It’s easy to understand why there are countless cop dramas on prime time. Audiences are easily pulled into the suspense and mystery of discovering “whodunnit?”
And I’ll admit it: I’m one of those people. It’s embarrassing how often I’m caught watching the “Law & Order: SVU” marathon on USA every Sunday. (Fun fact: I can even recite the opening narration that plays before every episode. Is that even remotely cool? Maybe. Will that skill come in handy down the road? Absolutely not.)
This summer, FX aired their spanking new series, “The Bridge,” which follows two detectives from opposite sides of the U.S./Mexico border and their efforts to solve the murders of a serial killer.
It’s hard to look away from any episode of “The Bridge.” The blazing heat of Texas and northern Mexico where the show is constantly set has me craving a tall glass of water whenever I watch. It’s brutal, not only because of the barren climate, but the violence and corruption it portrays.
Like most shows on FX, “The Bridge” is gritty and mysterious. The pilot opens the series with a dead body found in the middle of the bridge connecting El Paso, Texas, and Juarez, Mexico. Two detectives are called to investigate: one American and one Mexican.
Diane Kruger plays detective Sonya Cross of the El Paso Police Department. As soon as we meet her, it’s obvious she has difficulties with social interaction. She’s unintentionally rude, and overcompensates with inappropriate remarks. At one point in the pilot episode, she tells the husband of a victim that his wife most likely didn’t answer his calls because she was in the process of being severed in half. So yeah, her manners could use some work.
But any cop drama wouldn’t be complete without a partner with an opposing personality.
Demian Bichir plays detective Marco Ruiz, a more level-headed and socially adjusted operative than Sonya.
The two build their relationship cautiously, but Marco quickly picks up on Sonya’s quirks and straight-arrow work ethic. She gradually realizes his outside expertise is more helpful than intrusive. And their uncomfortable conversations about each others’ personal lives are quite humorous indeed.
The main pull of “The Bridge” is the varying storylines, the catch being that the audience doesn’t know quite exactly how they connect. There’s Charlotte Millwright (Annabeth Gish), a recent widow who discovers a shocking secret about her late husband. He suffered a heart attack and crossed the bridge in an ambulance the very same night the body was found. Coincidence?
And then there’s Steven Linder (Thomas M. Wright), an elusive character who keeps to himself. It’s obvious the writers are trying to persuade the viewers into believing he is the big, bad villain. But if you’re a skeptic like me, always looking for the twist, then you’ll have your doubts.
While these storylines are intriguing and bring diverse settings and characters to the plot, withholding so much information on a TV show can sometimes be just plain confusing rather than suspenseful. Hopefully the second half of the first season will compensate with a gasp-worthy revelation that pieces everything together.
That aside, “The Bridge” is truly captivating. The dry scenery of Texas and Mexico bring a bleak and hopeless aspect to the series, but many times it’s filmed to make it look dangerously beautiful.
And Diane Kruger is mesmerizing as Sonya. She plays the odd detective with utter bluntness that could make a person blush. Yet it’s when she’s coping with a tragic loss from her past that we see her vulnerable and damaged side.
I felt especially hurt for her character after the latest episode “ID,” where a recent homicide hit close to home. I’m not afraid to admit that the ending scene, where we discover her mysterious relationship with her sister’s murderer, gave me chills. I think I smell an Emmy with Kruger’s name on it.
To conclude, the endless potential for this show has me excited because there’s so much that could come from these storylines and characters. Crossing a “bridge” has never been so thrilling.