I’ve been waiting since “Part 1” for Bloodline to live up to its potential, and I’m happy to report that in “Part 6” it absolutely does. This is the high-water mark for the series thus far, and after the underwhelming “Part 5” it comes as welcome relief. It doesn’t hurt that Bloodline is finally starting to get a handle on more of its characters, namely Kevin Rayburn.
Up until now, Kevin was little more than a Heineken commercial wrapped in anger issues. His marital problems have really helped to humanize him, but Norbert Leo Butz hasn’t gotten a hell of a lot to do besides distrust Danny and take things personally. “Part 6” goes a long way towards fixing that, and he really seems to mature before our eyes. He finds out that his estranged wife Belle is trying her hand at online dating, and even shows up at the restaurant where she meets her date, but wisely decides to let her be. More tellingly, he doesn’t even bring it up when he goes to her to give her some keys. In both scenes I was prepared for an ugly meltdown, which we were thankfully spared. The show has had enough of those.
Speaking of ugly meltdowns – Danny must have taken Krusty’s advice to heart, because he goes on the bender to end all benders. He picks up an eight ball of coke from Eric (who doesn’t charge him; hey Eric, nice fuckin business plan!) and goes to drink, do coke, and make out with a girl while her boyfriend watches. Director Alex Graves is a Game of Thrones vet, and as such he’s used to the “bad turns worse” style of storytelling, but even with that in mind, it’s hard to watch Danny’s downward spiral. Florida has never looked so oppressively hot on Bloodline, and Graves shoots in close-ups that are invasive without being exploitative. Every bead of sweat on characters’ faces is visible, and more than that, it’s visceral. At the bar, Graves bathes everything in a surreal, hellish red, before Danny leaves to go to a dive bar, where the color scheme plummets back to reality and Danny gets his ass kicked. Chelsea shows up to get him, and he lets loose with a string of hateful vitriol. “You mean nothing to me,” he tells her. “And if I mean something to you, you mean less…than nothing…to me.” His voice seems to drop several octaves, and all of his pain and hates comes through. Ben Mendelsohn’s acting reel from now through eternity should just be every episode of Bloodline.
Gotta hand it to Kyle Chandler, though. He’s always been good, but in “Part 6” he finally reaches Mendelsohn’s level. He’s mesmerizing, and we finally see more of John. We knew he wasn’t a Boy Scout – the flash-forwards confirmed as much – but he’s also paranoid and controlling, and has his own issues with rage. He and Danny have a verbal showdown in a crack house that ends with Danny killing himself (thankfully it’s a fantasy), and I’m not exaggerating when I say my heart was beating out of my chest. I guess the Rayburns work better as adversaries than as compatriots, and if that’s where Bloodline is heading – and again, the flash-forwards suggest it is – then the show will vastly improve.
A Few Thoughts
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Meg wants Marco to propose. He says she’s not ready, but she’s on her way. Breaking things off with Alec was a good start
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The dead Rayburn sibling is Sara. Was that the mystery woman with Danny?
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I’m becoming more and more invested in John’s investigation
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