Shackles - Episode 3x08 - A Nonspeaking Role

I think I’m going to dive right in and say that this episode had great things, but also bad things.

Let’s get the bad thing out of the way first. I don’t like these flashback episodes – Depending on how they’re done. I don’t like the idea of seeing these scenes from the past, yet it basically being a character reading a book. In other words, I don’t like a present-day character doing voice-overs as a flashback is happening. I never have liked, I probably never will. I would have enjoyed this episode much more if we were just getting the story told through flashbacks, and merely assuming that Kaeto was telling Jonathan of everything that we were seeing. Does that make sense? I hope so.

Also, you and I have another problem now, Angelo. It was never emphasized that Kaeto was the person seeing the younger Milgate. As far as I could tell, we were seeing Milgate from our point of you. I just don’t know whether this was done on purpose or not (though I’m sure it was). But oh well, I’ll get over it since my last theory was, overall, correct.

Now it’s time for the good stuff. MISTER S! I literally jumped out of my seat when I read it. It makes so much sense, too. Mister S = Li Sheng. I’m very excited that we finally got answers to him, though. Here we were thinking that we needed an entire backstory from this new character, only to find out that we already had most of it all along.

I must also give praise to you, Angelo, for yet another phenomenal music cue for this episode. That is probably one of the best pieces to be featured on Shackles, and starting and stopping the music worked like a charm. For me, as a reader who listens to all music cues in any script, I feel like the music adds so much to the story – Aspects of the story that can’t quite be put to words.

And as you said before, the part finales do seem like they could be season finales in themselves. I’m excited to see what Xera’s part will be now that she has been found.

Jimbo’s Next Theory
Xera will heal Kaeto. Jonathan and the two women will all try to escape from Clarissa, but she’ll catch them in the end. How’s that for going out on a limb?