by Brian L. Lamkin & Alden C. Caele
Having been dragged off to Miami with Sam, Gabe tries to forget about all of his issues back in Crestview and have some fun, for once. Meanwhile, back home, Anna frets over her MIA son and begins plans to move James and Parker into their home. In Los Angeles, Mark catches up with Maddox, who's settling in at his brother's place.
Pathways has quickly amassed a big fanbase on MZP, sparking off a slew of new dramas and filling the void left behind by Between The Walls as the network's resident lead drama series. Focusing on the misadvantures of Californian teen Gabe Jones, a new arrival in the town of Crestview along with his mother Anna, Gabe's something of a misfit but the fact that he's gay certainly doesn't help matters! I drifted through the events of the first season just through my involvment with posting episodes over at MZP, so 2x01 will mark the first episode I've officially read. From what I've gathered, Gabe managed to get a sort of relationship going with fellow student Dominic, but after an incident with his estranged father he ran off to Miami with the irrepressible Sam, and that's where Season One ended.
This episode opens with Anna at home, clutching a phone and obviously still trying to reach Gabe, whose courtesy call quickly escalates into a classic 'I can't believe you left! Come home this instant, young man!' confrontation with her. Seems like it's going to take a while for this little escapade to be forgotten, but already there's a good feel to these characters. They have well defined, flowing voices and the series seems to be full of confidence in itself, so let's push on and see where this goes.
Act I reunites Anna with James, a local father to Parker (who I understand is Gabe's nemesis) and also her boyfriend, which sounds like an interesting character dynamic to set up! James is pitching in to help locate Gabe, who he obviously cares for, but as we switch over to Miami and find Gabe lounging by the pool with Sam, it's clear Gabe isn't anywhere near as troubled by his impromptu road trip as his mother is. This speaks volumes about the character already - and is, to be honest, pretty realistic. Nothing galls me more than character-driven dramas where people refuse to act like real people. Real people make mistakes. They make bad judgement calls and then try to push through it. Flawed characters make for much better reading! The two boys are both getting through their respective issues (Gabe's dad and Sam's recent breakup) in their own way, Gabe marking himself out as 'The Responsible One' despite Sam doing his best to bring out Gabe's more playful side with a bit of scoping of the local talent. We cut scenes to Julie, Sam's best friend and someone else he recently fought with, trying to call on him to apologise but finding Sam off in Miami. Next up is Mark, settling in as a waiter in a neatly comic scene where he single-handedly keeps the floor running as his manager waffles on obliviously to him, another little 'here's all the main characters from last season for the benefit of new audiences' moment. The last one comes as Gabe's sort-of boyfriend Dominic calls round, giving Anna a chance to play Neurotic Mom again and Dominic to put on his Little Boy Lost face. With everybody introduced, I'm impressed by how smoothly things have gone thus far - we've managed to re-introduce every lead character, give us a good example of how they think and act and lead us into Act II already feeling at home in amongst the various relationships and plotlines carrying into this series. Good writing. Me likey.
Act II has two seet little conversations between Parker and Julie (with Julie an impatient, bossy girl and Parker something of a homophobe) and Anna and James (who manage to not be the sickly Older Couple and even poke fun at themselves), demonstrating the snappy, fresh dialogue that is obviously a selling point of this series. From what I know of Brian's work on Slayer Academy, this is a definite talent of his, and it's doing an admittedly simple story great justice here, livening up what could otherwise be dull talking head sequences. Gabe's squeamishness at the vibrant gay club he's dragged to is another little moment that helps flesh him out, and we end with Mark being summoned to Los Angeles by Maddox, who I understand is a popular character at Brighton Academy. This is presumably a bigger deal than the script makes out, as we close on Mark's stunned silence.
In Act III, Anna's attempts to lose herself in her job lead to some new, random ideas about expanding her practice, as James and Parker have a little face off - Parker is clearly not happy about moving to the Jones household, and James' attempt to put his foot down doesn't get much response beyond a stereotypical 'Fine!' and a slammed door. Kids, eh? There's an interesting exchange between Maddox and Mark where I discover there was an 'incident' between them, the recollection of this soured by the news Maddox is back with his ex. Mark takes the news bravely, but you can pratically hear the violins playing as we leave the duo. Next up is Charlie, establishing that she and Julie have been fighting over Parker for a while - and that Sam is in love with Julie! Interesting... and the kind of typically tangled emotinal state of affairs that high school kids find themselves in every day. The Act closes with Gabe and Sam still enjoying the holiday, with an obvious strong bond between them that I'm still trying to get a handle on - it seems like Sam is the Yoda to Gabe's Luke here, showing him the wider world of what it means to be gay in the modern world as Gabe is one of those awkward, nonconfident kinds of gay guys. It's sweet, really.
Act IV brings in another face, a snotty girl called Kaia who appears to have some history with Parker and delights in flirting with and teasing him, but Parker's having none of it. At least, he acts like he's having none of it - there's a clear attraction to her whether he wants to admit it or not. Mark and Maddox say their sad goodbyes, which again helps to flesh out Mark as the loveable loser of the ensemble, and Julie cries to her mother about her troubles. Aww. There there. Gabe visits Dominic in hospital as he sits with somebody called Eddie (who I'll have to find out about), and the two have their first proper couple-y moment that should keep the shippers happy for a bit longer, before Gabe arrives back home at last. We fade out on a well-timed moment of silence between them both, which seems like a good way to end the full circle of Gabe's journey right now.
So, what to think? Well, there's no doubting the writing of Brian and Alden here, operating inside a well-defined universe with a slew of varied characters, all of whom possessing strong, distinct characters and voices and making their way through the complicated amalgamut of emotions and traumas that is life at high school. The sparkling dialogue can't hide the fact that what we essentially have is a sequence of talking heads sequences, however hard you try to absorb yourself in what's going on. Credit must be given for introducing so many characters so effectively in a short space of time, as well as re-establishing so many plotlines so that you know pretty much all about what's going on in the space of one episode, but in a way that's what lets the story down a little. Very little actually happens, mainly because there's so darn much to set up again - though I recognise this is a common problem in season openers of ensemble cast drama series. There's a lot to get through and that leaves little room for actual story, so after the set up of this episode I'm expecting more focused storytelling from now on. This is an engaging show with a three-dimensional cast and some great writing in its favour, so I'm hoping to see things improve now the introductions are out of the way.
ZPM RATING:
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