Republic of Doyle Episode 6

Yes! They clinched it! After a great opening, we were treated to an equally great show this week. Republic of Doyle hit exactly the right note and stayed there the whole way through episode six, aided in part by the use of flashback and rewinding, which was a nice touch.

It was also interesting to find out more about Jake and Rose's respective pasts. Jake apparently WAS a bit of a bad ass when he was younger (burning down the Goulds rec centre, stealing a car, and smashing the windows in his high school at different points as a heartbroken adolescent), and the secret behind Rose's mysterious post card was a conveniently forgotten husband/convict. Incidentally, the scene with Rose and her ex in the kitchen of the home she shares with Malachy was a tad tense and steamy, n'est-ce pas?

I was a bit perturbed at the jumping from one kiss between Jake and the Constable at the end of the last episode to them rolling around in bed together in the middle of the day until I figured out what was going on with the story, but I like how the plot kept their current and prospective future interactions interesting.

Other random impressions:

The speech (mainly the use of dialect and expressions) was much more natural and flowing this time around, which was a relief. I am wondering why Tinny was completely absent from this episode (but it worked for me!), nonetheless, it was a nice touch to see Des make an appearance for consistency's sake. Oh, hey, and I just realized that Nikki was nowhere to be seen either. How about that?

The only (mild) criticisms I have this week are that:

1. I think there should have been a few more seconds of build up before the (then incognito) blonde RCMP officer discovered Jake following her. It seemed like there wasn't even enough time for her to have registered him on the street let alone figure out that he was on her tail...unless we were meant to believe that she had noticed him during other exchanges that we weren't privy to?

2. I found it a bit hard to buy into the car chase. It seemed a bit forced and farfetched to me...I guess problem with suspension of disbelief could also be due to a familiarity with the territory in question and a failure to have ever witnessed anything like that in Newfoundland (although I guess they do probably take place from time to time)

And

3. (Note: this had no bearing on the quality of the show whatsoever, nor am I trying to start any debates about physical appearances and their importance, or lack of, but) Jake's old flame annoyed me...something about her face and the protruding upper lip. It can't be helped. I have the same issue with Kirsten Dunst and a few others.

More good news: next week looks to be equally promising! ...well the potential is there anyway...although the preview included some of the "other stuff" in there...we'll see. I'm keeping my fingers crossed though...