Haven is a very different hour of Dark Angel. It’s not particularly exciting, but it has a host of intriguing touches that expand the show’s world quite a bit. Oh and it’s also notable for completely freaking me out as a kid.
Getting Max and Logan out of Seattle affords the hour a cozy, homey feeling, and it also provides valuable insight into the world after the pulse. There’s real darkness here as the cop Logan comes to see paints a very grim picture about this apocalyptic world (particularly with the image of people hanging from telephone poles and the issues of police brutality). It also introduces us to a little boy called Sage, whose Arab parents suffered a brutal attack at the hands of the town-folk. They were easy targets as its soon revealed, because they had a generator that gave their house power unlike the rest of the town. It’s a thoroughly unsettling plot (although we really didn’t need the added detail of BC and his crew raping Sage’s mom).
Max getting incapacitated this week gives Logan the opportunity to use his smarts and wind up the hero. His transformation into a straight-up McGuyver is a bit insane, but it’s fun to watch him rig the whole house into one big booby trap and blow the thugs to pieces. Although, I did find it a bit out of character of him to kill so callously (as satisfying as it was).
Ultimately, the whole hour is kind of disposable, but it’s somewhat compelling filler nonetheless.
Post-Pulse Bits
– The opening scene with Max and Sketchy waiting in line for gas is an awesome showcase for just how rare certain commodities have become in a post-pulse world. It’s simple and effective.
– Love the scene with Trudy giving Max and Logan the “tour” culminating with Max with arguing with Logan over ruining their holiday.
– How adorable is Max drinking a glass of milk (complete with a pitcher) in the bar?
– My favorite scene of the hour is definitely Max kicking BC’s ass (along with the rest of his crew). And it’s heartbreaking to see Logan try to protect her honor and have his wheelchair tripped.
– Awesome continuity: Max’s seizures have gotten worse because the implant from Rising is still in her neck.
– I have to point out that the dramatic horror movie-esque music was way too much. It blared every time Max and Sage had one of their quiet scenes and it was much too imposing.
– The flashbacks to the original attack on Sam’s family intercut with the present day one were effectively unsettling.
– I enjoyed Max and Sam bonding over the two people who were always there for them (Trudy and Logan).
– Max’s final voiceover is pretty lame. We don’t really care about Sage putting flowers at the graves and it’s stupid to end the hour on him while removing focus off of Max and Logan. Fail.
Barbs & Barcodes
Max: (holding the passes) I had to hang upside-down outside the window for an hour to swipe these from police headquarters.
Logan: Eighteen people were murdered for standing up against police brutality. This guy was there.
Max: I don’t care if he could raise the dead; this was supposed to be a vacation.
Logan: How can I even think about having a good time when—
Max: – when there are eighteen restless spirits waiting for you to avenge their deaths?
Logan: Have fun, because that is the most important thing.
Max: I’ll try. Even though I’ll be wracked by guilt since I don’t have enough to share with every single person on this planet.
Max: I get it now. Even the ghost makes sense.
Logan: Ah, the ghost makes sense.
Conclusion
While Haven strays too far from the show’s essence, it’s still a creepy and mildly engaging hour of Dark Angel.
Nad Rating
C
I liked this one for the same reason you didn't: it's different than the rest of the show. 🙂 I like how Logan picked up the garrote in the doorway trick from the cop/informant guy. That was a nice touch.
Shot in Canada, I'm assuming? Those mountains didn't look like anything I've ever seen before. They were all…pretty. And you could see them without smog. Odd.
Did Jessica Alba do her own stunts? The stunts on this show are so much better than Buffy. Not as good as the ones on Alias, but what is?
Yes the show is shot in Vancouver. Hence the beauty of it all!
You mention a fascinating point that I've always thought about! Buffy, Alias and Dark Angel were always my top three heroine shows and I frequently compared the fight scenes on those three productions. I always came to this conclusion:
Sarah Michelle Gellar is the worst. She does absolutely NOTHING on Buffy. She's only there for a few inserts and close-ups and that's it. You can always spot the stunt doubles and it just always distracted me (and I was always annoyed how SMG would brag in interviews that she did everything (!!!!)
Alba was better. You can see on Dark Angel that she does quite a bit although you can also spot stunt doubles sometimes. It's nowhere near as horrible as Buffy though. Alba underwent rigorous training for a year and even learned how to drive that epic motorcycle.
However, Alias blows them out of the water. Of course there's the amazing production values, but Garner did A LOT! Even in wide shots you can see her kicking ass and it's just so commendable and awesome.
But now in recent years, there's a new action star who does even more than Garner and it's Maggie Q on Nikita! This woman does EVERYTHING except jump off buildings. It's insane, I think I've only spotted her stunt double once in 3 seasons as opposed to every episode in other shows mentioned above.
Ah sunbunny, as you can see I love action and discussing these aspect of my shows. Hope that analysis wasn't boring to read!
Not at all! SMG said she did everything? Hell no she didn't. Rewatching the series, especially the early seasons, her stunt double is so, so obvious. She's shaped much differently than SMG (she's muscly, because, you know, stunt double) and when they cut back to the SMG inserts her hair is always perfect despite the flipping around. Annoying. Alias was the best. It wasn't just because of Jennifer Garner (although that's a lot of it). Alias had the best choreographed fights I've ever seen. They were always interesting and interacted with the environment. I usually get bored watching stuff like that, but not with Alias. I've never seen Nikita, but it's been on my list for a while…
YES sunbunny SMG's inserts were always SO darn distracting. They would totally ruin the moment for me. The stunt double you're talking about is Sophia Crawford who doubled for the first four seasons and yes she's quite muscly when compared to Gellar.
So true about the Alias fights. They were choreographed so exquisitely, and allowed Sydney to utilize the environment and the objects around her in the most creative of ways! Please watch Nikita after Dark Angel 🙂 You need a fun new asskicker in your life and she's awesome.
Ouch, that was not good. My first time feeling completely bored during an episode, but it was bound to happen after 14 compelling episodes!
I don't like filler episodes (obviously, who does?) but sometimes they can be fun. Here, it just wasn't. Everything felt way off about the show that I've quickly begun to love! And seeing those guys bully Logan at the bar was VERY disturbing. I've never felt this awkward and annoyed at a TV show in a very long time. I have a huge issue with bullying in general so I also hate seeing it depicted on TV. It's always way too cruel and done just for the sake of toying with the audience's emotions. The look on Logan's face after one of those guys flipped him over really killed me. Especially after seeing Max come to his rescue.
But other than that, it was mostly the kid that annoyed me. Him and his lame-ass story lol. For the first time, I didn't completely concentrate on what was happening (my God, yes, the music man was toooo much!!) so I'm not exactly sure what the whole grave thing was even about. It's okay, I'll just pretend this episode never happened!
I keep mentioning how much I love the show's commitment to the setting and production. I did notice more of that here in one of the kid's lame flashbacks. There's a shiny Mercedes car parked outside the family's house when he's looking out the window, and it totally caught my attention! Because that's the sort of car we've never seen on this show yet (post-pulse) which is just fascinating. Everyone either owns a cheap bicycle or a worn-out truck now. Very small and meaningless detail but I loved it!
I was gonna comment why name the boy Sage? I totally missed whenever they mentioned that his parents were Arab. But even still, what kind of name is that? Lol. Poor boy never stood a chance.
Ahhh here we go. The first episode you don't like and I TOTALLY get it. It's just so different and weird. And lots of unnecessary boring stuff particularly with Sage.
I know what you mean about bullying. I hated that Logan scene but I guess it was quite effective. It always irks me the wrong way.
The Mercedes touch was great you're right! I vaguely remember that! Need to check that out again!
Also, I LOATHE seeing Max weak. Just like in Flushed (the show's third episode when she was stuck in the Warden's house). It's just so freakin' disturbing!