Episode Reviews
Encore

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Let's go straight to the heart and soul of this episode, Peter Horton and his outstanding performance in this episode. He was amazing in the depth of his character in Zeke Stone. A rather dark episode with a lot of Zeke angst, but still this episode was really about Zeke and what he was going through. There was a lot going on in the mind of Zeke and how it manifested itself throughout the episode was amazing. If you like to get technical you can see the phases Zeke goes through as he remembers his own past as he is trying to help in the present. Then out of nowhere the past and the present, collide taking Zeke for more than just a drive down memory lane. It takes Zeke down the path of anger, and to get a hold on what happened 15 years ago to him. Zeke had to rediscover and re-evaluate exactly why he is in the position he is in today. Peter Horton covered all those bases and still brought a little extra to the table.
 
My favorite sequence in the episode placed Zeke at the house of the third attacked woman. The counselor went inside the house and Zeke was left to talk to the Detective on the site. I loved it when Zeke responded to the Detective's question wearing his dark brown heavy trench coat in the middle of a heat wave. "I guess I'm just cold blooded." It was slick line and the discussion about what happened on the scene and some evidence that only Zeke would understand led to his confusion between his past and the present. The climax occurred when Zeke tore up and alley and took a glass shard and started glancing over the markings wondering which one was Gilbert Jax. It was a haunting scene that is one of my memorable moments in the series.

encore

I will wrap this point up right here. I hate to sound repetitive but you can never give enough credit to where credit is due. There are episodes where Peter Horton is great, and then there are those other episodes, that are simply brilliant and this happens to be one of them. There is not one bad episode or weak acting from Peter Horton in this series. It is one of the reasons I attribute strong acting to BrimStone. Teri Polo, Stacy Haiduk, and John Glover, throw in Lori Petty and Albert Hall and you have strong talent across the board. Speaking of John Glover...

For John Glover this was one of the more evil and sinister episode he had in BrimStone. This is one of his standout episodes as far as being the dark entity of the devil. Most of the time, he is a prankster always playing around. This time the Devil does something for a very good reason. He wants Zeke to find the passion he lost when his life ended. In order to do that he had to change the rules. The Devil did not seem surprised that Zeke could defeat Jax; he was using this as a stepping stone (no pun intended) for Zeke to understand he doesn't have the passion for the job. Of course, the Devil is doing this from his own twisted perception, so it is not really to make Zeke a better person, but merely to get him a little more involved in what he is doing and to remind him who is boss. John Glover turned it up a notch for this episode and became something truly sinister; his best episodes are yet to come as far as being a nightmare for Zeke.

As the Devil, John Glover goes from being a prankster to being the meanest sob you ever met. He plays both sides of the devil well, and when he's doing both in an episode, it in and of itself, he damn near steals the show. My favorite scenes involve the Devil in his red Vette chatting away with Zeke about changing the rules that the boss is "screwing with him," and making it clear what he is doing to Zeke. The other is the scene at the end of the episode where the Devil is tying the shoelaces together on a homeless man. The to tell Zeke "What did you expect Mr. Stone? I am the Devil." Trust you need to see this scene to believe it. Put Peter and John together, which they usually are, and that is the foundation of the series beyond the heart and soul it has in the writing and cinematography. Encore is my idea of the perfect episode of Brimstone as it features all the qualities that make the show great. I mean before Stacy Haiduk and Lori Petty make their appearances of course. If you missed this episode, you missed something important in the mythology and missed out on one of the finest episodes to ever grace a television.

As far the writing goes, it was stellar in this episode in particular. Nothing skipped a beat as far as pacing or twists and turns. The first time I saw this episode I felt the exact same way Zeke did every second of the way and still do every time I see this episode. This story reminds us of why Zeke went to hell and why he is trying to achieve a second chance at life on Earth. It is a harsh reminder that Zeke, a good man lost control after his wife was raped and decided to take matters of justice into his own hands. This marks an excellent tension builder between the Devil and Zeke. Just when you think they are at odds enough, it keeps getting darker and grittier as the series develops. I kid you not; every episode of the way is s step closer to "It's a Helluva Life" where everything reaches the boiling point and Zeke... Nah, just trust me this is only the beginning of the nightmare Zeke has to deal with in the Devil. There are a couple upcoming episodes where Zeke and the Devil relate to each other and we start seeing things about the Devil that would have been huge themes in the series had it continued. Mythology wise and story wise this is a brilliant episode in every meaning of the word.

Overall, this episode brought out the awe-inspiring factor that I love so much. Every episode in this series is great but there are some that just go beyond that level of greatness into something brilliant. That is the attribute I love the most about this series, that you cannot simply put how awesome the acting was or how funny it was or anything else. This is a show you need to see in order to believe the greatness this show attained in 13 episodes, the strong following it garnered, and the passion I feel for the series; in my heart, BrimStone is one of the finest series I have ever seen.