The Bridge Season 2 Episode 1 Recap: I Wouldnt Be Caught Dead Driving A Hybrid (Season Premiere)

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Welcome Eleanor

I've said it before but "The Bridge" is not one of those shows you casually watch while doing something else. And even if you watch it intently, there is no guarantee it will make sense. So dont give up if you're confused. Everyone is. More will be revealed later in the season.

And, just in case you didnt know, season 2 is not a continuation of season 1's main story line (David Tate and his revenge). The setting is the same (El Paso/Juarez). The main characters are the same (Marco/Sonya). There are still some of the same corrupt cops/politicians/citizens but there's a new baddy in town and her name is Eleanor. That doesnt mean there wont still be room for the continued search for the missing Juarez girls or Marco struggling to come to terms with his son Gus' death or Sonya trying to solve the puzzle of her sister's murder or the disappearance of Adriana's sister or the myriad of other side story lines. And we might even see David Tate again (since he's not dead). Here's what I learned after watching the 75 minute premiere (entitled "Yankee").

The episode opens with Lyle Lovett (Monte) walking into a house. There are dead bodies, blood and flies everywhere. He looks upstairs and tips his hat to a woman who is holding a blood soaked machete. That scene was an attention getter. Later we learn that this scene is a flash forward. Think of it at the end of the rest of the episode and it will make sense.

Sonya gets a call that Dobbs is seriously ill. She rushed to the prison. She doesnt want him to die until she finds out why he killed her sister. There she meets Dobbs brother. They bond and eventually have sex. It is indeed a strange pairing under stranger circumstances. Will it continue in future episodes?

Hank is hiding Eva at his ranch. The corrupt members of the Chihuahua police department want her dead so she cant tell what she knows. A man shows up at the ranch. Eva is not safe there so Hank asks Bob (who runs a shelter) to take her in. During a police raid, one of his fellow officers tries to shoot Marco. He is a target for a number of reasons.

Daniel Frye is still investigating the elderly woman's cash house that we saw at the end of season 1. He is up and mobile but still drinking. He meets an informant at a skate park. He crashes Adriana's lunch and tells her that a family named Quintana is involved. It turns out that was the old woman Millie's last name as well.

Eleanor (the woman we saw with the machete at the beginning of the episode) and her sidekick go to visit a banker. He was laundering the money from the old woman's house and apparently lost ~$68 million dollars. That is a LOT of money to lose. Eleanor pushed for details about all the people that had access to the money. She says she has to make an accounting of all the facts to her boss. The banker hesitates saying they have families. Not the answer she was looking for. Eleanor has her henchman cut off the ear of the banker's assistant. Those two do not play around. And to make matters even more interesting, we later find Eleanor's partner in their rented Prius which is driving around in circles in the desert. He is dead (shot in the head). I assume Eleanor is the culprit. And was that a dead dog in the back seat?

The final scene has Eleanor bathing. She is covered in very strange tattoos. Is that the Devil on her back? She turns to the boys who find her and says "Help Me". What's that about? I guess we'll have to keep watching to find out.

Grade: 4 1/2 Monsters (out of 5). A very interesting first episode. Eleanor is the new baddy this season. I dont usually recap this show every week but if Eleanor remains as compelling as she was here, I may start. And is it me or did Cross's Asperger's syndrome seem much milder? She appeared more in touch with everyone else's emotions (or maybe she just kept her mouth shut about stuff for a change).