'The Bridge' to nowhere

"If we catch John Doe and he turns out to be the devil, I mean if he's Satan himself, that might live up to our expectations, but he's not the devil. He's just a man." — William Sommerset, "Se7en"

"Se7en" is a moody, brilliantly crafted crime drama. It has social issues on the periphery, and a criminal mastermind at its center. There's some great things about the film, and it has a somewhat killer ending. But the last act of the film isn't as good as the lead up, despite the fact that Kevin Spacey does an incredible job as the criminal mastermind John Doe.

I couldn't help but think about that when I watched the 11th episode of the first season of "The Bridge." The show started with a lot of promise, some quirky characters, a lot of social issues, and a taunting serial killer hovering over it all. The question was how it would all play out.

The final confrontation — in addition to being a let down — felt a lot like a knock off of "Se7en." There has been a lot of effort from critics and fans to compare "The Bridge" to other shows and movies, but I think "Se7en" is the closest comparison. And like "Se7en," the final confrontation is a bit of a let down for what came before.

I like the quote from Morgan Freeman's Sommerset at the top of this post. Most of the time the idea of who a criminal mastermind could be, and what his motives could be, is more satisfying than the truth. That's been the case with "The Bridge." The promise of what could have been has been more satisfying than what it turned out to be.

The show seemed like it would have somewhat of a focus on the political issues regarding the Mexico-United States border, but that turned out not to be the case. The whole thing appears to be the whims of a man who was hurt when his family was taken from him and sought revenge on the people he deemed responsible. He was just a bitter, angry, crazy man who wanted others to feel his pain.

"The Bridge" has two episodes left, but it remains to be seen how it will end. This is a who that started out with a lot of potential, and it still has some of that, but now that the "big" plot has played out, it remains to be seen what else the show has to offer.