By Chad Shreeves
*The Following review is spoiler-free for episode five, but may contain spoilers from previous episodes of Rabbit Hole.
As Rabbit Hole enters the tense second half of the season, John Weir (Keifer Sutherland) finds himself even more confused than usual about who to trust. As his spiral into paranoia deepens, so too does the mystery surrounding the enigmatic Crowley and his plots for control.
In Episode 5, “Tom,” the show kicks into overdrive with some huge revelations. The series’ trademark tension at this point remains, with just enough slow and quiet moments to get a breath in. It’s a masterclass on teeter-tottering between drama and tension and this show has only elevated its display of it with every episode.
This episode also features a slight uptick in the action. Where the other episodes have largely relied on delivering through some knife-sharp dialogue, this episode finally lets the bullets fly in some powerful action scenes that really help elevate this episode into one of the best of the series so far.
But action aside, we really get a ton of new information. The level of distrust between Weir and his estranged father continues to be on display, and that deterioration is set to ignite in a fury. Kiefer Sutherland’s and Charles Dance’s performances really help here as they seem to balance care and, at times, honest concern for each other while also neither one truly trusting the intentions of the other.
The other big moment that is small, quiet, but powerful is that Hailey (Meta Golding) finally begins to slowly crack the armor that has been holding Weir back for so long. It’s a very quiet moment but it’s nice to finally see the two of them beginning to trust each other, at least a little. There’s also some new revelations as Agent Madi finally begins to get closer to Weir and uncovering what exactly happened.
Agent Homm is given some great development and a little more to do this episode, which has been nice as well. While he’s still one of the weaker characters in the show, it’s nice to see him given a little more to work with this episode as he deals with the fallout of last week’s big events.
A good portion of this episode is told through flashbacks, as we see what the Intern was up to, and it’s shocking. Ben also has some good moments in the flashbacks as well as his secrets he’s been holding in finally come into the light. It’s a brutal, honest moment and left my jaw on the floor in the final moments. Seriously, the last few minutes of this episode are a “watch it before someone spoils it for you” kind of moment. You won’t regret it.
Overall, Rabbit Hole continues its winning streak with some great moments both loud and quiet. It still fails to capture that Kiefer Sutherland magic fans of 24 and Designated Survivor are hoping for, but every episode has only gotten better. As we approach the finale it just may reach its peak.
