Utopia Series Two Blog: Episodes Two and Three

Episode Two

After last episode’s 70’s romp, detailing the origins of the Network and the Janus project, episode two of Channel 4’s Utopia returns us to the present day, where we are to discover the fates of our heroes and villains from the first series.

Ian (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) has returned to the doldrums of office IT; Grant (Oliver Woollford), whose voice has noticeably dropped an octave or two (oh, how they grow up fast!),  is now Ian’s moody-teen flatmate; Wilson (Adeel Akhtar) tries, with much discomfort, to settle into his new position in the Network; and Arby (Neil Maskell) attempts a new and normal life on the straight-and-narrow.

Yet such normality is but a veneer over the truth of their reality: that their comfort and happiness exists upon the knife-edge of their ignorance. It is Becky (Alexandra Roach) who begins to tip the group over the edge. As she is drawn away from the ledge of a roof in a desperate attempt to free herself from a miserable death as a result of her developing Deel’s syndrome, she pushes herself and her friends back down a dark path. Ironically, it is the man who saves her from suicide, her shady drug-dealer, and scientist, Donaldson (Michael Maloney), who seals their fates.

(source: www.cultbox.co.uk)

As the group are forced back together, we discover the infamous Jessica Hyde (Fiona O’Shaughnessy) remains alive, though imprisoned by the Network in their belief that she possesses deeper knowledge of her father’s creation; Janus. As the episode opens upon the idyllic, gloriously vivid scene of a lavender field, we are greeted by Jessica Hyde’s bizarre, glass pyramid prison; only such a weird and enigmatic prison could hold the force of nature that is Jessica Hyde. As we see her questioned, watched, and interrogated, the episode comes to life with emotional power as O’Shaughnessy demonstrates the duplicitous fluidity of Jessica Hyde’s character. The scenes she shares with her interrogator are reminiscent of the interactions between Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling in Jonathon Demme’s 1991 film, The Silence of the Lambs. Pulsing with the tension of a game of psychological chess, Jessica’s interrogator attempts to emotionally manipulate her into revealing information about Janus. Just as we the audience and Jessica’s interrogator are lulled into believing that she has some form of sentimentality, her cold intelligence and strategic mind snaps back into evidence, for, as she informs her hapless interrogator, “I know you’re not in my head. I’m in yours.” Thus, the master manipulator reveals her true colours with a violent flourish, and yet another of her seemingly numerous interrogators shuffles off this mortal coil!

(source: primetime.unrealitytv.co.uk)

The boundaries between heroes and villains are utterly thrown to the wayside with the episode’s finale, whose action-thrills are as exciting as any Die Hard film.

Just as we think our main gang of heroes may be doomed to die at the hands of Network assassin, Arby, the sides flex and alter as Arby saves the group from a team of snipers. As they escape across a lush green field of some indistinguishable vegetable, their futures appear as uncertain as ever. What is the alteration to Janus? Will Jessica Hyde escape her fated lobotomy? And who is the mysterious Anton (portrayed by the excellent Ian McDiarmid), and how could he possibly have such an intimate knowledge of Philip Carvel’s biological creation, Deel’s syndrome?

As Cristobal Tapia de Veer’s evocative soundtrack blasts out over the closing credits, we are left hungry for the answers to these questions, and indeed, to see more of this exceptionally talented ensemble cast. Role on episode 3!

Episode 3

With a garish mustard-yellow suit, slick modern hairstyle, and a perverse sense of humour; the Network’s assassin, Lee (Paul Ready), is the embodiment of what makes Utopia so brilliant. Episode 3 opens with the irritating squeaking of the turning of a screw. We find Lee in the banal setting of Ian’s office workplace, dismembering the IT consultant’s PC with the aid of tools from his trusty, yet ominous, neon-green bag; disturbingly reminiscent of Mary Poppins’ bottomless carpet bag, if Mary Poppins were a psychopathic killer who enjoyed scooping people’s eyes out with a spoon. We hope that Lee will complete his work undisturbed, that there will be no collateral damage as he fulfils his duties to the Network, but of course, we are wrong. As Ian’s office superior, Joe (Gerard Monaco), pursues his suspicions of Lee, ratcheting up the tension of this excellent opening scene, his fate is sealed with a brutal and bloody end. It is a death as grotesquely hilarious as it is gruesome; you’ll struggle to hold back the laughs as your moral compass wavers towards the immoral.

(source: www.needtoconsume.com)

The third episode of this second series continues to sustain the intrigue and pace that Utopia so masterfully exudes. Becky, Ian, Grant, Arby and Donaldson continue their search for answers to the question, who or what is Jimmy Deeshel, and why is he a fat man? As they probe the mind of an obnoxious young Network hacker for answers, the deadline for the Network’s ominous ‘V-Day’ campaign looms on the horizon. Such a deadline becomes ever more menacing as our gang of unlikely heroes uncover yet another layer of the Network’s schemes, and Utopia cleverly utilizes our contemporary anxieties to create fictional horrors that strike a chilling blow of fear in their near-reality. Janus is not the only weapon in the Network’s arsenal; weaponized pathogens with the global impact of an atomic bomb can also be included in their Satan’s inventory.

With the revelation that the Russian flu virus is in fact a double bluff, our hapless civil servant, Dugdale (Paul Higgins), must struggle with his morality and self-preserving loyalty to the Network; a struggle mirrored by fallen hero Wilson Wilson (Adeel Akhtar). Both Higgins and Akhtar demonstrate their characters’ torment over the desire to follow their hearts, but the need to follow their heads, with pained skill. The duality of their loyalties is portrayed with agonizing rawness, as Higgins’ expressive face crumples like a dilapidated warehouse every time another strain is placed upon him, whilst Akhtar’s one visible eye portrays vivid emotional truth as he attempts to remain facially impassive.

The performances of both actors highlight the great heart that Utopia possesses, a heart which beats with questions of morality, though one question beats the loudest; how far are we willing to go to survive?

(source: www.theguardian.com)

Meanwhile, our dark heroine Jessica Hyde finally escapes her Network captors in the most characteristically grim way that Utopia can craft. You won’t look at a dumbwaiter or a waste disposal vehicle in the same way again. With such a narrow escape, it is a relief to see Jessica liberated once more; perhaps now we can breathe a sigh of relief that Janus will collapse under Philip Carvel’s secret alteration to the protein.

Well, no – not really. For the biggest twist in this episode comes in the shambling, rambling, wizened form of Ian McDiarmid’s Anton.

Or should we call him Dr. Philip Carvel? Only time will reveal the truth, and as Utopia continues down its winding, labyrinthine plotlines, smattered with glittering performances, it’s sure to be one heck of a journey!