What I’m Watching: Hand of God

Hand of God: Season 1, Episode 4 “He So Loved” (C)

I’m less and less impressed with the direction of this show, and I think I’m even ready to stop watching this show if the first few minutes of episode five don’t entice me. The literal elements and the notion of hearing instructions from God aren’t working well together, and the story is weakened as a result. Pernell refusing to take his medicine is imbecilic, and the fact that his wife and his good buddy Bobo aren’t able to encourage him to do so would ordinarily make it impossible for him to pass any sort of mental evaluation, yet somehow, unrealistically, he had no trouble getting by and even being allowed to make a ruling on the same case that caused him to be under review in the first place. Getting told to sacrifice his son sounded like a pretty clear message, but of course Pernell decided that was open for interpretation. Giving KD the house and taking him shopping for fertilizer to cultivate a nice lawn was a cruel antecedent to the unforgiving and entirely selfish decision to send him back to prison for violating his parole despite KD’s immediate mention of the fact that he should report his new digs to his parole officer. Betraying his one ally will definitely make Pernell too cocky to see that he’s not clear of suspicion despite the productive developments in that case, and his ego is going to get the best of him. Learning more about Crystal’s past and Tessie’s was somewhat interesting, but not enough to make this show strong.