The Cape: Tarot (S1E2)

Haha sorry this is late.  Heyitsabell's been on me to catch up but I guess I've been lazy.  On that note, however, I need to warn you: If you have not watched the first episode, don't read on.  There might not be too many spoilers, but there's one major one.

Yeah, okay, for those of you who are still with me, here we go:

Vince Faraday has donned the superhero persona known as the Cape.  By now, we (the audience) know that Peter Fleming is Chess, but for Vince to gain some credibility in exposing Fleming, he needs to build up his reputation.  In order to do that, and prove to his son that the Cape is a good superhero, he's been going around fighting small-scale crime.  The first scene is of a holdup in a drug store where Vince is shopping.  He saves the store (destroying quite a bit of merchandise though) and the owner gives his earnest gratitude.  When he asks for Vince's name, he says "the Cape."  It seems to be a running gag that everyone seems to think that's a really lame name for a superhero, so the owner calls out as Vince is leaving, "You'll work on it."

Now on to the real plot.  Patrick Portman, Secretary of the Bureau of Prisons, is the only man who thus far has stood up to Fleming publicly (Orwell doesn't count as she's not exactly a public figure).  He is the only one that has not approved the bill for privatizing the police force -- and handing over full reins to Fleming and Ark Corporation.

Patrick Portman, Secretary of the Bureau of Prisons

Naturally as in all superhero shows, Fleming hires a dangerous hitman to take out the opposition: Cain, a mercenary trained under the deadly art of poisons.  Vince meets Cain firsthand when he breaks into Fleming's home to figure out his next plans.  After discovering the assassination plot on Portman, he is confronted by Fleming and is stabbed by a flying dagger dipped in poison.  He falls out the window to be picked up by Orwell in a NICE car (2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG).  Cain gets down the stairs in time to break in the window and show Orwell the image of a Tarot card tattooed on his forearm.  He can't be taken to the hospital as he's supposedly dead, so he goes to get help from Max.

Cain, Fleming's new assassin

After Vince's near death experience, Max takes the cape back, saying that he was wrong and Vince is not ready for it.  He even offers him an escape: untraceable train tickets for him and his family to start over somewhere new.  Vince, unable to accept failure and running away, refuses vehemently.  He leaves, determined to carry out his mission, with or without the help of the cape.  Vince finds a new secret hideout location and starts finding useful equipment.

Meanwhile, Fleming and his very cool computer combines components such as Portman, Cain, a Tarot card entitled "the Tower" (last seen tattooed on Cain's forearm), and a few other files into a master file which he names "Siren."  No news yet on if this means anything.

Back on the home front, Dana has been searching for a job under her maiden name, since Faraday is causing too many eyebrows to be raised.  Trip finds out when he answers a phone call and gets angry.  He believes that if she truly believed Vince was innocent, she would have nothing to fear from using her real name, and that she is trying to erase him by saying anything differently.  Faradays are fighters, is what Vince always said.  She goes to bed chastened by her son and thinks about it.

Vince practicing to avoid knives in his new hideout.

(Sorry for the poor lighting, but his place is kinda always like that.)

Orwell holding up a tarot card and explaining the significance.

Back to Vince: he's been trying to practice to defeat Cain, knowing he's been foolish to underestimate his opponents.  He dodges knives and takes poisons in small doses to build up immunity.  He also makes his mask for the first time.  After he shakes down a couple thugs for some information (which he's promised at a later time), Orwell shows up and informs Vince that he's not seeing the bigger picture: Cain might be the first evidence there is of Tarot, "a secret society of killers," of which Cain is most likely their poisoner.  After Vince's lead gets poisoned (along with the rest of the bar), he goes to find Portman and tell him directly about the hit placed on him and tells him he's not alone in his fight against Fleming.

On a happier note, Dana decides to stand up for herself and her pride as a Faraday in her next job interview at the district attorney's office.  "Faradays are fighters" she informs her interviewer seriously while telling him off about not giving her the job.  She argues that her husband, though everyone believes him to be guilty, was never given a trial and she wants to provide justice for those who are denied it like him.  You go, Dana Faraday.  (Minor spoiler: He hires her. Yay.)

Some reconnaissance work by Orwell and Vince (with a handy password of Marty's into the ARK mainframe) is done on Cain, and before Vince sets out on his protection detail of Portman, he gets a surprise visit from an old friend.  Max comes by and gives the cape back.  It seems the tickets were a test, to see how far Vince was willing to go.  Vince says his family is his strength and not his weakness, and they won't be in danger as long as Vince Faraday is dead.  Max tells Vince very seriously that if he ever wants to get his family back and go back home, he has to do it as Vince Faraday and not the Cape.

The Cape and Orwell foil the assassination attempt and Portman votes down the bill.  All is well in Palm City, at least for the moment.  Even Chess is happy: he finally has an opponent who is worthy of his time.  It ends with Dana apologizing to Trip for not believing, and telling him that their memories of Vince can never be spoiled by others.

Dana and Trip Faraday

My thoughts

All in all, a solid episode.  I'm glad they kept up the intensity and action, even with revealing the identity of the villain in the first episode.   All the interludes of Dana and Trip Faraday kinda bring it home, knowing that Vince's family really is worth fighting for.

I've seen commercials for "The Cape" and they say that they're taking suggestions as to the next villains for the show.  It's probably a fun idea, but I hope it pans out in the end.  Too many ideas can cause a project to seem a little too haphazard and not cohesive.  I'm sure they'll make it work though.

My favorite part of this episode is when Vince is practically dying at Max's, Rollo is asking him where he met the hot Orwell.  "Was it an online thing?"  He cracks me up.