Take Three: Underground

Underground: Season 1, Episode 3 “The Lord’s Day” (B+)

Three episodes in and this show is still proving to be very good, which makes me very happy. The realization that happened near the end about the lyrics of the song that pointed to the drinking gourd was a sign that this slow burn escape operation is really getting started, and the frantic fleeing we saw at the end of the episode was far less comforting. There were some tense moments, of course, like when Tom walked in to get his hands dirty unaware that there was a slave hanging from the rafters right above his head. When the seal went missing, we got to see more of how Tom is not really a good man, perfectly content to make his slaves pay all together for a wrong committed when he didn’t know which one of them had actually done it. The resolve of some of the slaves is truly incredible, and I think that Tom admires that in a twisted way as he seeks to punish those he sees as property. Contrast that with his brother John, who, so soon after being approached by members of the Underground Railroad, was completely up for opening his house to a secret nursery installation and middle-of-the-night cargo delivery. Not only that – he was eager to volunteer to spy and get information for them to help their cause. Playing out these two stories at the same time, especially as they feature brothers, is extremely interesting, and I like the continued creative use of music to assist this show in establishing a singular tone.