What I’m Watching: Lights Out

Lights Out: Season 1, Episode 12 “Sucker Punch” (B+)

Since there’s only one episode of this show left, it seems like things should be hurtling towards an end, which makes the sudden arrival of the matriarch Leary feel rather sudden. It’s important to note that, this being a cable show, it’s likely headed to a fairly satisfactory conclusion to its current arc rather than a cliffhanger like most broadcast shows. There also isn’t a sense of some imminent demise, which wouldn’t be present, of course, if the show’s cancellation hadn’t been announced prior to the end of the season. Mae’s arrival seems like a rather standard move for a show like this, but like everything else on this series, it’s executed in a rather above-average fashion. Johnny and Mary expressing their hatred for their mother was rather jarring to see since they’re usually more optimistic, and I don’t think we’ve seen a look so blissful and happy as the one on Lights’ face while he was looking at his parents dancing together. Robert in particular seemed to drop everything as soon as Mae returned, and seeing her so blatantly betray her family was difficult. Lights didn’t waste any time, however, breaking down the door and breaking Lester’s hand. Hal’s involvement in everything is getting even more interesting, and his line to Mary, “I believe the best days of your life are yet to come,” was especially eerie as it immediately preceded the drive-by shooting. On a lighter note, Johnny making up the story about Reynolds having a heart attack was quite clever, and I’m looking forward to seeing how the big fight goes down in next week’s final installment of this series.