Andrew Robinson
NBC’s Rise returned for its third episode on March 27th. With what seems to be only a 10-episode order, this means that Rise is already 1/3 through its season! While its ratings took a bit of a hit this past Tuesday, The Voice, which airs directly ahead of Rise, took a massive hit. In other words, Rise‘s ratings were likely hurt by The Voice‘s lower-than-usual showing (which is a direct result of the return of ABC’s Roseanne, which produced the best non-sports rating of the year, beside the post-Super-Bowl episode of This Is Us). Therefore, it is fair to be worried about the potential cancellation of Rise, but I – a self-proclaimed informed television ratings guru – am still somewhat optimistic… but the show must stabilize at its current 0.8 Nielson rating (preferably a tad higher; around 1.0) (All information concerning ratings courtesy of tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com).
Now, on to the events of the episode!
*As always, minor spoilers may follow.
Summary
(First, a quick recap of the show’s plot)
A financially-struggling small town that is football-crazed becomes interconnected in several ways not because of football, but because of the drama department, which is headed by passionate English teacher Lou Mazzuchelli (How I Met Your Mother‘s Josh Radnor). When Lou decides to present the mature (to put it mildly) musical “Spring Awakening” and looks to cast a star football player, however, both he and the musical itself face extreme backlash.
(Now, for “What Flowers May Bloom”)
Lou and Tracey have different tactics for dealing with the musical’s condensed budget. Lou and Gail struggle with the decision facing them concerning Maashous. The musical loses a key member. Lilette and Robbie, who also faces a personal issue, learn more about each other. Coach Strickland continues to work with Gordy.
Analysis
“What Flowers May Bloom” is a quality episode of a quality show. While I was not quite as blown away as I was by last week’s “Most of All to Dream,” this week’s episode does not fall too far behind.
Rosie Perez does a magnificent job portraying a conflicted women who has had her world thrown upside down. While Tracey has a nearly-identical reaction to Lou’s vision as she did in “Most of All to Dream,” Perez pulls it off in both episodes. However, I would have liked to see a slightly different impulsive reaction to Lou’s comments; she literally does the exact same thing as she did last week.
Lou wants the best for the musical and the kids, but he really needs to work on not stepping on everyone’s toes. I can appreciate that he wants it to be his vision and his production, but he’s going to have to make some sacrifices down the line. I just hope he doesn’t lose all of his supporters by then.
Poor Maashous. The kid clearly comes from a difficult upbringing, and just wants to be accepted somewhere. Here’s to hoping he finds that acceptance in his current situation.
I may be the only one, but I’m not quite on board with the potential of a Lilette-Robbie romance. It seems as if the show is really building it up, but I just don’t like the match. Plus, I don’t want to see the show turn into a romantically-driven show. I like having all of the characters make an appearance; I like to see them all go through their struggles, romances, and friendships. Basically, I don’t want Rise to turn into the Lilette-Robbie show, and I fear that a budding romance could do just that.
Speaking of supporting characters, you have to really feel for Simon. The kid is in a difficult situation with his parents, sister, friends, and school. Hopefully his parents learn to support, rather than suppress, him.
The scene shared between Lou and Simon’s mother, Patricia (Stephanie J. Block), is very well-acted, and quite poignant. Lou really seems to be a teacher who cares about his students, rather than their grades, and truly wants the best for each one of them. I think Patricia sees this; the viewer certainly does.
Every time I watch this show, I think to myself, ‘is Spring Awakening really a high-school-appropriate play?’ I love that Lou has the guts to put together a play that has so many mature elements, but I do find myself (slightly) agreeing with those who say it shouldn’t be put on by a high school drama department. I mean, families – those with young children – attend their local high school’s plays; should these children be subjected to elements surrounding teenage sexual activity, and worse? I imagine they will be forced to put an asterisk next to the play, denoting the mature elements present. Nevertheless, I think it is courageous and a very relevant play to put on; I just hope that those attending the play know exactly what they will be watching, and that they plan accordingly.
Once again, the entire cast of Rise puts on convincing performances. The show is easy to like due to the talented actors and actresses gracing our screens; without solid performances I, and many others, likely would have bailed on the show.
I still would like to see the ramifications of the drama department’s actions at the end of the pilot episode. It just seems strange that the school would not care enough about the dangerous rebellion of sorts that is taken at the end of the pilot episode; I would think that it would result in more than a slashed budget.
Verdict
I think “What Flowers May Bloom” is a solid episode. While it is nowhere near as great as “Most of All to Dream,” I still would watch “What Flowers May Bloom” over most other television shows on right now.
With that said, I would have liked to see some more punishments doled out for the events at the tail end of the pilot episode, and would have been happier if Tracey didn’t react in the exact same way to Lou’s comments as she did last episode.
Solid episode, but could have been even better.
7.5/10
