Mercy Review:
"The Last Thing I Said Was" (Episode 1.6)

Though the writing on this fledgling show can still be ham-fisted and lazy at times, jolting from moment to moment without paying the attention to detail that brings an audience along for the ride, this sixth episode of new show Mercy has a few genuinely fine moments.

Of course, these well-acted, and occasionally well-written, scenes are almost exclusively carried out by guest stars and only one by a regular cast member. This may not bode too well for Mercy in the long term, but it makes for a relatively entertaining episode.

Chief among the note-worthy moments are those involving a saucy older couple facing sickness and aging, acted by real-life husband and wife Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. Stiller in particular is subtly penetrating as a fearful but adoring husband to Meara’s stroke victim. And Mad Men’s Elisabeth Moss gives a multi-faceted, heartfelt performance as a cancer-stricken single mom.

Regular cast member Jaime Lee Kirchner has a provocative storyline that she carries off well, as she anxiously awaits word of her cop boyfriend’s safety after a dangerous shoot-out. Her steely reluctance to become attached to him is shattered when she learns he might be in danger, and Kirchner deftly draws the audience in and makes them sympathize with her emotional fragility.

On the other hand, most of the rest of the episode is underwhelming. The promising Michelle Trachtenberg is a letdown as Chloe Payne, the wide-eyed nurse trying to make it in the big city. Her character seems superficial and uninteresting. Worse still, main character Veronica (Taylor Schilling) isn’t very appealing. On paper, the tough, flawed Iraq war veteran with a secret should be an interesting character, but she emits a coldness and distance that keeps her from resonating.

Mercy is getting better, but it must inject life into most of the main characters, and vivacity into the writing, if it is going to make it in the long haul.