Watching Clarice has been, for the most part, frustrating, with a lot of that frustration wrapped around the show’s inability, legally or otherwise, to delve too far into The Silence of the Lambs mythology that hangs over the series like a black cloud. However, in episode 5, “Get Right With God,” Clarice finally embraces some of that backstory, resulting in the best episode of season one so far.
At the end of last week’s episode, we saw Clarice (Rebecca Breeds) get drugged by the mad doctor Marilyn Felker (played wonderfully by Natalie Brown), which set up the bulk of this episode. The eerie, creepy atmosphere of the intensive care unit that Felker has in the equally creepy house is a great backdrop for this story. Also, a shout-out to whoever picked that opening song, showing their sick sense of humor. The setting matched the mental duel going on between Clarice and Marilyn perfectly, and more importantly, between Clarice and her own demons.
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It is under these circumstances, full of drugs and hallucination, that Clarice, both the actor and the show, do more than simply dip their toe in the world that surrounds The Silence of the Lambs. We get flashbacks of Clarice’s father, stories of horses and yes, lambs, that are intertwined with Buffalo Bill, the dreaded well, and of course, all the moths. The visuals are done well but more importantly, by allowing the title character to go there, using the drugs as a means to access these memories, Clarice accesses some things that she’s been trying very hard to suppress, even though she knows she needs to deal with it at some point.
The back-and-forth between Clarice and Marilyn are wonderful, each wanting something from the other and using whatever means at their disposal to get there. Clarice is obviously much better at this than Marilyn and she begins to crack her armor psychologically, but not before revelations about both characters. Also, be warned that if you have issues with needles, “Get Right With God” will make you uncomfortable. The needles add to the horror element of this episode, and the whole arc the show has built up to this point.
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One of the biggest differences between Marilyn and Clarice is that Clarice has friends, and when they realize she is missing, rally together and begin to look for her. We get some interesting tidbits of information, in terms of characters, plot, and strange humor. It’s a good mix and comes across very well, which is needed if some of these characters want to ever escape the shadow of Clarice (a problem this show continues to struggle with). We also got a peek at VICAP’s boss Krendler’s (Michael Cudlitz) private life. It was odd, not something you see usually in an FBI show, but it worked well here.
This week further illustrates the dangerous life Clarice is living. A brilliant investigator, both of physical and psychological evidence, whose love of going solo threatens to undo all that good work and put everyone else at VICAP in jeopardy. Ardelia Mapp (Devyn A. Tyler) sums it up best with, “Alone is safe for her.” Here’s hoping the next episode shines a brighter light on her desperate need to address the issues she has tried so hard to bury away.
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