Lights Out: Head Games
Last night’s Lights Out episode exposed some sort of duality in pretty much every character involved the show up to this point, and it was all anchored by the appearance of the mysterious Ed Romeo (played by Eammon Walker of Oz, and Cadillac Records). Patrick turned to Romeo after Pops said he wouldn’t train Patrick to fight Reynolds. Enter Romeo, who sets off a chain of subplots with his unorthodox training technique of breaking fighters down to their core and working from what he probably sees as a fighter’s true self.
Pops, Johnny, and Margaret all band together to try to get rid of Romeo, which seems like the first time they’ve fought against Patrick rather than with him. It most certainly must have been the first time they’ve all turned against Patrick. Even when Johnny was screwing things up (or still is?), he’s at least trying to help. Seeing Pops walking down the street with ramen, seeming to use his cart as a crutch, was a rare moment of his weakness on display. We see that he’s lost a lot more than a fighter when deciding not to train his son.
Theresa and the Leary daughters have their moments also (aside from the youngest, who is apparently on an eternal “Girl Scout retreat”). Most notably, Ava ranges from spoiled teenager to showing that she can be caring and charming. When Theresa mentions that Ava was a natural at the hospital, Ava blows it off as nothing because she easily relates to people (at least non-Learys). The writers’ decision to have Ava point out exactly how aware she is of her parents’ marital and money problems by saying she just wanted to forget them was pitch-perfect as well.
The best scene, though, belonged to Theresa, Patrick, and Romeo. First of all, I liked seeing them having a late-night conversation. It’s a small thing, but it’s the type of small thing grown-ups do when they have guests. It also led to the hilarious conversation where Romeo tells them he likes his fighters “relaxed,” so they should “keep on doing what they’re doing” (as opposed to refraining from sex before a fight). Patrick and Theresa’s reactions were priceless. Sure, they may be grown-ups, but talking about sex in front of relative strangers can be pretty awkward, especially for Catholics (I would know). Romeo’s choice of words was perfect, too: “Keep doing what you’re doing.” What are they doing? Sure, everything seems fine now, but it wasn’t that long ago when Theresa kicked Patrick out of the house. Couples (and their children) don’t forget about things like that.
Finally, Romeo once again reveals a little more about Richard “Death Row” Reynolds, who I’ve already said is my favorite character. I worry that the show is shaping Reynolds as a sort of black-athlete stereotype: Romeo describes Reynolds’ childhood as fatherless and troubled. Luckily, Reynolds makes an appearance to warn Patrick about Romeo. As usual, we’re not really sure what his motives are, which is fantastic. He also throws some more doubt onto Romeo, who already harbors some dark secrets. That these two mysterious characters are granted access to the Learys only makes them more dangerous and intriguing.
Sidenote: At first, I hated the idea of bringing in the Ed Romeo character. His approach to training through finding what really makes a person tick is a sports show cliché and a bad writing gimmick. (It’s a lot like making your protagonist go to a therapist to tell the reader all the character’s problems.) It worked, though. Not only did he bring out many unseen parts of other characters, but he had some fantastic moments himself. Was I the only one who thought it was a really nice moment and also incredibly terrifying when he took a picture of the Leary family?
