Believe: “Origin”

In the era of the Internet, it’s easy to be a hater. Anonymous forums make us brave and shameless, and Twitter gives the layman the power to directly insult the well-off that would normally be unreachable. But I try to take the high road, because I do truly believe that when you see the positive, you make space for the positive. While I could deliver an onslaught of snarky remarks about Believe’s third episode, I’m going to take a constructive perspective, and, like Bo, make some predictions of the future.

In “Origin,” Believe offers much of the same that it did the last two weeks: Bo and Tate on the run in tepid chase scenes, Winter and Skouras having dramatic interactions, Bo helping random strangers with her non-defined powers, and cheesy WTF moments. The most (and possibly only) informative part of the episode is that, through a flashback, we get to meet Bo’s mother, Nina. She was a medium and also had some sort of telekinetic powers. In a very visually cool scene, she shuts her eyes to see her own future, and, with just her mind, draws pencil images of what lies ahead for her.

So, let’s talk about the worthier aspects of Believe, which no one would mistake for being one of the best shows out there: philosophical perspective on crappy shows. Below are two points.

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First, the big picture: Sometimes even an established artist will produce subpar work in a journey toward a better outcome. So, rather than wondering what Alfonso Cuarón and J.J. Abrams are thinking, let’s consider that this TV series may be best thought of as explorative and edifying for them. Perhaps we can chalk this series up as a tester series, a step in the direction of their next big, awesome thing.

Second, Believe may be less than thrilling as a while, but it has proven an effective showcase for some pretty talented actors (some old and many new). Thanks to Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet, and, well, plenty of other things, Kyle Maclachlan is no stranger. Delroy Lindo, who plays Milton Winter, has been acting for decades now and has been in tons of movies, though this is the first role where he gets this amount of face time. As for the new actors, let’s just begin with the actress who plays little Bo, Johnny Sequoyah, who has a face like Geena Davis and a charm reminiscent to that of Audrey Hepburn. If this show only serves as a springboard for this little kid’s acting career, then it’ll be worth it.

Still, though there are plenty of talented people behind and in front of this show, Believe has a long way to go before it could be considered good. But hey, if it helps fill the reel of and open doors for Sequoyah—and co-star, Jake McLaughlin—then I’m all for it.

Madina Papadopoulos is a New York-based freelance writer and regular contributor to Paste. You can follow her on Twitter.

Believe: “Origin”

(Episode 1.03)