ight in Question
ight in Question
A lethal bullet wound to the head brings Nick to the emergency room where doctors, unable to find a pulse, pronounce him dead, Lacroix uses his vampire powers to retrieve him and force the attending physicians to forget his "death." Dr. Natalie Lambert then explains away Nick's condition as not being as serious as first thought.
Although his physical wound is healing, his mind has been struck with acute amnesia. Now he must struggle to find the identity of both the killer and himself.
I really liked how the memories of Nick's shooting were in black and white, and LaCroix's flashback was in color -- not that the two needed any disambiguating, but it improved the atmosphere greatly. This was a very mentally based episode, and the extra flashes and dream sequences they threw in improved it drastically. In fact, so far, I'd say that this was my favorite episode of the season.
How did Natalie find out about Nick's shooting so quickly? She rushed into the hospital with blood ready, and even a blood pressure reading written out on paper? (or was she just waving the clipboard around to look more professional?) At least she looked worn out and asked for coffee afterwards. I won't even ask how LaCroix knew and was able to get into position, since I assume he sensed that something had happened to Nick
When LaCroix slashed his wrist and pressed it against Nick's, how was that supposed to work? Even assuming that Nick's cardiovascular system would just suck up blood, so would LaCroix's -- and more strongly, since he was less hurt. I can understand the flashback scene of Nick letting LaCroix feed off of blood from his wrist, but the pressing together of wrists doesn't seem too feasible.
I'm also surprised that Nick remembered a fair number of things, but absolutely nothing about being a vampire. After all, he's spent most of his life being a vampire, and during a large amount of that time, he wasn't searching for mortality. Like when Natalie brought him back to his apartment and he noted "it's a little dark" ... would he notice such a thing, after hundreds of years of living at night?
On the plus side, Davies did a great job of portraying a person who's lost his memory. When he visits the scene of his shooting and just casually tears away the "police line - do not enter" ribbon, it's just like his old self. When he's listening to the nightcrawler in his car, though, he shakes his head and turns it off in disgust -- just as so many of his mortal passengers have done. I even liked Nick's assumption (in the hospital) that his partner would be male, reflecting his upbringing in somewhat earlier times.
It's very interesting that LaCroix beats around the bush with Nick, merely hinting that Nick has "special needs", and telling him that he's a "killer". Why not just come straight out and tell Nick he's a vampire? LaCroix could easily have convinced Nick of what he was. My guess is that LaCroix wanted to force Natalie to give the secret to Nick, since it wouldn't be easy for her to admit to him. The scene where Nat confronts LaCroix, stands up to him, and gets him to leave, all while visibly trembling -- excellent.
But I could ask the same question of Natalie: why didn't she tell Nick the truth about himself? Did she really believe that if he thought he was human that he'd become human? After all the episodes where she clings to a rational path, warning Nick that his condition isn't just a mental state but has physical aspects, she suddenly changes her approach? Deflecting his questions, hoping that ignorance would redeem him? At least she didn't directly lie to him about his condition.
However, in some sense, Natalie was correct; Nick's belief that he was just a normal human was strong enough that they were able to enjoy one night together. Or, at least, the way they talked about it, I assume that something happened. The scene of them kissing, followed by the commercial break, followed immediately by Nick's dream of bringing Natalie across, was just a bit disconcerting, but (of course) she would never ask for such a thing...
Even though Nick's belief had some small effect, I think Nat's comment that "we were so close" (just before telling Nick that he's a vampire) is just a bit of an exaggeration. For a while he might have forgotten, but his physical body reminded him quickly enough. And why does she explain what he is, but then waits until he's gorging himself on the blood LaCroix brought before telling Nick "you don't want to be a vampire"? That would have been one of the first things I would have mentioned.
Still, a great story, good character interactions, and it was just believable enough that I could ignore the discrepancies and fully enjoy the show.
Episode rating (0 to 10): 9
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