The Calling Season 1 Episode Number 1 Preview and review
The Calling Season 1
Episode 1 Preview & Review
A man dressed as a hot dog, Joel Hamlin, is accused of murdering another man after he insulted him. Avi takes her to the station and asks her not to take off the clothes. Avi is something of a legend at the station. His unique ability to attract people and extract confessions is highly respected.
Captain Kathleen Davies, Janine, and Detective Earl look through the glass as Avi gets the confession from Joel. He lost his well-paying job during COVID and couldn't find another one. He killed the man because Joel couldn't handle the shame.
Avi is called to another job, a missing young man. Vincent's father Leonard is on a business trip and will be in town soon. There isn't much Nora can provide for Avi, who, as evidence, simply went missing on Tuesday morning and has never been seen since.
The initial suspicion is that he has escaped, but Nora is not so sure of that assessment. Zachary Miller, who wants to write, is told by his instructor, Michael Rosen, that he may not be good enough to write. Despite several attempts, the final product is mediocre.
Zach walks out of the classroom and into oncoming traffic, almost traumatized by this revelation. He returns home to his wife Dania and baby son Luke. Dania is in the bath and Zachary takes his anger out on her for some reason and gets in the bath to have sex with Dania. Janine aspires to be a detective one day and goes to Kathleen to ask her to partner with Janine Avi.
Kathleen is skeptical and says Janie should think about it. Danie expresses concern about what Zach did. She gets defensive and lies to him about the class and that her work will be published soon. Avi is an extremely religious man and we see some highlights from his Orthodox offerings. Janie has her own rituals, and we see a starry-eyed girl obsessed with and solving crimes.
Janine gets the nod from Kathleen the next day and Nora returns to talk about the investigation. The police question the neighbors and it turns out that the Millers live in the same building. Avi visits the couple and learns that Zach is tutoring Vincent.
They don't reveal much except that Vincent's father is quick to anger and an overbearing parent, so much so that Nora barely dares to intervene. There were also some shoutouts that Zach mentioned about Avi on Monday night. The detective sees an old friend on the street, his name is John Wentworth, a former philosophy teacher at Rockefeller who is now homeless.
Janine and Avi receive an emergency call. They rush to deal with a hostage situation at Art's Deli, whose owner is Avi's friend. Despite strict instructions not to enter, Avi does, risking his life to neutralize schizophrenic drug-addicted veteran Kyle Henderson. Zach runs into Michael at work and asks for advice on how to put some of his experiences into writing.
Avi checks Vincent's room and discovers that he is very well settled. He also finds Vincent's phone, coat and jacket, which allays his suspicions that he's on the run. Nora doesn't talk about Leonard's equation with Vincent. AVi sits on her bed. He takes Nora's hand and tries to convey the secrets the room has to tell him.
Janine pesters Avi with work-related questions. His assessment is that he is still running or at least hiding from something and lying to his parents about the situation. John can't tell Avi much, just that he knows Vincent from his class and that he's a sweet guy.
Leonard is brought to the station and he is indeed a cruel man. Avi has a hard time getting anything from him, but he's definitely suspicious. Janine sees Avi drawing and tells him it's his way of communicating with the victims in his cases.
He sees things in those paintings and allows his hands to draw freely to embellish his senses. Janine tells him about herself and how Law & Order inspired her to become a police officer. That night, they find Vincent's bag and belongings dumped in a dumpster near the river.
Episode Review
Does anyone else feel like Jeff Wilbusch looks a little more menacing and confused Paul Rudd here? I feel this very strongly. The star of Unorthodox, Oslo and Keep Breathing took on a more isolating, challenging role that could even define her career. Detective Avi is the kind of character we fans love to sink our teeth into.
The central mystery suggested in Episode 1 is one we've seen unfold many times before. There is nothing new about a teenage boy going missing and his parents (especially his mother) turning his life upside down until he is found.
The real test for The Calling will be how it solves this mystery and what steps the detectives take to get to the bottom of it, no matter what. First impressions are good, but the feel isn't as cinematic as it should be. Other Kelley productions had this grand, subtle feel to the production, whereas The Calling feels "TV-like."
But anyway, if the drama is good, this cannot be a constant point of criticism. There's a word, but I'll keep our horses for now!
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