The Bridge had one of the most confident first seasons I’ve ever seen (hell, it was good enough to warrant a Peabody). It was dark and uncompromising, and actually had the guts to kill a teenage character, and it did so with such aplomb that it didn’t feel like cheap sensationalism. “Yankee” is a good start to what promises to be a very creepy season, but let’s get something out of the way first:
What the fuck is that, FX? That’s the worst poster I’ve ever seen for a show that I really like.
Not a lot actually happens in “Yankee,” but that’s okay because what the episode is really focused on is reintroducing us to this particular version of Texas and Mexico. Visually, it’s very dark, and director Keith Gordon (an accomplished veteran of Homeland and Dexter, and also Rodney Dangerfield’s son from Back to School) does his best Gordon Willis impression, soaking everything in browns and blacks. Most of the time this works, but other times it’s impossible to see what’s going on.
There are a few narrative developments, to be sure. Sonya is visiting Jim Dobbs (her sister’s killer) when she meets his brother, Jack. The two strike up a friendship, as much as one can with Sonya Cross, and it soon leads them to bed. Diane Kruger, who has one of the most expressive faces of any actress I can think of, is admirably toning down some of Sonya’s more blatant Asperger’s tendencies, but her blunt delivery is a good way of breaking tension by providing some very unexpected comic relief. To wit: while Sonya clumsily paws at Jack’s zipper and he asks what she’s doing, she matter-of-factly replies “Foreplay.”
Daniel Frye meets with an INS contact about last season’s money house. I care less about this plot than I do about just watching Matthew Lillard. The first thing I ever saw him in was SLC Punk, and I never would have expected him to possess this kind of dramatic ability. Especially after so firmly putting his stamp on the character of Shaggy. Lillard might be too good, actually; “Yankee” sags a bit when he’s not on screen.
The big revelation of “Yankee” is the introduction of season two’s heavy: Franka Potente’s as-yet-unnamed cartel enforcer. Well, “enforcer” might be the wrong word, but we do know that she’s a businesslike accountant of some kind, who nevertheless is covered in tattoos and thinks nothing of having a man’s ear cut off just because he spilled her tea. Her clipped demeanor and soft-spoken, insistent delivery is a clever ruse. I’m very excited to see more of her.
Overall “Yankee” was a solid reintroduction to this world. The plot didn’t move forward that much, but it didn’t need to. Demian Bichir and Diane Kruger continue to impress, and I can officially say I’m looking forward to watching The Bridge, as opposed to just having to watch it. Like Tyrant.
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