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Haven: Season 2 Premiere

By Sunny Choi · July 18, 2011

Now, I was raised in a very secular family, with little exposure to religious doctrine. Embarrassingly enough, I am so ignorant of the Bible that I only learned of the Garden of Gethesmane from my freshman World History class (yes, it took me long enough). Even as someone who has scant knowledge of the Bible, I sensed that the season premiere of Haven borrows heavily from the Old Testament, yet does not follow through with these inspiring references and ultimately falls a little short with its bland dialogue and lack of character development. Many of these problems could be remedied with a more nuanced and comprehensive script to create a more authentic, thought-provoking television series.

While extremely suspenseful and engaging, Haven crams a bunch of biblical allusions to attract “intellectual” viewers who pride themselves on considering the metaphysical? The sophomore season profanes Exodus by utilizing it as the basis for a forty-minute episode in which a school of gnats and flies zealously hover in the skies, where water turns into blood, and frogs rain from the sky. Instead of utilizing biblical allusion to foster a meaningful philosophical debate and create an original TV series, the writers force a bunch of Moses’ curses for cheap summer thrills. Haven’s plagues beg the question, why might God punish Haven the same way He punished Egypt? Rather than providing further social commentary and fostering fresh discourse on religion and humanity, the show cops out of a potential philosophical debate, explaining supernatural phenomena as just an extension of the troubles and not something to be seriously explored or considered. To become a more original, memorable series, the show may want to extensively utilize its innovative plot points to shape an overall message or theme that truly resonates with us.

Furthermore, a more nuanced script would mitigate any vilification of certain populations and appeal to a broader audience. Such constant snubbing of the Bible also seems to implicate Judeo-Christianity as the source of all trouble and conflict, and the fact that its only representative on the show is the irrational and somewhat sinister antagonist, Reverend Ed Driscoll (Stephen McHattie), further sheds negative light on religious institutions. Driscoll, who believes in appealing to a higher power, is portrayed as backwards and ludicrous in order to cater to the growing younger atheistic and agnostic population.One may recognize the irony in that the writing tends to get preachy as it tries to denigrate preachiness.

On the bright side, the episode immediately captures one’s attention with its impressive special effects, especially in the scene where the fire hydrant, post box, and an ancient cannon spew forth a cloud of locusts, gnats, and flies. The modern adaptations of the plagues, such as bloody water gushing out of the lawn sprinklers, successfully combine Biblical tales with modern technology, rendering the event ever so realistically terrifying.

While Audrey Parker (Emily Rose) works to eliminate these plagues, she simultaneously must deal with the mysterious presence of her doppelgänger (Kathleen Munroe), who shares her name, occupation, and virtually her entire identity. They share similar memories, including their camp-side CPR songs, and they complete each other’s sentences. However, the second Audrey Parker comes off as a one-dimensional and unlikable smart-aleck and is an unwelcome distraction from our humane, empathetic protagonist. On a positive note, the show still has an entire season to beef up and strengthen this new supporting character.

In addition to the uninteresting new character, the bland dialogue, wrought with clichés and platitudes, also proved to be problematic in making the characters more convincing. In the brief season recap, Parker’s rationale for staying with Haven’s police department makes her seem over-sentimental and corny: “Because I understand these people!” The lack of character development contributes to a one-dimensional portrayal of Driscoll, the fanatic clergyman with the evil eye who screams variants of “We must seek God’s forgiveness!” and “Haven is being punished!”

If Haven wishes to attain the acclaim that successful sci-fi shows like The X-Files have received, it should bring to completion its thought-provoking discussions and cultivate the overall dialogue, especially for its supporting characters. My comments probably sound extremely nit-picky, but that is because I sincerely care about the show and believe in its potential to substantially improve. All in all, younger audiences who are tired of the stock sitcoms and medical and forensic dramas will probably welcome Haven’s supernatural phenomena and discussion of the metaphysical.