Powers Review: “The Raconteur of the Funeral Circuit”

Powers

Spoiler Review

Powers slows down after two action-packed episodes in “The Raconteur of the Funeral Circuit,” dealing primarily with the fallout from Wolfe’s near escape as the Powers Division mourns and Royalle struggles with what he’s done by creating Sway.

PowersWolfe seems to be enjoying his powerlessness and while the reason isn’t clear till the end of the episode, it’s creepy seeing the maneater so calm and happy. It just doesn’t seem/feel right and Eddie Izzard does a wonderful job playing up this Zen-like other side to Wolfe. But his reason for being happy is the true icing on the cake, as he attacks Walker right where it hurts without even having to leave his cell: Wolfe requests they strip him completely of his powers, which would include the abilities Walker covets so much, effectively killing Wolfe and ruining Walker’s chance to ever be a hero again. And if Walker’s willing to jump off a building or take an unregulated power enhancer to get his powers back, you can bet he’ll do something to prevent Wolfe from being de-powered, which he’ll be playing right into Wolfe’s hands.

PowersRoyalle’s desire to help others not feel powerless and to realize their full potential with Sway is finally taking a toll on him. The drug has obviously backfired, so he decides to attempt taking the Sway out of those who took it; his first test subject is one of the Simons, who volunteers before learning Royalle’s plan to literally and painfully rip the Sway out. In the mean time, the main Simons tries to set up Calista, who he feels has been the cause of Royalle’s problems of late, by giving her Sway. He opens up to Calista so she’ll believe him, admitting he only ever fears being alone again, something Sway helped him with by expanding his multiplying ability. Tensions rise between Royalle and main Simons when Royalle returns and reveals he was trying to literally pull the Sway out of the other Simons, which would’ve rendered main Simons all alone again. But seeing as it’s unsuccessful, what can Royalle do next?

PowersKrispin, Calista, and Chaotic Chick (just noticed that alliteration goldmine) get caught up in some relationship drama. Krispin and Calista tag the Powers Division station only to be interrupted by a Power, who accidentally causes a very minor fender-bender. Having video taped the entire ordeal, from tagging to accident, Chaotic Chick can’t wait to get her hands on the footage to use her special skills on it. She lives up to her name when she remakes the video so that it seems like the people in the car accident died due to the Power’s intervention, something which surprises Krispin and horrifies Calista. Their young love has been rocky due to the fact that he believes pretty much all Powers are terrible, much like Chaotic Chick, but Calista doesn’t and is secretly wanting to become a Power herself, and this video is the last straw between them for now. I’m placing a big bet Calista will be taking the Sway very soon.

PowersThe long title of this episode references Pilgrim’s father, who is mucking around the funeral proceedings to help alleviate the pain of the officers by telling loud, boisterous stories. I felt like Pilgrim’s anger with her father and his story was rather misplaced and a weak point of the episode, up until she revealed to Walker that her father is a corrupt cop who confiscated some cash from a crime scene. Seeing as we just met him, this moment wasn’t too big, though it did explain all of Prilgrim’s daddy issues mentioned in previous episodes. In the end at least she gets to air her grievances to Walker about his behavior in the Shaft and put him in his place.

PowersDrunk Triphammer has some initially funny scenes, offering up some fun little insights and details on the history he shares with Walker and other Powers, but his ramblings turn ominous quick. First he won’t explain to Walker what the Drainer does to the abilities when it drains a Power and later he name drops the “black swan” as a foe/adversary on the way that no one is prepared for.  As far as I could find on the internet, Black Swan isn’t mentioned in regards to the Powers comic series at all. However, Black Swan is a Marvel villain, who has been both male and female much like what Triphammer mumbled, with the unique ability to implant a telepathic virus into their victims. Since Powers is under the Icon imprint of Marvel, it’s possible they could borrow said character to spice up the virus storyline seen in the comics, if they go down that route on the show.

PowersWalker’s time with Retro Girl at the wake answered a lot of the questions I had following the ending of “Paint it Black,” specifically what his still glowing red eyes meant, if he got to keep any powers after Wolfe fell under the Drainer, and why he hadn’t told anyone he captured Wolfe, not Zora. He’s now linked with Wolfe after his Sway dosage, but he currently has no powers while Wolfe is ‘drained,’ so to speak, and he’s afraid of being known as the guy who lost his abilities twice, seeing as image is everything when you’re a Powers. But I found their discussion on the Drainer, where Janis is cautious because she’s unsure what it’s ultimate purpose is and Walker thinks it’s the atom bomb to stop the war, to be the most interesting of the episode; It’s a possible point of contention to pull these two further apart again.

Here are a few other things:

  • Zora’s new publicist is Krispin’s mom, and seeing her continue to work with and engage with Powers could bring them to heads.
  • Kutter, one of the Powers Division cops, has some pretty radical ideas for torture.
  • There’s a great article over at Engadget where they discuss all things Powers with PlayStation VP of Platform Marketing John Koller, regarding whether it would ever be released on iTunes, if there’s a second season planned, possible inFAMOUS: Second Son Powers themed DLC, and just how much PlayStation is betting on the series to launch their original programming brand.
  • At WonderCon in Anaheim, there was a Powers panel where series creator Brian Michael Bendis teased details about the upcoming episodes, saying, “…the shit really hits the fan…” by episode 9.
  • The song playing at the beginning of the episode was, “State of the Art (A.E.I.O.U.)” by Jim James. I’ve just been using the SoundHound app to identify these songs!

 

With the Drainer being used for more than we originally realized, a lot of relationships poised to clash in the days ahead, and a direct threat to Walker regaining his abilities, Powers is heading in all sorts of good directions; Let’s just hope it can pay them all off.

+ The mystery of Black Swan

+ Issues boiling to the surface

+ Wolfe’s taunting

 Quite the slowdown from the previous two episodes

Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.

POWERS REVIEWS:
Season One: Ep. 1: “Pilot” | Ep. 2: “Like a Power” | Ep. 3: “Mickey Rooney Cries No More” | Ep. 4: “Devil in a Garbage Bag” | Ep. 5: “Paint it Black” | Ep. 7: “You Are Not It” | Ep. 8: “Aha Shake Heartbreak” | Ep. 9: “Level 13” | Ep. 10: “F@#K the Big Chiller

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