Awake: Season One, Episodes 3-4

Yes, I'm still in love with this series.  I've been working at 7am the last few weeks, which means waking up at 5.  Since I haven't been able to stay up for a 10pm show, I got a little behind, but now I've caught up and I can't wait for tonight's episode.  So, in case you haven't been watching... this is what you need to know:

Series premise: A cop drama following Michael Britten (Jason Isaacs) after a car accident that results in his life literally splitting in two.  He has two realities--one where his wife survives and one where his son does.  He doesn't know which one is real and which is a dream, but he does know that clues in one will often solve cases in the other.

Episode 3: Britten must prove the innocence of a killer who has been behind bars for years if he hopes to save his kidnapped son in his other reality.  I loved it, because this show felt so real.  The son admits to his tennis coach that he feels guilty for wishing his dad had died instead of his mom and Michael must come to terms with the idea that he put an innocent man behind bars.  The characters are far from perfect, but their flaws are what make them so easy to like, relate to, and root for.

Episode 4: This episode was more subtle... and I loved it.  Each of Britten's two realities has a murder, but both crimes have the same witness.  In one reality, the girl has let the death of her sister ruin her, giving in to a life of drugs, poverty, and despair.  In the other, the girl has overcome her loss and is a successful investment banker.  Michael studies this girl in both worlds, desperate for a clue on how to save his son from the grief of losing his mother.

Both of these episodes reemphasize just how much I love Jason Isaacs.  Seriously, Michael Britten is not a nice man.  Even though he's not warm, he's not the jaded by the books cop battling some past trauma, either.  He is trying to be a good father, a good cop.  He is a full and original character struggling to balance his two lives.

I love watching Britten interact with his wife and his son.  For Britten, both are very much alive and so it is impossible for him to help his wife grieve or for him to really be there for his son.  The therapists each have a take on what is happening to Michael and watching him try to deal with the situation is my favorite part of the show.  Michael insists on both worlds (wouldn't we all?), but if he can't handle it, he'll lose both.  It's never a matter of choosing.  It's all or nothing for Michael and those are stakes I like.

So far there have been a few hints that there is a bigger game that Michael is a part of, but we haven't really dug in to why this is happening.  I'm looking forward to seeing where the writer's will take this show.