2007-05-18

Day Break Episode 7 mini-review

Well, after a long absence I got around to watching the 7th episode (the second post-cancellation episode) of Day Break.

Now, time for the answered questions:

  1. We know why detectives think Hopper killed Garza. Because he did. Well, thats the feeling you get: Garza's wife heard Garza call Hopper's name, heard gunshots, came downstairs to find a black man holding a smoking gun. The problem is...at the beginning of the episode she looks right at Hopper and says "thats him". Holy crap, this is probably the biggest revelation in the series to this point.
  2. Detweiller is a member of the exclusive Santyago Club. Garza, defense attorney Cockburn, and some guy named Forza are also members. Forza is a director.
  3. All Santyago Club directors receive the hourglass as a gift upon election to the board. Therefore past and present members have them.
  4. Forza, one of the directors, is a brain surgeon who did surgury on Jarod, which I'll discuss in unanswered questions.
  5. Another piece of evidence is Garza's blood on a shirt found in Rita's apartment.
  6. Mitch Pleggi's character knows Detweiller, and may be part of the conspiracy. As the Hispanic cop noted, he seemed more interested in nailing Hopper than nailing Garza's killer whoever that may be.
  7. Along with Jarod, Hopper found some new allies: friends of his father (again to be discussed below), and the black guy who runs the help desk at the Santayago Club.
  8. Quarry Guy's minions were ex-sherrifs deputies.


Now time for a whole boatload of unanswered questions...this episode really piled them on.
  1. Did Hopper really kill Garza? Is it possible he was brainwashed or hypnotized or sleepwalking or something? An impersonator? A twin?
  2. Who are the friends of Hopper's father (heretofor to be referred to as FOHFs). Was it an FOHF who snipered the minions? Was the black guy at the club (Mr. Crossword Puzzle) an FOHF? Why do I keep typing FOFR by mistake?
  3. What's the deal with Jarod? As Forza explains, Jarod had seizures, which caused him to "relive" the same day over and over again. As the episode progresses, it looks like Jarod is Hopper's future: soon forgetting what happened day to day, random seizures, etc. But as we progress it is revealed that Jarod's problem is in his own brain: his constant deja-vu keeps causing troubles. He doesn't know his brother died, so he thinks its a conspiracy against him. But at the end of the episode, just as we wrap up this plot thread, it hits us over the head again when Jarod says "I'm sorry I bit you". That, of course, was during a "previous day". So is Jarod living the days over and over again or not? How does he "remember" biting Hopper: we saw he bit other cops that morning, is it possible he mistook Hopper for a previous biting victim? Will Jarod re-appear after his now-omnious trip into Forzas?
  4. Why did Forza take Jarod back in when he had put out a restraining order against him?
  5. Which member of the board did Garza get the hourglass from?
  6. Will Hopper's attitude towards Rita cause problems?
  7. How did the minions find Hopper while he was working on that laptop?


Some rudimentary analysis can be done: its likely that Jarod actually is trapped in the day, but not in the same way as Hopper. Remember that he claimed to come in "every day" to check on the club listings, but the matre'd seemed to think it "unexpected" that Jarod was in his office checking the computer. Still, this will have to be explained later.

The final episode of the series is titled "What if its Him?", hinting that perhaps Hopper was responsible for the death of Garza. At the very least, it would be unexpected.

Also unexpected was how none of the major plot threads from the previous episode (Hopper's sister, Quarry Guy's boss, Isabella's role) really came into play here. The FOHFs were the closest we came. Hopefully the next episode is more forthcoming.

Also of note, Wikipedia reports that "Member #467" is missing, yet in my episode I can see it quite clearly: Tyler Gibson. Not sure if this means anything.