NBC’s Aquarius
Season 2, Episode 1: “I’m So Tired”
Directed by Jonas Pate
Written by John McNamara

* For a review of the Season 1 finale, click here.
* For a review of the next episode, “Happiness is a Warm Gun” – click here

I’ve watched the first season, and decided to get into the second now with recaps/reviews. Join me, as we vibe along through this NBC period piece. The first season was good, though flawed. Let’s see if Aquarius can get better!
Season 2’s opener starts on Cielo Drive, August 9th in 1969. It’s 4 AM. Inside a nearby house there’s carnage. Blood on the walls and a song plays in the background. PIG is smeared on a wall in blood. Charles Manson (Gethin Anthony) is trying to calm down Emma Karn (Emma Dumont) after the massacre. “No sense makes sense,” he tells her cryptically; another view behind the mask that shows us exactly what kind of psychotic with which we’re dealing. She’s on the verge of having a baby and obviously conflicted while Charlie insists “there can be no birth without death.”

Jump back to 18 months earlier.
Detective Sam Hodiak (David Duchovny) is receiving the Medal of Valour. Outstanding service, all that. Only things aren’t exactly peachy for him despite the supposed fame. Worse than that he receives a strange picture of an unknown woman that’s sure to cause trouble. Meanwhile, he and Brian Shafe (Grey Damon) are still kicking around together, the older of the two trying to leave an impression on his hippy-ish younger counterpart.
And we can’t forget Mr. Ken Karn (Brian F. O’Byrne) with all his unsettling issues, the ties to Manson, the problems with his daughter. He’s been hooked up with a lot of bad business. No reason to think that’ll stop any time soon. Things aren’t going so well for him and his plans either. Chasing down Hal Banyin (Spencer Garrett) with a gun, he ends up losing the edge. Fallout is on its way, no doubt.

Charmain Tully (Claire Holt) is doing her best to get close to biker bad ass Roy Kovic (David Meunier). At the same time back at the Manson Family hideout, there’s always something going on. He’s got a visitor, Ralph Church (Omar J. Dorsey), whose presence affects Charlie. He seems intimidated. But Charmain, she isn’t too intimidated by Roy. Or at least she doesn’t let on. She plays things cool, swallowing pill after pill. At the ranch, Sadie (Ambyr Childers) gets smacked around a bit by Ralph while Charlie does nothing but sit there and let it happen. Then Brian arrives, insisting Ralph backs down. What I dig is the illusion of power. When a stronger alpha male shows up, Manson’s power wilts and he is no longer that big, tough ruler that he acts for the women. Very evident.
Out on the street, Hodiak is working. He’s searching for Kovic, shaking down a biker gang. He and a local Sergeant put the screws to a pretty little biker, one that might not last so long in jail with his manhood in tact, and they get a slice of info.
Late in the night Ken calls his estranged wife Grace (Michaela McManus). He makes a veiled reference about doing something terrible to a young woman; is it that dead woman, or does he mean his daughter? Or both? The next morning while preparing to shoot himself, Ken hears news about Hal being shot. He may die. Yeah – “news” to him. That at least takes the gun out of his mouth. Only to later see Hal pull through just fine.

Kovic is finally tracked down by Hodiak. He barges into the biker’s house, also finding Charmain in a state of undress. Whoa. Talk about going undercover. The two cops speak silently, as they keep Roy in the dark. “Yeah, she is just what you need,” Hodiak smirks before leaving. At the office, Sam gets more pictures. This one now shows a woman in distress, tied in the photo. Same woman as the last picture, only much scarier. This is leading to a new case for Hodiak.
Over at the ranch Charlie and Ralph are up against one another. They were in jail together. Ralph helped protect him, now he wants something in return. Is there more than that? Did Charlie offer something up for protection? There’s no telling what’s happened. Regardless, Ralph is starting to take over. And Charlie feels his hold on those women, his people, slipping with every moment. He tires to get Kovic to help out, though the biker boss doesn’t exactly look all that concerned. He’s dealing with Brian and their deals; Brian is more concerned with Charmain and her charging in head-on through dangerous territory.
Already starting in on the pictures, Hodiak tries to locate clues about the girl in them. Simultaneously, he’s meeting with Ron Kellaher (Tim Griffin), a guy that doesn’t particularly admire Sam’s career or his way of doing things. He’s dissatisfied with Hodiak and his brand of police work. “Y‘know I thought getting a medal was going to be a lot more fun,” Sam says casually.

Sam finds out there was a cop witness that Kellaher is using against him. What’s interesting about this is seeing the guy behind all the bravado. We’ve seen bits and pieces so far of his not exactly by-the-book detective work. All the same, it’s been endearing mostly, as he does it usually to push towards the greater good. Here, he’s only serving himself, and there’s less and less need for a guy like him in the police force that’s gradually, slowly changing. I always love a conflicting character. Hodiak absolutely is conflicting, though he still has likeable elements that keep you hooked.
The biker gang situation is getting worse. Charmain warns Brian about a big, dangerous night ahead, and Roy is beginning to get more suspicious of Charmain, too. A bunch of dudes involved with Kovic’s gang are laid out in a building’s basement. Executed. Military style. And Brian was almost one of them.

Stay with me for the next episode titled “Happiness Is A Warm Gun” – a lovely title ripped from another Beatles song I really dig.