What, were you expecting subtlety on a show that borrowedScandals time slot for its premiere?
Thats not to sayThe Familyis ever boring.
Its gotScandalandGreys Anatomyin its DNA, thanks to creator Jenna Bans.
Credit: Jack Rowand/ABC
The pilot commences with a cracking cold open, which reminded me a lot ofOrphan Blacks first bow.
(Who could have turned that show off after seeing Sarah and Beth on the train platform?)
The kids beg for reprieve from their work and head off.
Willa and Danny have teenager business to attend to, Adam isnt minded, and the nightmare scenario ensues.
The teen asks to speak to an Officer Meyer and a friendly cop asks for his name.
Im him, he responds blankly, pointing to the smiling face in the frame.
The pilot moves at a fast clip, and theres little time to dwell on some important establishing moments.
Claire, as we know, is the Mayor.
John is an author and speaker who specializes in grief.
Willa (Allison Pill) is her mothers right hand, jot down A and devoutly religious.
They convene at the hospital where Dina Meyer (Margot Bingham), now a detective, intercepts them.
Hes good-natured, hungry, and polite, happy to be steered from one room to another.
It freaks Danny out.
(How was the product of a minors illegal search admissible evidence?
Maybe well find out next week, but I doubt it.)
Adams reappearance earns Hank an instant pardon with full compensation, but hes by no means a free man.
His proclivities were tossed around in court and his face plastered on the news.
No one even bothered to tell him his mother died while he was locked up.
His whole life is a prison.
The most riveting scene in the pilot comes when John approaches Hank in the grocery store.
Hank refuses to give John the absolution hed been casually gunning for.
Youre sorry for what happened to me?
You happened to me.
Your family happened to me.
Hank is only a fraction of the monster that the state made him out to be.
Adams resurfacing means theres a full-fledged monster still out there.
Meyer presses Claire to allow her to interview Adam immediately.
She agrees, as long as his shrink is present.
Thats an oddly dismissive term for a woman whose child has endured unspeakable abuse.
Adam answers Meyers questions in oddly poetic terms, making strange visual associations.
The mans face was like gravel.
Sometimes, when the man would visit him, he could see a red dragon through the window.
Theres something unsavory about creating watercooler television around this subject.
Danny sits back and notes each point at which current Adam deviates from the one they lost.
(You have to collapse the mast.
You cant imprison the ships without damaging them, even if that damage isnt visible.
The thrust of the drama is clear.The Familyisnt Adams story; the title is apt.
John, Claire, Willa, and Danny were stunted by Adams kidnapping and assumed death.
(Im married to a machine, not a wife.)
Its an ensemble that deserves better and can absolutely handle it.
(Joan Allen back on television, people!)
When Adam returns, he pushes them further into these roles.
Meyer has the potential to be a commanding character.
Shes ambitious, though theres no evidence that she doesnt care tremendously about Adam.
Now shes learning that the collar that made her career was a bad one.
Then theres Bridey (Floriana Lima), who wears shorts to work and runs a lesbian lifestyle blog.
Bridey may not be an experienced investigative reporter, but even lifestyle bloggers know to check their sources.
Its a revelation that makes Adams repetitive late-night viewings of family home videos especially chilling.
Does the existence of a possible perp corroborate Adams story?
Could be any one of them; so far, theyre a fairly unappealing bunch.
