
- Speaking of characters in their own spin-offs: Meg gets a job offer from a New York law firm. It seems like she’s going to go visit, but I don’t want to see it if she does. Bloodline depends a lot on preserving the unity of setting
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Another not-so-subtle metaphor: the broken string on Bob’s ukelele. As he regains his faculties, he starts strumming the instrument more. It’s at this point he would realize whatever he sang about really happened, if this were a Stephen King novel
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No flash-forwards in “Part 4,” but some jarring flashbacks that give a little more context to the animosity that Bob bears Danny
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