An Hour of Who a Day: August 3: "Brave-ish Heart" (Class)

August 3: "Brave-ish Heart" (Class)

Of course, the other problem with having an episode going CW is that the subsequent episodes have to deal with the fallout of going CW. And so, unsurprisingly, there's some of that here. But to his credit, Patrick Ness largely sidesteps a lot of it. There's a brief conversation between April and Ram about their relationship, in which each one points out that they've only known the other for like a month, that does feel a bit like trying to have it both ways, of acknowledging the ridiculousness of a romantic relationship while trying to also actually have that relationship, but generally (and wisely) most of the CW stuff is ignored.²⁷²

And in fact, while the flower petal storyline is still more compelling than April and Ram's trip to the Shadow Kin homeworld, there's a really lovely scene between April and Ram that actually takes a moment to address Ram's being a Sikh:

APRIL: These are here to remind them that the universe will crush them if they don't defeat it. All of it.
RAM: Pretty bleak.
APRIL: Yeah, well, most religions are.
RAM: Not all. Not mine.
APRIL: Says the Sikh boy with the short hair.
RAM: Ever tried going through airport security in a turban? My dad doesn't like that I don't practise Kesh.
APRIL: That's the long hair and the beard, right?
RAM: Yeah. But you know, modern times, you got to look sharp. I like that he does, though, honestly. Tells me where I came from. ... This is the Kara. (his metal bracelet) It reminds us that we're part of the community and that our hands and life should do good work. We believe the important thing in your life is to do good action. But, if you do the good action, right, somewhere in the process, there's got to be God, even if you don't have faith or believe there's some dude out there looking after you. Isn't doing a good thing, one human to another, the closest we're going to get to God?

(from The Class Transcripts - Brave-ish Heart)

It's interesting to see an effort to actually describe what one of the character believes and to tie it to their religion without an automatic "religion is bad" viewpoint -- and in fact the contrast between April's and Ram's beliefs helps set up the argument as an argument, rather than a lecture. Consequently, this is one of the better moments in the story.

It's not perfect, of course; April's parents very quickly grate on the nerves. I get that having people keep exclaiming how they don't understand what's happening and choosing to start fights with other people (in this case, Ram's dad) is a realistic way for people to behave, but that doesn't mean I actually want to experience that. It also doesn't help that Con O'Neill, as April's dad, chooses to play most of this in a heightened state of hysteria that frequently threatens to tip over into OTT-ness. Ram's dad is better (although there's a weird moment at the end where he doesn't want Ram to hug April because "she's an alien now" -- although Ram gets a good rejoinder: "Dad, at least pay attention") but it's really Tanya holding this plot together, as she's the only one level-headed enough to actually look for solutions to the problems. (And full marks to Vivian Oparah, by the way, who has consistently knocked it out of the park as Tanya every week.)

But as I noted before, the flower petal stuff is more interesting; Ms. Ames (the head teacher, in case you've forgotten) seems to know an awful lot about the alien stuff, although she notes that the Governors aren't affiliated with UNIT, they are well-informed, even if a bit sinister: "Governments have a way of tripping over themselves, slightly too concerned with rights. It's terribly inefficient," she notes. Her solution to the petal problem is to get Charlie to use the Cabinet of Souls to attack the deadly plants (and once again Class is going for the horrific factor, with the scenes of severely bloodied victims out on the streets)-- but doing so would destroy all the Rhodian souls in the cabinet. Miss Quill, on the other hand, wants Charlie to wipe out the Shadow Kin, both as an act of vengeance and to save the universe from their future attacks. Charlie doesn't want to do either, but Ms. Ames threatens Matteusz -- although, when Ms. Ames is sufficiently distracted, Matteusz knocks her out: "Even with a gun, you should never turn your back on an angry Pole." That still leaves the killer flower problem, of course, but since April defeats the Shadow Kin's king in a duel and thus becomes the new king, she's able to order the Shadow Kin to go to Earth and kill all the flowers, saving Charlie from having to decide how to use the Cabinet.

So there are some good moments in here, and it's definitely better than the last episode. Still, there's a bit of a sense of a letdown, with a story that's juggling a bit too much at times. It's as if Ness wanted to resolve the Shadow Kin threat, at least for now, but it does mean that a lot of writerly heavy lifting had to occur to get there, rather than a more natural-feeling storyline; in some sense you can sense the gears moving. Still, the Governors stuff is still intriguing, and the regulars continue to do a great job, which helps things no end. "Brave-ish Heart" isn't a standout episode, but it's not a disaster either.

²⁷² Although the "Next Time" trailer makes it look like the CW stuff has been delayed until then, rather than dropped altogether.