Banshee Review: “The Thunder Man” (Season 2, Episode 2)

But then “The Thunder Man” surprises yet again, first by giving Siobhan the opportunity to settle the score with her ex, but then in also revealing that her directions for Hood were an intentional misdirect; this was her problem, and she was going to solve it herself. The greater moral quandaries posed by violence as a solution are the worry of other, more nuanced shows, but in Banshee’s playground, taking your licks and giving them back twice as bad is the mark of a character with agency. In a town of takers and takees, Rebecca makes for a boring character because she’s reactive, always waiting from someone to either kidnap, or save her. Siobhan, on the other hand, really came into her own tonight, showing she’s willing to fight for what she wants. Sometimes, that means beating the tar out of a belligerent stalker. Sometimes, that means having a celebratory makeout session with the hottie sheriff.

I doubt (or, rather, hope) Siobhan planting one on Hood isn’t a sign of anything serious brewing between them, as Hood’s love life is complicated enough as is. Having to save his own stalker from the stranger-turned-danger he woke in bed with that morning provides a nice distraction from Ana’s impending prison stint, after she’s handed a 30-day sentence for her role in last season’s big blowout. Like Siobhan, Ana’s attempts to set things right are refuted throughout the episode, having been all-but shunned by the rest of the Hopewell clan. Ana’s dissolving family situation won’t get any better while she’s wasting a month on convict vacation, and unlike Siobhan, her problems can’t be solved with just a few thrown fists and breakaway furniture. But a want and desire to effect change is inherent to good character work, even when it’s foiled. Ana’s frustration explodes during a nasty brawl she has with a fellow inmate, proving to the rest of the prison that the Malibu Barbie they expected is not to be trifled with. Piper Chapman, she is not.

With regard to its three most interesting ladies, “The Thunder Man” does a great job of pairing the thrill of Siobhan breaking the rules with Ana having to pay the price for doing so herself, with Nola holding the middle ground, unsure of whether her brother is cut out for taking on the butcher of Banshee. Alex blowing up one of Kai’s cattle trains makes for quite the impression, but it’s the kind of aimless destruction that reeks of boyish posturing. Kai, meanwhile, knows that a threat delivered from the horse’s mouth speaks louder than the boom of C4. And while he might not have Corleone-levels of grace when delivering severed ungulate heads to the home of his enemies, he makes up for his bluntness with bravado. As he pours cow carcass and viscera into Alex’s jacuzzi, the hot water Alex has gotten himself into is literally and metaphorically obvious. It’ll be interesting to see whether the Longshadow-Proctor blood feud does become the season’s throughline, because as of now, it’s horribly one-sided. Kai’s a ruthless operator; Alex is all flash, no thunder.

Stray Thoughts

• As a whole episode, “The Thunder Man” struggles with typical Banshee buildup issues. Case in point: the intercutting of Ana trying to talk to Dava and Siobhan trying to get rid of her ex is awkward and irritating. Contrasted with the dynamite sequence that splices Siobhan’s fight with Ana’s, it’s clear as ever that Banshee speaks best with its actions, not its words.
• Having Hood on the outer edge of much of the episode’s action was a nice change of pace, though his invasion of the reservation made for a terrific setpiece. The show doesn’t shy away from giving Hood his lumps during a scrap, and between taking a nightstick to the hand, and a shingle to the head, it’s no wonder he’d rather talk his way out of the boss fight with Nola than engage with it. Antony Starr has solid comedic chops, and playing him as a beleaguered, bruised John Maclean type is often more entertaining than having him brood and mope.
• No Zeljko Ivanek as Racine this week. Let’s hope he spent the week bottling up his curse words and cutting back on the cigarettes so he can comes back next week extra irritable.
• As thin as my interest is in any more flashbacks to Hood’s time in prison, watching him escort of Ana inside the women’s correctional facility did a good job of reiterating the inherent irony, and danger of Lucas pretending to be a cop.