" have you seen the sun "? Thoughts on S2 Ep2

SPOILER WARNING FOR S2 EP2! 

" Have you seen the sun" ?

This sentence seems to be the best metaphor for the life of Chris Carson than anything else.

When was the last time Christopher Carson has seen the sun?

Just into episode two of the new season , we know already that we are in for a ride, that will left us emotionally drained, but we asked for it!

And we are back to the Chris Carson show.

Which means in blog terms :

We are back to the Martin Freeman show!

And I mean this in the best way possible.

I keep my statement I carried through S1 and in my first recap of the new season, that The Responder is an achievement of writing, directing and the complete cast.

But every cast needs a leader, and this episode showed us once more , why Mr. Freeman is the lead!

In this episode we meet the old Chris, desperate, angry and yet caring, but more than last season determined to make his way out of the " shithole " he buried himself in, but his methods clearly need to be updated.

The episode starts so bleak that you want to run away on the spot.

Chris and his new living arrangement is so dreary and depressing, and for me is more the thought of all he lost, thar makes the flat so unbearable.

We see man beyond every word that could ever describe exhaustion.

If he looked tired and washed out last season, we see him this time so sunken and so worn out, that we wonder how he is able to stand on his feet for longer than five minutes.

Frankly , his appearance is so alarming and excruciating, that your heart aches all over already and we're just thirty seconds into the episode.

We meet him again at a group meeting, and this time he is talking, but there is no hope, and he does not really wants answers to his questions.

He wants agreement, but no priest or therapist and even a friend if he had one, would agree with his notion, that he is a bad person,because his father once told him that he will always get himself in trouble.

Well, while Tom Carson is probably not the poster boy for living a perfect life, he is not wrong though, seeing Chris running from one big shit to another.

Pardon the language here! You all know, that I am normally not using that kind of "foul " language, but The Responder is about honesty and we all love the show for being real, and sometimes those things cannot be described in flowery words.

But at the meeting he confesses the part I was almost sure about:

" He can't even wipe his own arse, but I'm fucking terrified of that man" 

There is that scared little boy again, the wounds that never healed and poisoned his whole path.

And it seems that there are moments in life, when everything is so stuck that we are not able to see clear, let alone finding a way out.

And therefore we see Chris keeping up lie after lie, and mistake after mistake, always with the best intentions and certainly with the hope to get himself out of this hell, only to see him dragging himself even deeper into it.

The overall goal since we met Chris again is getting a day job.

In his eyes, that justifies almost anything.

And if that includes " helping" Jodie and

 " working " for Franny than so be it.

A few thoughts on Franny and the scenes between Chris and him:

This man is so creepy, and with this sentiment comes my prediction that Adam Nagaitis has a long and brilliant career ahead of him, because he absolutely fantastic.

What I was hoping he would avoid at all cost is happening quicker than you can hold your breath here.

Chris Carson wants nothing more than his day job, and I think he lost a bit of perspective here.

So he asks Franny since he is aware now, that he and Debs are on a closer level if he can make the day job happen.

Franny can do anything, can't he ?! 

But everything has a price, and it seems Carson is willing to pay.

But there is more to witness:

For the first time, we see a change in posture in Chris, I say very carefully for the first time, because I suppose this won't be the last time.

It is a bit like when Chris was standing in his father's kitchen stealing money.

There is a new way he holds himself up around these people.

He looks uncertain, fragile and tries to reduce himself somehow.

It's painful to see...

The episode continues to be a rollercoaster, and like I said in my opening, we are back to the Chris Carson show.

The cast is one of the best I have ever seen working together, and I am sure we all have our favourites and people we do not care that much about.I know I have one I could live without, but I will be damned if  I tell you :D

But we all came together watching because it has Martin Freeman in it, like Mr. Schumacher said himself and I more than happy to agree is that Mr. Freeman is one of the very best actors around, and this series is just another prove of a fact I know for two decades now.

God I am sounding old...

The episode shows Chris the way we fell in love with him, angry, helpless, fragile and vulnerable, and sometimes all of it in one single take.

And all of it, is a testament to Mr. Freeman's ability to show emotions clear and openly, but never hide from his audience that there is so much more bubbling under the surface.

And therefore I will end the post with my absolute highlight and a man who has taken my heart by storm.

Neil....who wants nothing more than seeing the sun!

Neil a man like a metaphor for Chris Carson.

Rachel and Chris meet Neil while on shift, and besides the fact that they take him on an adventure, Neil brings a sweetness into those scenes so intense, that you want to cry, because in the end we are all afraid of becoming Neil one day.

The interactions between him and Chris are on the scale between screaming cop and caring human being, and the question that neither Neil nor Chris can answer:

" Have you seen the sun " 

Neil and Chris are my emotional highlight of the episode.

The other highlight like I said is Chris Carson himself, and with him the actor who plays him to perfection.

And besides all the other things, that makes every performance of Mr. Freeman so compelling, is the fact, that he is able to transport a ton of emotions in a very short time, without using words or too many gestures.

And that makes it often so much more heartbreaking, because he takes you with him on a journey, rather than present a fully developed picture.

We see such a journey the moment Chris is back in his car, after the angry confrontation at Barnes house.

" FUCK " 

 The one word he screams to himself and into the world, but we see hate, anger, desperation and helplessness in just one scene!!!

And this is so incredibly hard to watch, that I was asking myself why I'm even watching this?

Only to know the answer before I have even finished the thought:

Because it is a privilege to see such a talent at work!

The episode ends as bleak and sad as it began.

With the lonely view of a lonely man in a lonely environment.

He hasn't seen the sun in such a long time.

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