“The House of Enlightenment” picks up where last week’s episode left off, with the ever-resilient Queen Sibeth Kane appearing before the Witchfinders. It’s a good scene, but the rest of the episode doesn’t live up to its promise.
With the camera tight on her face, Queen Kane uses twisted logic to win the Witchfinders over to her side. Actress Sylvia Hoeks has been a revelation every step of the way, imbuing her over-the-top, borderline-crazy Queen with a crafty intelligence and bubbling emotional turmoil that runs over her features, unseen by the blind.
Meanwhile, the grim but wise Tamacti Jun (Christian Camargo) has a battle-worn charisma and powerful voice that makes him a leader of men. Unfortunately, such cannot be said for his replacement Lucien, whose character constantly fades into the background thanks to an uninspiring performance from Dean Jagger.
As Baba Voss and his company barricade themselves in a building at the House of Enlightenment, Tormada and his regiment scour the arsenal in search of the sighted children. Wren, Charlotte and Lu protect the escaping children in a predictable scrap with Tormada’s pursuers.
Tormada may be a good scientist but he isn’t much of a military commander, sending his soldiers piecemeal into the House of Enlightenment where Baba Voss and the defenders, having been given time to prepare, cut them to pieces in ambush after ambush. The fighting sequences are frenetic enough, but the outcomes are never in doubt.
Shaken, Tormada orders his remaining men to depart with the bomb carts in tow. Back at the House of Enlightenment, Harlan’s loyal retainers arrive to dispatch the Trivantian guards; failing to convince Ambassador Trovere to join him, Harlan is forced to kill her. It should be an emotional moment but feels strangely underwhelming.
Baba Voss sets the House of Enlightenment afire, burning the library and all the elements of the previous civilization stored within it; his act drives a wedge between Haniwa and her brother Kofun, who see the value of the knowledge differently. Sheva whispers to Haniwa that there are “other” repositories of knowledge.
Sheva is an interesting character played with backbone by Damaris Lewis, but her late emergence in the final episodes likely won’t allow for much, if any, further development.
See is fun, but not weighty enough to be worth it
As is the norm with See, “The House of Enlightenment” provides side dishes of very good stuffing alongside some undercooked turkeys. Jason Momoa shuffles around, cuddly as an overstuffed teddy bear who can eviscerate bad guys, and is truly fun; his interactions with Ranger are funny. Hopefully the dog named No can return at some point.
This late in the game, “The House of Enlightenment” shouldn’t need to bleed stones for emotional impact. Saving Jerlamarel’s kids is commendable, but the audience has had almost zero time to connect with them. Haniwa and Charlotte’s parting wants to feel heartfelt, but the writers haven’t given the relationship enough screentime to get us to empathize.
Overall, most all the performances are watchable, even if the actors realize they have to overact in order to try to add meat to the bones of the thin story. And therein lies the rub: with so much dramatic potential, See still manages to deliver an episode that feels like a detour from the main narrative.
Episode Rating: C-
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