What I’m Watching: I Know This Much Is True (Series Finale)

I Know This Much Is True: Season 1, Episode 6 (B-)

This episode started with another insanely depressing development that meant we barely got to see Thomas anymore following his apparently accidental death at the falls. Harris Yulin’s Father LaVie delivered a moving eulogy that favorably compared Dominick to the brother that Cain should have been to Abel, praising him as his brother’s keeper. He also had kind words for Ray, who we saw through Dominick’s tortured flashbacks would be incredibly cruel to Thomas, with him banging on the closet door begging to be let out particularly haunting as he now lay trapped in the coffin. Dominick chose a very public moment to confront Ray about his abusive behavior, shouldering plenty of the blame for not standing up to his stepfather and being complicit in bullying Thomas to death by trying to toughen him up. Ray maintaining that his conscience was clear wasn’t the right response, and his own subsequent decline was enough for Dominick to step in and care for him the same way he had for his brother. Dr. Patel encouraging Dominick to return for sessions and Lisa refusing to agree that Dominick’s arrogance killed his brother were comforting last visions of those supportive characters whose presence Dominick didn’t always perceive as helpful. While much of this episode was well-done and superior to everything that ran up to it, I wasn’t impressed with the fact that the answer Dominick always sought was right in front of him the whole time, with Ray fully aware of who his father was. His new connection to an uninterested Ralph Drinkwater wasn’t all that compelling, and the same was true of the miserable flashback to Domenico having his wife committed so that he didn’t have to fight for influence over his daughter. This series did feature some strong performances, particularly from Mark Ruffalo, but it felt too much like it was drowning in its own melancholy to be truly effective.

Series grade: B-
Series MVP: Mark Ruffalo

What I’m Watching: I Know This Much Is True (Penultimate Episode)

I Know This Much Is True: Season 1, Episode 5 (C+)

I wasn’t expecting to start this episode and hear people speaking Italian at the turn of the century, but I suppose there was a reason that Dominick had his grandfather’s writings translated for a reason. It’s easy to see where Dominick gets some of his antisocial and chauvinistic tendencies given how his grandfather treated the women in his life, which was just part of the disturbing behavior we saw from the man who tried to teach his brother a lesson that then ended up costing him his life. It is interesting, I suppose, that Dominick feels such a responsibility for his brother given the guilt that his grandfather felt, not that he did much to make up for it after with his desire to only have his wife bear him a son. Returning to the present was a bit jarring after that lengthy disturbing flashback, and we saw Dominick refusing to talk about himself when Dr. Patel tried to get to the root of his own issues. Ralph calling him to tell him to get Thomas to a doctor right away so that he could tested for HIV was unnerving, and Lisa seemed particularly startled by what she saw a completely random request. Getting Leo to pose as a lawyer to blackmail Dr. Hume into releasing Thomas was crafty, but Lisa was quite adamant with him that she believed that he really needed to be in a facility, something that Dominick certainly won’t take into account now that he finally has care of his brother again.

What I’m Watching: I Know This Much Is True

I Know This Much Is True: Season 1, Episode 4 (C+)

I understand that a big part of this show is representing the loss of time that both of these brothers experiences as their lives operate on a cycle of misery. We saw some of the formative moments that shaped them, like Ray going ballistic on Thomas before positioning himself as the hero by giving him another chance to get his grades up, and how, years later, Ray is still around, not nearly as destructive or influential as he used to be but still spouting the same sentiments that traumatized the twins so much as children. Dominick also contributed to Thomas’ decline by removing himself from the equation, choosing to room with Leo instead and then needing to wrestle a knife away from his brother when he reacted poorly. The fall the adult Dominick took was quite severe, and he’s just as stubborn and untrusting as ever now that he’s a hospital bed pretty much immobilized. The circumstances that led to that accident were intense, and even if it’s hard to identify the exact narrative and sequence of events, there’s evidently a good amount of anguish that drives Dominick on a daily basis. Nedra showing up at the hospital was a surprise, and the translation she’s prepared is sure to clue Dominick in to a long history of suffering in his family. He doesn’t seem to have any interest in the offspring that he’s so certain isn’t his, and he’s pushing Joy away. Thomas actually seemed relatively put together in his hearing, though his direct answers are likely to harm him, particularly his response to the question posed by Bruce Greenwood’s doctor that confirmed that he might listen to voices in his head even if they told him to harm someone.

Take Three: I Know This Much Is True

I Know This Much Is True: Season 1, Episode 3 (B-)

Miserable things don’t just happen to the characters on this show – there’s at least partly to blame for what happens after life deals them yet another bad hand. Take Dominick’s response to the two women in his life who are interested in having babies. His revelation that he got a vasectomy was received very poorly by Dessa and is likely what led, in part, to their separation after the death of their child. When Joy told him she was pregnant, his only reply was to ask if she was sure it was his, which caught her completely off-guard and demonstrated a total lack of interest in even considering the notion of starting a family with her. Much as Dominick may not be the kind of man who rates other women like his friend who initially turned off Dessa when they first met, he’s also not the warm and fuzzy type, unwilling to change his behavior to suit anyone else, except of course for his brother. Thomas has a better excuse – his schizophrenia – to explain away his failure to comply with what Dominick and Lisa were telling him was necessary for him to get released. This episode was full of melancholy moments, like the eerie death of a classmate in elementary school and the car crash that ended it. Dominick was more concerned about his car being teepeed than anything else, and getting in that car drunk was not a good idea. I can’t imagine how much more unpleasant things can get, but it seems like that’s where we’re headed.

Round Two: I Know This Much Is True

I Know This Much Is True: Season 1, Episode 2 (B-)

I’m going to continue watching this show because I expect it to be a big Emmy player, if just for star Mark Ruffalo’s strong dual performance. But it’s so miserable that it’s hard to get through, and I’m not seeing the overarching purpose. That opening scene featuring the younger boys was a disturbing start, demonstrating how cruel children can be and even how bad adults can respond to unfortunate situations. The teacher did not do a good job of advocating for Thomas when he was locked in the bathroom, and forcing Dominick to stay with him when he didn’t want to get on the boat didn’t seem like the best choice either. Developments in their adult lives weren’t great either, with the devastating revelation that Dominick and Dessa lost a child to SIDS. Dominick mentioned how angry he was at his brother for blaming that death on a conspiracy theory inspired by his schizophrenia, but his loyalty to his brother still seems to supersede everything else for him. I was pleased to see three new cast members in this episode who all did their best despite this bleak material. I’ve been a fan of Imogen Poots since seeing her in “The Look of Love,” and she’s doing a good job here playing opposite Mark Ruffalo’s eternally grumpy and unpleasant Dominick. Rosie O’Donnell, last seen on “SMILF,” was stoic and unflappable as a social worker, and Archie Panjabi from “The Good Wife” and currently appearing on another Sunday night HBO show, “Run,” was more than ready to deal with Dominick’s lack of cooperation as the doctor now responsible for Thomas’ treatment.

Pilot Review: I Know This Much Is True

Check out my one-minute take on every new pilot, which is embedded below and you can also watch by subscribing to movieswithabe on YouTube.