Take Three: Rubicon

Rubicon: Season 1, Episode 3 “Keep the Ends Out” (C+)

What is there to say about this show? It has small, supporting compelling elements like the discussion of the worst presidents, but as a whole, it’s still a giant question mark that doesn’t show any signs of reaching any sort of clarity at any point soon. The bicycle plot proved to be pretty interesting because it provides a way to get to know a character we barely saw, starting with the visit by his wife to the office at the start. It’s all about the intrigue here, and the suspenseful music is what’s been driving every episode thus far, without much else to support it. Will being followed around by a shadowy tail is the ultimate example of that: a long-running plotline that doesn’t have to end at any point since paranoia is what keeps this show going. If the twist is supposed to be that a different, secondary group is actually following Will, how does that help? It further compounds and complicates things, forever postponing any sort of resolution. Due to the lack of answers provided, my main reaction to the episode was to recognize the actor playing the security guard at Will’s building who accompanied them up to the office and then later let Will take a peek at his camera. The actor in question is Mark Lotito, who I saw on Broadway several weeks ago playing multiple roles in “Jersey Boys.” While I do often recognize guest stars, the fact that my main attention was on that means that the rest of this show just isn’t terribly engaging.