Perpetual Grace, LTD Review: Felipe G. Usted. Almost First Mexican on the Moon. Part 1 (Season 1 Episode 3)
On Perpetual Grace, LTD Season 1 Episode 3, “Felipe G. Usted. Almost First Mexican on the Moon. Part 1,” plans are hatched and immediately come collapsing down.
It’s an episode about waiting. The show cleverly makes each character have to wait in some way, watching and waiting for the opportune moment. James waits to get bitten and for Uncle Dave to leave so that he doesn’t die; Pa drives, waiting to strike; Ma waits for the right moment to escape; Walker waits to put the ankle bracelet back on James; and Felipe waits in seclusion to prove his worth.
Chris Conrad
James’ words of wishing to be a better person are a unique window into him we have not been given a chance to see yet. He appears to feel his misdeeds right to his core, becoming the kindest conman in recent memory. The idea of being better tomorrow, of making a promise to be a better person or to give up a vice, is not foreign to a lot of us, and helps to humanize him.
Getting purposely bitten by a rattlesnake in order to remove the ankle tracker, though, is a wild plan. That it actually works is the miracle of coincidence, something the show dabbles with and makes work. There’s an almost magical realism to events, as though they play out on a different set of rules, but never come across as cheap or detrimental. It happens, and it’s accepted.
New Leaf and James finally having their talk is one of the episode’s shining moments. Chris Conrad and Jimmi Simpson bounce off each other with the rhythmic dialogue, creating this tit for tat style where very real threats of harm come off as endearing comedy. New Leaf is easily becoming a favorite, Conrad able to make him a friendly but vengeful nemesis you almost want to root for.
Terry O’Quinn
The inclusion of Kurtwood Smith’s Uncle Dave is a fascinating addition to the cast. He’s a kind but eccentric soul, a mishap shaping his life forever. His interactions with Terry O’Quinn’s Walker evoke their wonderful scenes from Patriot. It’s a wonder if Uncle Dave will further prove a wrinkle to James’ efforts; but Kurtwood Smith’s portrayal is this calming presence, and I hope he returns more.
The episode is filled with strange and fascinating images. There’s Hector looking down into the beer can, thumb resting inside. There’s Hector’s two sons, riding Segways down the road in tandem unsuspectingly toward Pa in the ice cream truck. There’s Efren Ramirez’s character Felipe endlessly going through the grueling process of becoming an astronaut.
It all adds up to this wonderfully varied and unpredictable hour.
The most striking one, though, comes in someone simply sitting in front of a window. James’ head progressively growing larger and larger as the rattlesnake venom worsens, is almost gruesome, but nearly impossible to look away from.
Jimmi Simpson
Perpetual Grace, LTD Season 1 Episode 3, “Felipe G. Usted. Almost First Mexican on the Moon. Part 1,” is a great continuation of showing the futility plans have in the show’s world. Nothing goes according to plan on the episode, much to our benefit.
With James taking off to Mexico with Glenn and New Leaf, there’s likely to be a larger mess of picking up the pieces of Pa potentially snatching up Hector’s kids. If Ma manages to catch up with Pa, they will be a force the antiheroes may have no power to control. We still don’t know the extent of what they’re capable of, and so it makes what’s next compelling and exciting.
What did you think of this episode of Perpetual Grace, LTD? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Perpetual Grace, LTD airs Sundays at 10/9c on EPIX.
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Kevin Lever
Kevin Lever has been following television closely for most of his life, but in starting to cover it, he has grown a further appreciation. He strives to give the blockbusters their due, and give the lesser known shows a spotlight to find more fans.