Sunday, September 15, 2013

Graceland - Pawn


Secrets see the light of day in a big way in Graceland's First Season finale as Briggs (Daniel Sunjata) pretends to flee the country while hanging around to search for the mysterious Jangles, who he begins to suspect is Charlie's (Vanessa Ferlito) new friend the Federale (Vincent Laresca). And when Briggs disappears off the grid Mike (Aaron Tveit) has no choice but to inform the FBI, and the rest of his Graceland teammates, about what it really going on. Some of them take the news better than others.

"Pawn" manages to wrap-up Briggs' quest for revenge (perhaps a little too neatly) as he and Charlie see the true face of the man who murdered the love of  Briggs' life and turned him into a drug addict. The series of events, with a little help from Briggs' role as a master manipulator, also clear him of all charges for the murder of Badillo (Pedro Pascal) and plant suspicion on Quinn (Arturo Rossi) as the true face of the mysterious Odin, whiling giving Mike a ticket to Washington D.C. and a cushy new dream job. Of course, the show teases his imminent return to Graceland as the show has no intention of returning for a Second Season without one of its stars.

Two scenes in the episode's final ten minutes also set-up the show's return for next season. The first involves Briggs' "shocked" reaction to learning the truth about Jangles murdering Agent Badillo (which Mike doesn't completely buy), and the second is the reminder that proof of Briggs' murder of an FBI agent is still out there, ready to eventually surface in time to cause more trouble for Briggs and every member of Graceland. That and the tease of Mike returning out west for vacation set the stage for a new series of mischief, half-truths, straight-up lies, and maybe even the possibility of Mike and Paige (Serinda Swan)  finally getting together.

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