Roadkill Review: Season 1 Episode 3
With all the turbulence on Roadkill Season 1 Episode 3, it’s starting to look like the metaphorical roadkill are the human casualties along the way as a white male politician fails up.
Lily has the perfect analogy for it: “We’re all stuck in this broken-down lift called Peter Laurence.”
Two women are dead (along with the deer Peter hit with his car) and those still living in Peter’s orbit are all pretty miserable. Maybe Rose should rethink her desire to meet him.
The introduction of this Yemen issue seems superfluous at first but is actually key. It is the impetus for political maneuvering within the Conservative Party and creates the path for Peter to become prime minister.
It’s quite brilliant the way this plot point develops throughout the episode, culminating in the final scene that alludes to the possibility of a power grab for Peter. And having them playing chess during it is a nice touch.
As Peter climbs his way to the top, the people around him struggle in large part because of him and his decisions.
One of the most interesting examples of this is when Madeleine confronts Peter.
Madeleine: You have no idea what it’s like being the girlfriend.
Peter: It’s what you wanted. You told me that.
Madeleine: And you chose to believe me because it suited you. It suited you and your life, but it never occurred to you to ask me properly.
Peter considers the people in his life from a skewed and selfish perspective. Their behaviors and their actions are either beneficial or a hindrance to him—it’s the effect on him that takes priority.
From his point of view, they are free to make their choices and live their lives as they see fit. He doesn’t acknowledge that their ties to him—be it familial, professional, or otherwise—becomes a way for him to manipulate them.
He tells his wife that he doesn’t want to leave her, but now we see the subtext—their marriage serves his interests. Peter needs to know that Helen will stick to the story pertaining to his legal win as new threats arise.
Charmian Pepper is killed while trying to prove his corruption. We learn that Margaret is out to expose Peter because of his culpability in her mother’s death. Connection to him, even tangentially, often results in suffering.
At the end of this episode, Peter is a little banged up from his accident but otherwise unscathed, leaving everyone distressed and distraught in his wake. There is even the potential of reward for him in the form of political advancement.
Will Peter Laurence come out on top or will it all come crashing down around him? With so many factors at play it can go either way, and your guess is as good as mine.
What did you think of this episode of Roadkill? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Roadkill airs Sundays at 9/8c on PBS.
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Erin Allen
Erin is a former script supervisor for film and television. She's an avid fan of middle aged actresses, dark dramas, and irreverent comedies. She loves to read actual books and X-Files fan fiction. Her other passions include pointing out feminist issues, shipping Mulder and Scully, and collecting pop culture mugs.