"The truth is like the sun. The more you look, the more it blinds." [SPOILERS AHEAD]
I miss Susie. Ryan and I both wondered where the mysterious Russian was in this episode, and I could only conclude that this time, the storyline acts to emphasize the main plot, and breakaway from the Susie storyline to give it time to progress. The viewer doesn't necessarily lose any information this way. Rather, it gives the audience a chance to wonder what's become of Mimi's friend and showcase the more pertinent scenes of Dr. Hynek and Captain Quinn. Rather than drag us through more of Susie's conflicting emotions, even if she is rather exquisite to marvel at on screen, we're given some Captain Quinn/General Harding drama that I definitely didn't see coming. What's revealed to Quinn isn't Project Blue Book's first sudden twist, and as we draw nearer to the end of season 1, I'm sure it won't be the last either.
The Scoutmaster opens with a bang, almost literally, as this alien encounter of the week is a take on a famous 1952 occurrence of a reported alien attack (not just sighting) by a DS 'Sonny' DesVergers, in Florida. The scoutmaster of this episode, however, is attacked in the forest of Kentucky, and white not the only person to witness the strange lights and noise in the sky, he was the only one to have any sort of interaction. In particular, this one left him burned and incoherent, and missing for 2 days before turning up at a town meeting about the sighting barely able to stand.
Captain Quinn does not initially join Hynek on this investigation, as he has an interrogation to conduct of the traitor Edward Rizutto, the enlisted officer captured from White Forest AFB last week. Quinn is enticed by being given the chance to interrogate a traitor of the US, and sees it as something far more important than just the strange UFO investigations he's been part of with Hynek. This interrogation, however, goes not as planned. The acting between the Russian spy Edward Rizzuto (Michael Imperioli) and Captain Quinn is some of the most intense of any episode yet. Quinn's reaction to finding out he was being tested by Harding and his understanding at the situation was incredible. His final interaction with Harding after being praised raises my suspicion. I think Quinn knows full well what Harding is up to, and is playing his game in order to get access to more information.
The information Dr. Hynek is encountering, on the other hand, seems almost too implausible even for an alien encounter. The photographs the scoutmaster provided as "evidence" of the attack were proven by one of Hynek's wonderfully logical explanations, and the creepy skull they found (not part of the original report but an excellent use of storytelling to include it) ended up being that of a Choctaw Native who'd head had been bound from birth, creating the strange inhuman looking shape of it seen on the show. David Akule, (Graham Greene), plays the elder Native who inspires the search and also clears up the skull mystery for Hynek. The way the alien hoax came together was fairly complex and included a young member of the scout troop who worked at a Western Union office providing the pivotal piece of damning evidence, a telegram sent about the incident before it even occurred.
Quinn and Hynek then have a somewhat uncomfortable exchange at the end of the episode which I believe will lead to them coming to a united stand for truth and extraterrestrial understanding by the season finale. Before we get there though, something may go horribly awry for Hynek due to more than one reason. His lying to Quinn and keeping Mimi as his new most trusted partner may (likely) backfire at some unforeseen future point, and his taillight having an electrical spasm after he stows the stolen metallic artifact in his trunk is probably going to come up again. Nothing that causes a taillight to pulse and crack on its own is going to end well. I wonder what it's done to their poor toaster or TV or something else already. This is getting creepier and creepier, I'm so here for it!
🛸 Project Blue Book airs every Tuesday night at 9pm EST
on the History Channel.
I'll be reviewing each episode of Project Blue Book after it airs every week. If you liked this review, please subscribe to the blog to be notified of new posts. A like or share goes a long way!
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