Written by John Edward Betancourt
Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 206 of ‘Blindspotting’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
Several particular beliefs that we hold to in modern society regarding children, is that they don’t often understand what’s going on when troublesome times arrive, nor do they really need any comfort regarding dark times. For they are just kids, and are tough and resilient, and we should just let them be and let the adults handle the rest. Which are… woefully wrong beliefs when it comes to children. For they are observant, far more than adults, and see everything that’s happening around them in very clear and certain terms, and they do indeed have some if not a complete understanding of what’s happening in their lives… and they need help with that as well. For they have complex emotions that require resolution, and struggle with tough times like the rest of us. Which means, we need to change our views and beliefs on such matters and do our best to really be there for kids in a time of need, because they’re tiny people that deserve mental health care and support like anyone else when the going gets tough and well… that’s a message that the next episode of Blindspotting on STARZ was eager to get out to the masses. For ‘The Good, the Bad, and the Thizzly’, is a story that took the time to remove the veil surrounding the false beliefs we just discussed to show us how acutely aware children are when it comes to difficult times in their lives, and how they process their emotions and concerns about those tough times. Since parents and adults don’t always give their feelings and worries enough focus and attention and it accomplished this incredible feat… by plunging us into the mind of one Sean Turner. For we came to learn in this tale that he understands his father’s predicament far better than anyone knows, and it is eating at him, as is the negativity surrounding him and his family regarding Miles’ current predicament. Which means… that in order to properly reconcile all of that, fantasy and imagination provides him with the best escape possible, and we were able to watch that play out in real time in this episode. Courtesy of an imagination presentation of a story set in the Wild West, wherein young Sean Turner prepared to spring his poppa from the jail and the men that unlawfully kept him there and that brought forth, fascinating perspective for the audience. Since we were able to see how Sean sees his family and his friends in life and how and why he looks up to them, speaking volumes to how important it is to present ourselves properly to the children in our family, to give them that hope. But what mattered more, is that we came to learn that kids akin to Sean, who have a parent they love and admire behind bars… feel quite helpless in the end. And are eager to ponder upon how they could help their parent and how they can make an impact in making their family whole again. As evidenced by his plan to spring his pa from the clutches of the evil Sheriff of Oaktown in his fantasy and that made for some heartbreaking moments. The kind that outright made it clear how acutely aware, children are, when it comes to what is happening in their world, and how they do their best to reconcile the bevy of emotions that wash over their hearts and souls during times of trouble. And quite frankly… this made for a powerful and shocking story that needs to start all kinds of conversations regarding children in Sean’s situation. For it speaks volumes to the reality that throwing their parent in a jail cell and throwing away the key because of a stupid infraction that is outdated and caused little real harm in the world, traumatizes children, and forces them to have to reconcile emotions and experiences that no child should ever have to deal with. But this is happening in America right now, every hour on the hour, and there are other countless children lost in their own emotionally damaged world, trying to understand a system that they have little comprehension of, and since the other parent is out in the world trying to provide and trying to hold their own emotions together, they cannot help their baby understand this properly. If anything, this episode speaks to a wildly vicious and disturbing cycle that we’ve created that needs to be broken. But beyond that powerful commentary and perspective, we’d be remiss to not celebrate the other accomplishments present in this episode. For it is… a technical marvel, one that offered up an engaging and entertaining world within Sean’s mind. One that allowed for the cast to let loose from an acting perspective and have some fun, and hey… we got another Daveed Diggs cameo along the way, and the lighthearted stuff never allowed for the primary themes of this story to become overwhelming. Which is a testament to Sanjay Shah’s magnificent script and Rafael Casal’s masterful work as director of this episode, and all of these elements make this… a brilliant and timely tale. One that truly opened our eyes and our minds to a reality we don’t discuss enough regarding the important resource that is our children, and hopefully this tale and the other commentary this series has in store for us down the line, finally inspires real change to a system that desperately needs it. Until next time.
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