Summary
Another brutally meandering episode at least binds a couple of subplots together, but this show really is going nowhere fast — if it’s going anywhere at all.
This recap of The Mosquito Coast season 2, episode 7, “The Burning of Judas”, contains spoilers.
This week’s episode of The Mosquito Coast is set around Easter and makes a big song and dance about the burning of an effigy of Judas that is played with so much solemnity that it’s almost embarrassing. I just thought I’d mention this at the top since I’m not going to mention it again. After all, if the show can’t keep its characterizations straight, why should I bother buying into its metaphorical flourishes as everyone stands damp-eyed watching a pinata of negativity and sin go up in flames? Nobody has time for that.
The Mosquito Coast season 2, episode 7 recap
I wish, sometimes, that The Mosquito Coast was half as good as it clearly thinks it is. The occasional striking shot — there are a couple of nice ones here, especially the overhead after the crucifix is dragged through Casa Roja — can sometimes fool you into thinking you’re watching a drama of more narrative competence. But no such luck. “The Burning of Judas” is yet another brutally slow-paced and frustratingly circuitous episode that at least has the good manners to unite a couple of subplots and answer a couple of unanswered questions.
Most of the developments revolve around that construction project that Guillermo sent Allie and William to sabotage in Episode 5 and Episode 6. We learn early on here that Guillermo’s sister, Andrea, is at the center of that development, and there are all kinds of family issues bundled up here. Guillermo accuses her of waiting for their father to die so she can seize power; she warns him that if he doesn’t stop interfering in the development — and quietly “get rid” of those who sabotaged it — then there will be a steep price to pay. Families, eh?
We also learn that Richard is here to help Isela sabotage this development too, though it’s still a pretty remarkable coincidence that she needed the help of someone so intimately tied to Margot. It isn’t like there’s a global shortage of eco-terrorists. But we wouldn’t want that flashback premiere to have gone to waste, would we?
Speaking of which, that is also paid off in a new way, since it turns out Guillermo wants to use Allie’s Sandpiper predictive algorithm to be able to run cocaine without police interference. Allie insists on running the model himself, invalidating the need for a bookish new character named Caleb who shows up out of nowhere and is promptly, unceremoniously dismissed, but the general idea is that if Allie inputs all of Guillermo’s data about times, dates, locations, and suchlike, Sandpiper will be able to predict police movements and allow Guillermo’s drugs a clear run.
The biggest problems, as ever, are Dina and Charlie. You’ll recall that they both now know about Margot’s history with Richard, and Dina takes the opportunity here to savagely lay into Allie about how much she doesn’t respect him, even knowing that he was allowing them to resent him in order to protect their mother. Dina just hates them both equally now. I very much feel like the show is running out of ideas for what to do with Dina at this point beyond just having her participate in a limp romance with Adolfo. All she seems to do is moan.
Charlie, on the other hand, loves Casa Roja and doesn’t want to leave, despite the fact that we’re being reminded constantly how much he’s struggling with all the things he had to do to get here. He finally has some friends and a sense of purpose. But, you know, he pointed a gun at Richard’s head and cried his eyes out during the burning of Judas, so we’re to understand he’s deeply wounded. I see it, show, I really do — it’s just going to take a lot more than this to get me to actually care.
You can stream The Mosquito Coast season 2, episode 7, “The Burning of Judas” exclusively on Apple TV+.
