Continuing Impressions of Revival Ep2: “Keeping Up Appearances”
“Keeping Up Appearances” Is Extremely Bleak TV
Let’s go back into the powder keg of possible issues that is Revival with the next episode, “Keeping Up Appearances.” And I am happy to say that this episode doesn’t turn into what I expected. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t have issues; it’s just not the episodic structure I assumed a show like this would default to. It’s remaining an ongoing drama.
An ongoing drama where nearly almost every major character is a bundle of trauma, bad coping mechanisms, and terrible communication skills—but not in an irritating way where it feels like the story could just solve itself if it wanted to. In a way that propels the story forward. In a way that’s going over a family that’s been imploding for a very long time, and exploring different facets of that excellent opening premise.
Now, trigger warning, in doing so, “Keeping Up Appearances” is all about suicide and drug use through the lens of people being unable to stay dead, as well as going into—for likely the next episode—the inherent body horror of being able to heal after intense mutilation. Basically, for a show that was already bleak, it’s gone even more so. I hadn’t even mentioned in the previous article that one of the characters was involved in a teacher/student abuse situation, with the student being a minor. I don’t even know how much more sad, morbid, or sickening Revival can go with its topics, and this is episode two.
Basically, “Keeping Up Appearances” isn’t operating on one plotline, and it’s not trying for any specific thematic concept except “death.” The result is that it doesn’t feel like you’re watching an installment in an “adventure.” The “mission” isn’t even figuring out what caused people to revive or something. Revival is a soup of different, interlocking plotlines that don’t feel as interlocking as they actually, likely, are. There’s a monster in the woods. There’s a man who’s using dreamcatchers and quoting religious texts. A baby is inexplicably stolen by a murderer and then returned just as quickly. The MC is constantly, flagrantly, and aggressively abusing her powers as a cop. And an immortal teenager is basically going through everything a parent might worry could happen to a teenager. It’s chaos.
It’s so chaotic that writing this review feels equally all over the place. Because I can form opinions about those individual things. I can worry that those dreamcatchers are going to be part of something offensive toward Indigenous people. I can worry about how Revival is depicting a lot of different, heavy subjects, and if they are doing so respectfully to people who might be or have gone through such things in real life. But I can’t really form an overall opinion yet. I was engaged the whole time by “Keeping Up Appearances.” The acting, pacing, and writing are markedly better than last time. I didn’t spot any truly awful plot conveniences this time. And, maybe most importantly, the show has made it clear at this point that we’re going to be dealing with morally complicated scenarios with very imperfect people and that we’re not meant to agree with a lot of what they do or say. And I can settle into that kind of story easily. As long as they manage to handle their plotlines.
There are two ways this can go. Either we’re getting a lot of small problems, mysteries, and outcomes of people being revived that will slowly tie together into a bigger plot, or we’ll just be shoved into a chaotic world dealing with lots of problems, and the show can continue until it feels like stopping throwing around new ones. I’m hoping for the first option. I’m still in it for reviewing things episodically. But “Keeping Up Appearances” didn’t earn my trust enough yet.
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