The Cape "Dice" Review

Photo Credit: Trae Patton/NBC

An outline for The Cape must resemble Aja's third act for High Tension. It must look like nonsense and read like nonsense because episodes of The Cape are nonsense. Each act begins with a title card. For instance, the first act began with the title card 'OUR FATE IS FIXED.' Thus, Vince and Max had a conversation about fate vs. free will. The following title card has nothing to do with fate. The problem with the title cards is, none of it connects into a cohesive whole. Maybe it's an homage to the Silver Age comics (I possess zero knowledge of comics. Maybe it's simply nonsense. Besides the title cards, Tom Wheeler and his writers seem like they want to do too much in one episode. It seems like they have no patience. The "Pilot" had such odd pacing and in the third episode written by Tom Wheeler, the same problems surface.

"Dice" introduces the most deadly Ark invention yet which makes Peter Fleming an even larger threat. Meanwhile, a woman returns to Palm City seeking revenge for the death of her father. Vince's wife and son struggle to return to their normal routines. His wife, in particular, suffers because she feels like she isn't adequate enough for Trip. She can't be both parents and she struggles with that. All the while, Vince struggles to accept his fate and wonders what would happen if he simply returned to bed rather than follow Orwell's instruction to go to the train yard.

Each story in "Dice" could've been better if Wheeler devoted more time to a certain one and, perhaps, saved another story for another episode. Vince's family had three scenes. Vince's fight between fate and free will barely received ten minutes total. I suppose the most important story of the episode belonged to the nonsense Fleming/Traci/Vince plot. Traci returned to Palm City to assassinate Peter Fleming for murdering her father. Earlier, Vince had an epiphany to use the skills he learned as a cop to pin a murder to Chess/Peter Fleming, which would clear him and return him to his family.

While Traci and Vince share the same purpose (to take down Peter Fleming), the two have different opinions regarding how to take down Fleming. Traci simply wants to destroy Fleming while Vince will live within the law to stop him. Vince represents stability and control. He's attempted to maintain stability and control despite his chaotic position in the world as a fugitive and the vigilante Cape. Traci represents chaos because she actually says she represents chaos. Fittingly, a dice is the episode's most obvious symbolism. Vince wonders if the dice of life can be controlled to land on certain numbers. Ms. Chaos herself only cares about exploding di (which happens in the episode). Max, meanwhile, argues that no accidents exist. So, when Vince is forced to protect Fleming's life, such a situation was meant to be even though its meaning has yet to surface. While Vince doesn't understand his fate, the viewer (meaning me) does. You see, he'll eventually clear his name and return to his family. He'll stop the evil Peter Fleming. After all of this, he'll continue as The Cape because it his true calling in life.

Vince and Traci barely communicate their intentions so they never come close to working together. Orwell forces Vince to protect Fleming because he's her father even though she never states it to Vince. Vince embarks on a complex mission to protect Fleming which involves tight rope walking and some experimental form of tight rope walking. And it ends with Fleming saved from Traci but with mass production set for a futuristic looking glass that will, eventually, be able to tell Fleming who wears The Cape. "Dice" had two Alice In Wonderland parallels by the way.

Overall, "Dice" was sort of a mess but the predictable seeds were planted for the uplifting season finale. Mena Suvari looks better now than she did during her boom period in the early aughts but her character lacked personality.

This will most likely be my last Cape review for awhile since How I Met Your Mother returns next week and The Chicago Code premieres during the same time-slot as The Cape. But I'll stick with the show and offer my thoughts later in the year.

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