Trickster Review: Episode 1 (Season 1 Episode 1)

Trickster Season 1 Episode 1 is the first episode of The CW’s newest Canadian acquisition. It sets up a moody, slow-burn while introducing us to the main characters, establishing core relationships, and hinting at the larger adventure to come. 

Familiar Tropes

The series follows Jared, a well-meaning, if underachieving, teen who carries most of the responsibility of keeping his family afloat and cleaning up his parents’ messes. We quickly learn he is a smart, resourceful kid with a good heart.

If that sounds familiar, it’s because it is. Jared is a familiar character trope people will recognize from other coming-of-age stories. That familiarity helps us understand a lot about who he is even without much context. 

The same applies to Jared’s relationship with his mother, Maggie. We’ve seen this dynamic before, where the child is more of an adult than the loving but irresponsible parent.

Maggie loves Jared. She would go to the ends of the earth to protect him. But, Jared is constantly containing her chaos and the one who makes sure the bills are paid.

Maggie and Jared’s relationship is familiar, but that doesn’t make them or their relationship a cliche. There is more to both of them and most notably, on “Episode 1”, to Maggie. 

Maggie

Jared’s journey is the driving force of Trickster but Maggie’s backstory is the most important supporting plotline. 

We learn that Maggie knows more than she lets on right away. The episode opens with a flashback of her begging Wade to give her back her baby.

We don’t know how aware she is of what is going on as she chases him, only that she knows something is trying to take her baby, and it’s not human.

Then there are the conversations she has with someone who doesn’t appear to be real. It’s safe to assume that she isn’t actually hallucinating though and that she is talking to a real invisible entity somehow tied to her. 

Learning more about her connection to the supernatural is something I’m looking forward to as the season progresses.

The last scene with Jared and the talking crow, in particular, make me wonder what Maggie knows, and what she doesn’t. I’m curious if the crow parroting Jared’s line that he’s not real is meaningful and what he means when he says that Jared’s time is up.

Maggie doesn’t seem worried about an approaching deadline for her son, but something is up with her.

Hopefully, we will also get flashbacks from before Jared was born. I don’t expect that Maggie’s issues started with his birth, but she is definitely dealing with trauma and stress connected to her past, whether supernatural or not.

Show Mythology

We can’t speculate too much on the show’s world-building yet. “Episode 1,”  only offers a few unexplained flashes of the show’s mythology.

The peeks we do get are creepy and compelling, particularly those with Jared’s doppelgänger, but they don’t tell us much more than something weird is going on.

It makes the episode less gripping than it could be and parts of the hour drag a little, but it is enough to entice viewers to come back and find out what’s going on. 

As mentioned above, Trickster is setting up a slow burn and I can get behind that. However, with only a six-episodes this season it needs to pick up the pace next week if it’s going to have time to tell a satisfying story.

Use of Color

One thing that makes “Episode 1” effective despite a slow plot is its style. The show’s visual style does a lot of the heavy lifting of creating narrative and emotional tension. 

Much of the episode has a purposefully drab look underscoring Jared’s unremarkable life up to this point.

Despite constantly getting his mom out of trouble, there is a monotony about Jared’s world. He is going through the motions and that feeling is emphasized by the faded appearance of a number of scenes as well the episode’s slow pacing. 

Intermixed with those mundane scenes are highly stylized ones that dramatically use color to create an otherworldly and dreamlike quality. It is unsettling and that unsettled tone seeps into all the scenes, whether they are stylized or not. 

Creating a Sense of Approaching Danger

In addition to the use of color, there is a significant amount of camera movement and a Stranger Things-like score that evoke a sense of foreboding and encroaching danger. It keeps viewers on edge as the supernatural incidents grow more significant.

Similarly, small reminders of crows throughout the episode, both visually and background noise amplify a feeling of unease that subtly builds to the payoff of the final scene when the crow starts talking to Jared. 

If the show is too aggressive with its stylistic choices, those elements will become more of a distraction than an asset. But, if they continue to walk that line effectively, Trickster’s distinct gothic style will be a big part of what pulls viewers in and keeps them engaged.

“Episode 1” isn’t perfect and the series needs to move a little faster if it is going to succeed, but overall it’s a promising start.

What did you think of this episode of Trickster? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Critic Rating:

User Rating:

 

Trickster airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on CW.

 Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!

Breeze’s Top 10 Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror TV Series of 2020