'Waco' Recap: 'Stalling for Time'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

​THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK... 

​Whether we like to admit it or not, every single one of us have a breaking point, and we don’t like admitting it, because acknowledging that we can only take so much pressure and stress somehow makes us look weak. So, when troubles arrive, we tend to lower our head and push through it all, to prove to ourselves and others that nothing can rattle us, and while that is noble in its own right, sometimes forging ahead without taking a moment to breathe and analyze the situation in front of us can cause more harm than good, as was evident on last night’s episode of Waco.
 
Because ‘Stalling for Time’ more or less featured a war of attrition between the FBI and the Branch Davidians and well, the determination of both sides to prove that their stance was the only correct one, ramped up the pressure in ways none of us could ever imagine and it quite frankly, brought every single person on this series to their breaking point and the only man who seemed to recognize the dangers of this, was Gary Noesner, who truly took the time and made the effort to diffuse an escalating situation. 
 
In fact, at several points during the course of the hour, it seemed as though Gary was the only man interested in keeping the peace on the FBI side of things since his boss was bound and determined to end the standoff quickly as pressure from Washington continued to mount, forcing Gary to think outside the box to get more people out of the Mount Carmel complex, and wouldn’t you know it…his new plan started to work. By tugging on the heart strings of the parents who surrendered their children he managed to reach at least one of them, but that kind of slow moving progress wasn’t sufficient for the FBI, and more…aggressive tactics went into play, something Gary was quite uncomfortable with.
 
Because he fully recognized the fact that Koresh is about as unstable as they come, and well, this episode did do a fine job of reinforcing that, by showing us just how much David relishes in his power over these people since he flexed his muscles in bold and scary fashion time and time again. But the bigger problem at hand for the FBI here, is that despite the fact that everyone in the compound was nearing their breaking point, Koresh dug in, forged ahead and did everything within his power to defy the FBI at every single turn and well…that’s proving to be quite the dangerous choice to make because it’s clear now that if Koresh and his followers are unwilling to stand down, the FBI is willing to put an end to this matter by whatever means necessary…
 
If anything, this episode turned out to be nothing more than a screenwriting clinic on how to make a standoff as tense as possible. Because while nothing of major dramatic note happened here, I was on the edge of my seat through and through as these two sides played their most dangerous game and while this episode was indeed intense, it was also not without heart. After all, it was tough to watch David’s followers endure the psychological torture the FBI imposed upon them, and it was downright heartbreaking to see them in essence beg David to end this, only to be shot down with promises of a miracle that we know will never come. Yet, they stand by him, they want their faith rewarded, and I’m curious to see how well those beliefs will hold up as things come crashing down. Because there is only one episode left in Waco’s brilliant run and what awaits us next week, is complete and utter disaster…

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