‘The Nevers’ S1 - Episode 2 Review: Everyone Wants “The Touched”

Warning: Contains spoilers 

This week’s The Nevers reveals who’s behind Dr. Hague’s frightful operations, and it additionally offers some hints concerning the relationship between Maladie and True. 

“Exposure” begins with the aftermath of Maladie’s opera attack. The city is alarmed, and Inspector Mundi sets his sights on the orphanage. His (failed) questioning of Mrs. True had a pleasant rhythm to it—because of Penance’s displeased “How are you not wonderful?” “Do you often engage in publically violence?” It's an ironic question, yet it's a valid one at its core. Mrs. True is a little bit of an eager beaver, and also the super-strength, super-speed, and ripplings provided by her turn do appear to make her much powerful than nearly every single member of the Touched.

One of the sweeter components of the episode was the instant where we realized that Augie isn't only Touched but also super smitten with our girl Penance. Certainly, their awkward banter was Joss Whedon 101, however, it was effervescently charming.

The final moments of The Nevers Episode 2 revealed that Lavinia Bidlow has been in a secret operation with Denis O’Hare’s mad scientist Dr. Edmund Hague this whole time! Meaning that Lavinia hasn’t simply been sponsoring Amalia and Penance’s work at the Orphanage, but also has been funding the diabolical shadow army that’s been abducting Touched. Not only that, it looks like Mary's (Eleanor Tomlinson) song might have caused a mysterious rock-like structure to start glowing the same color as the spores from Episode one.

This is an enormous twist whereby the person we believed to be the Touched’s staunchest supporter and ally is functioning to damage the Touched. Lavinia would possibly parade the Touched in her parlor and fund the Orphanage, however, she’s additionally organizing a way more petrifying project. As we see following a young Italian lady, Dr. Hague is opening up the skulls of the Touched to figure out the key to their power. His meddling leaves these poor souls lobotomized. Not solely that, however, it looks like Hague and Lavinia are victimizing them as grunt labor.

Two separate storylines converged astonishingly in the week. Ms. Bidlow, Olivia Williams, who Dollhouse fans may recognize, and Denis O’Hare’s Dr. Hague are in collusion. The small scene we got of him last week formed his nefarious arc, but Ms. Bidlow was a lot ambiguous. She never looked convenient around the Touched, however, she freely protected them and paid for their needs. She isn’t after all using them for her gain, whatsoever.

The big theme of episode two, directed by Whedon before he exited the show, is the way society exploits people who are different. "Horror and fascination go arm in arm," as one character says, and this episode reveals numerous players at totally different social strata setting out to exploit and misuse the Touched for their ends.

The fantasy image at the center of The Nevers evokes a tragic real-life tendency to concurrently criticize and fetishize people. Real-life Victorians, for example, mocked and objectified Black women like Sarah Baartman, referring to curious onlookers as "the Hottentot Venus." In the show, Italian shopgirl Elizabetta Cassini and Irish engineer Penance faced sexist and racist microaggressions before being discriminated against because of their superpowers.

Final Score – [6.9/10]
Reviewed by – Ritika Kispotta
Follow her @KispottaRitika on Twitter (https://twitter.com/KispottaRitika)