lind Faith
lind Faith
A serial rapist's reign of terror is ended when a vicious dog literally tears him to shreds. Concerned over the extent of the fatal injuries, Nick fears the worst that a carouche, a lower form of vampire who typically feeds on animals, may be on the loose. The investigation focuses on a blind police dispatcher's guide dog and Nick is faced with the task of protecting the dispatcher from her most devoted friend.
Call me slow, but it took me a while to figure out just what had happened to Perry (the dog). The scene where he's cringing away from the sunlight should have given it away, since we saw Nick balking at the light at the same time. But I didn't catch on until he started licking up the drops of blood at the dispatch office. Most of my problem was just a failure to parse the scene at the very beginning where the hands reach up out of the ground for him -- it happened very quickly, just after a dull part and just before the intro.
I'm also not quite sure what the difference is between a carouche and a normal vampire. Carouches can fly, drink blood, have to stay out of the sunlight... so maybe they're lacking in the power to hypnotize humans? That would certainly explain why they normally feed on vermin. But then, I would have expected that all carouches were animals. Except that Screed (the weird vampire who lives in the sewers) seems to be a carouche. (at first, I thought Nick's "I'm not one of your kind" comment was more of a class statement, but after a few watchings I could understand what Screed was saying... and he admitted "there's another like me roaming around", and went on to describe the other as a carouche...)
When Nick and Tracy went down to dispatch to talk to Jody (and examine Perry), why was Nick slowly scanning around the office? Was he looking for another vampire/carouche? I'd assume that he was... after all, later on, when the policeman was attacked by Perry, Nick was looking at him very closely to make sure he hadn't been brought across. Or, maybe he sensed that something vampiric was in the building, but couldn't pinpoint it as being Perry.
I also found it odd that dogs seemed to have the power to sense evil in people. Now, I could understand dogs detecting vampires (perhaps something pheromonal), and barking at them or attacking them. But both the rapist and LaCroix were barked at, and Nick wasn't. Perhaps this is just one of those things that you have to be a dog lover to understand.
Ok, so once again, Natalie's behaviour is a bit too cold (saying "let's just say that something is not right here", rather than sharing her early suspicions with Nick). But you've heard that rant before. I'd also note that Nick is very fatherly towards Tracy, but you've heard that, too. I really hope these aren't trends that will continue throughout the whole season. There were too many excellent scenes/stories based on the (mostly) unrequited attraction between Nat and Nick.
The Baskervilles flashback was quite good, even if it was one of those oddly hokey "see what really happened to historical figure X" things that I tend to associate with Doctor Who episodes. The carouche was indeed a kind of hell hound, quite worthy of being the fabled "Hound of the Baskervilles". And the scene where Nick hurled a stake towards LaCroix was priceless. It's so very like the bizarre relationship they have, with LaCroix torturing Nick, and Nick wanting to strike back, but not being able to fully commit himself. He missed on purpose, and they both knew it.
But the ending was both exciting and disappointing. How did Perry beat Nick back to Jody's place, when Nick could have easily guessed where he'd go? But I was quite amazed when I thought that Perry was going to attack his master... somewhat amazed when he did (and Nick hadn't made it there in time), and even more amazed when I found out that he'd actually... brought Jody across? As a carouche, I assume? Well, I guess it made it a "happily ever after" sort of ending. And the curing of Jody's multiple sclerosis fit in with the claims made in "Near Death". last season (that becoming a vampire would cure most diseases). (it even fits in with a flashback from some episode in the first season, where Nick brings a woman with leprosy across, and her leprosy vanishes)
Of course, it would have been nice to know where they'd gone. I assume that the skyline we were shown should have been familiar to me...
The bottom line: great atmosphere, no major flaws, and a nice extension to our knowledge of vampires in this show. I'd say things are looking up for this season.
Episode rating (0 to 10): 5
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