WitchBlade Ep02 Featured Television 

Ten Thoughts on Witchblade‘s: “Conundrum”

By and | June 21st, 2019
Posted in Television | % Comments

Your favorite summer TV binging couple is back for more! Last year, my boyfriend Frank and I tackled the first season of SyFy/Amazon’s The Expanse together – – two different perspectives on the same show, one from one person who’s seen it, the other watching it for the first time. Who just happen to be dating.

This year, we’re taking a look at the TNT adaptation of Top Cow’s Witchblade comic, which aired on the network from 2001 – 2002.  And just like last year, this is a show Frank has watched, and I haven’t. Hilarity is bound to ensue (again). The series follows NYPD detective Sara “Pez” Pezzini and her adventures with the titular Witchblade, which gives her powers to fight supernatural evil and those who want the Witchblade for themselves.

A case of models gone missing opens us up to more lore about the Witchblade itself in today’s Summer TV Binge of the series, titled (how appropriately), “Conundrum.” It should go without saying at this point given age, but spoilers within.

Kate’s Five Thoughts

1. Models Gone Missing

Our case of the week is textbook missing persons and murder. An anonymous tip from a man missing his hand (we’re going to call him Captain Hook) leads Pez and McCarty to (presumably) Central Park, where they find elegantly and precisely staged skeletal remains of a young model named Gina, from Dominique Boucher’s modeling agency.  It isn’t long before another one of those models, Karen, goes missing herself, and Pez suspects that something isn’t all right with Madame Boucher.

And that’s where anything that even reads like a case-of-the-week goes out the window.  Dominique is a woman after the Witchblade herself, having worn it once under Kenneth’s supervision in 1959. Kenneth and Dominique came to blows over her relationship with the Witchblade: he felt she was not ready for it, she thought otherwise. And she’s been in pursuit of it ever since, staging the murder and the kidnapping of another one of her models, Karen, with the assistance of Captain Hook to bring Pez into her circle, and thus, the Witchblade.

It’s a combination of the procedural and supernatural elements of the show that flow beautifully, revealing only what the viewer needs to know at that time and in tandem with our characters. TV shows of 2019 love to put the viewer in the position of knowing more than the people on screen, and that drains some of the joy that comes from watching surprises unfold right before you.

2. All About The Witchblade

We learn some interesting things about the Witchblade in this episode:

  • The Witchblade can only be worn by a woman, because women can stand pain better than men. Childbirth and all that.
  • If a man wears the Witchblade, grave injury comes – – Captain Hook tried to wear the Witchblade and, well, that’s why we call him Captain Hook
  • The Witchblade can be in another’s possession, but the woman who has the current relationship with it has the control over it.  After Pez gives up the Witchblade to ensure Karen’s life and safety, the blade bonds to Dominique – – but Pez is the one that controls it.

It will be fun to see what further lore we learn in future episodes.  And as I said in the point above, I give credit to the writing staff for not using these early episodes as an exposition dump for the titular object. There’s fun in learning and growing with Pez.

3. “Not the piece/peace you seek” 

As Pez opens the box that Joe Siri left her last episode, she doesn’t get far into exploring his contents before Nottingham decides to sneak into her apartment.  What he says in their exchange struck me:  “Not the peace you seek.”

Or is it “piece?”

In fact, the title above is how I wrote it in my notes, a very applicable double interpretation. Literally, whatever is in that box may not be the piece to the puzzle of her identity.  (The only thing that we see at this point is a bullet with a bull embossed on it.) Figuratively, knowing these secrets that this box contains will still not bring her peace to her questions about . . . well, everything.

Continued below

That’s skillful and beautiful wordplay.

4.  Nottingham

Nottingham shows a little bit of tension with his boss here over the Witchblade and who should have control. Ken wants to be the one in control of Pez’s journey with it; he fears that Dominique will share information that he does not feel Pez is ready to hear. Nottingham begs to differ. Last week, I mused on the idea that Nottingham may be more foe than friend to Pez. This week, I’m left wondering if he is more friend than foe, having more faith in her skills and abilities than Kenneth.

5.  Time Travel

I’m only two episodes and a TV movie in, but I have had my suspicions from the start that Kenneth is a time traveler, and his interactions with Dominique in the 1950s all but confirm this.  Dominique pulling a Melisandre (Game of Thrones spoilers, obviously) at the end of the episode (thanks to losing the residual power of the Witchblade from all those years ago) also all but confirms that she is also a time traveler.

But is Pez herself a time traveler and just doesn’t know it? There is a family photo in Karen’s apartment of her (Karen’s) mother and grandmother where the latter woman could be a dead ringer for Pez.  She continues to have flashes of past events she does not recognize, vignettes that come and go too quick for the human brain to make sense of them.  The strongest argument comes in the final scene, as the camera pans in on that picture from Karen’s apartment.  Karen’s grandma/Pez doppelganger is wearing the Witchblade in the photo.

Hmm . . .

(Naturally when I voiced this to Frank after the episode ended, he gave me the same little smug “just you wait” look he gave me back when we were watching the Game of Thrones episode with the Red Wedding and I was dozing off on the couch. So I may be wrong. But I may be right.)

Afterthoughts:

  • It would be very easy to go the very unrealistic wardrobe route for Pez, but this show has not, sticking with sensible, affordable clothes and shoes.  I hope this sticks. 
  • Seeing the medical examiner drinking on the job, knowing that Yancy Butler would have her own issues with alcohol (that actually led to the cancellation of the series) strikes a bit of a lump in the throat.
  • Dumbass Jake – – you should go in Karen’s apartment first to case it and make sure it is safe before letting her in.
  • The ubiquitous “We Are Happy to Serve You” deli coffee cup makes an appearance here, and you still see those in many a bodega and deli today.
  • Those watching The Handmaid’s Tale may recognize Dominique Boucher, aka Laila Robins – – she appeared in one episode this season as Pamela Joy, who we are presuming is the mother of Yvonne Strahowski’s Serena Joy.

Frank’s Five Thoughts

1. Will

Magical items have existed in our imaginations ever since we first started telling stories. You don’t have to work hard to think of examples of magical swords, armor, rings, mirrors, etc. In some of these cases, the magical item is more than just item; sometimes it has a sentience or will of its own. Think about the One Ring in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and the way it works to try and return to Sauron – influencing the minds of its bearers and slipping on or off fingers. There have been references to the WitchBlade’s will before, especially regarding the selection of who can or cannot wield it. There was even Irons’ warning that it was notorious for abandoning the wielder when it was needed most – we saw that during Pez’s battle with Gallo in the movie. Both Irons and Dominique Boucher’s henchman suffered to different degrees when the WitchBlade denied them its power.

The artifact exerts its will more overtly when it shows that its power extends beyond just its wielder. When Pez negotiates for the life of Karen she gives up the WitchBlade to Boucher, who is able to instantly activate its gauntlet-and-blade form. When she goes to strike Pez though, the WitchBlade stops and does not allow its chosen wielder to be killed. This acts as a moment of revelation to Pez and she realizes that she does not need to be in possession of the WitchBlade for it to aid her. It also turns into a lesson for Boucher – holding the WitchBlade does not necessarily mean you are the one controlling it.

Continued below

2. Control

Speaking of control, we see an interesting mirroring in this episode between Ian Nottingham and Boucher’s murderous one-handed henchman. Both are men that act in service to powerful figures and will perform awful acts for their masters. Through these relationships, both men are drawn into the orbit of the WitchBlade and are likely affected by their proximity. Even though Nottingham is a highly trained soldier and killer, Irons has him strictly in hand, almost like an attack dog loyal to its master. We are starting to see suggestions that Ian may not be as tame as he seems. He speaks back to Irons at times and his posture changes occasionally.

We also see Pez’s control over the WitchBlade improving. Earlier in the episode she complains about how she can never get the WitchBlade to do anything, with a funny little shake of her wrist. But I feel that this is a way that the WitchBlade is training her as its wielder. The lesson this episode is to learn that she is the selected bearer, and upon realizing that she becomes bonded closer to it.

Finally, we also see Irons seeking to control what information Pez can get regarding the WitchBlade. When she comes across the opportunity to learn more about its past and legacy, Irons makes the decision to allow her to learn a little. It is obvious that he feels that if Pez learns too much too soon, it would become too difficult for him to keep her, and consequently the WitchBlade, under his thumb.

3. Instincts

Even this early in the series, we have been given plenty of examples showing that Pez is a good detective with excellent instincts, even before she gets supernatural aid from the WitchBlade. Some thing that really jumped out to me in this episode, though, was how it showed that her partner, Jake, also has really good instincts despite coming across as a brash rookie. This is most notable at the initial crime scene when his attention is drawn by the plastic bag caught on a nearby bush. There was something about that bag, the holes ripped in it, and the holes in teh snow that triggered something in his detective mind. Those instincts rear up again at the pool hall later when observes Boucher’s henchman with the hooked hand and he is able to make the connection between the man and the ripped bag. He then is able to follow-up his instincts with the research necessary to identify the man. Good job Jake!

4. History Rearing its Head

History in a variety of aspects keeps showing up through this episode. We learn a little more about Kenneth Irons’ past and how he was involved with the WitchBlade through the 20th century. We see that he was with Dominique Boucher in French Guiana in 1959. It is noteworthy that neither appear to have aged much in the fifty years. Boucher also has history with the WitchBlade being a prior wielder, thanks to Irons’ favor. Her history with the artifact is the driving motivation for this episode’s plot – as it was all a scheme to try and gain possession of the WitchBlade again.

We also find out a little more about the history of the WitchBlade and one of the earlier wielders (likely the one before Boucher). When Pez and Jake meet Karen Bronte, Boucher’s intended victim, Karen is astonished and confused by Pez because she looks exactly like her grandmother. Karen’s grandmother was a British spy during WWII and a also a wielder of the WitchBlade. We still do not learn much else yet.

Learning that a former WitchBlade owner looked exactly like Pez also causes her to think more about her own ancestry which leads her back to the box given to her by Joe. So we also get a bit of of her own personal history in the shape of a bullet marked with a black bull. What could be the significance of that?

5. Illusion & Reality

One of the things this show does pretty well is twisting the viewers perception between what is illusion and what is real. We get several instances of that through this episode, especially when Pez confronts Boucher. She sees flickering images of Boucher becoming Medusa, which fits well with her connection with snakes through the episode. We also see images of Karen Bronte being wrapped by a python, though later on we find that the earlier murder victim’s snake digestion was simulated using a carpet roller and vats of acid. So is the snake real or not? This is a great way that the show allows us to see through Pez’s eyes when she is enhanced by the WitchBlade. There is also a clever bit earlier in the episode when the medical examiner says that the skeletal damage can be done with a carpet roller and acid, but why would anyone go through that amount of trouble.

Continued below

Stray Thoughts

  • We get a young Malin Akerman playing Karen Bronte, who really tried to put the moves on Jake.
  • Poor Jake keeps ending up with black eyes.
  • The remote control articulated snake was really cool, especially when it became a weapon in the fight at the end.
  • I also really liked the way that the WitchBlade took a form similar to a snake’s head with a forked blade for a tongue when Boucher wore it. When Pez crushed her wrist with it, it also matched the action of a python.

We’ll see you next week for “Diplopia,” and let us know what you think in the comments!


//TAGS | 2019 Summer TV Binge | Witchblade

Kate Kosturski

Kate Kosturski is your Multiversity social media manager, a librarian by day and a comics geek...well, by day too (and by night). Kate's writing has also been featured at PanelxPanel, Women Write About Comics, and Geeks OUT. She spends her free time spending too much money on Funko POP figures and LEGO, playing with yarn, and rooting for the hapless New York Mets. Follow her on Twitter at @librarian_kate.

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Frank Skornia

Frank is a longtime fan of science fiction and fantasy, enjoying a wide range of material across the spectrum of media. He is also an avid gamer, enjoying video games, board games, and RPGs of all sorts. Frank is also a really big fan of Godzilla. You can find him on Twitter at @FSkornia.

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