Spoiler for The Stand Episode 3 ‘Blank Page’ (and Wonder Woman 1984, kinda) to follow
Alas! Story development! My wish from Wonder Woman 1984 came true, as a week later, The Stand finally gives us a lot more to chew on. Does this mean the dream stone (or whatever Wonder Woman called it) is going to take something away from me? Am I about to live in a world like this show? These are ramblings of a man with a lot on his mind, so to the review, shall we?
‘Blank Page’ capitalizes on the past two weeks of programming; Stu, Harold, Frannie and Larry’s journeys to The Boulder Free Zone via dreams from Mother Abigail (who we get a lot of this week)! A retread of previously told stories, however, is not what fills up the episode. Mixed in we get the heartbreaking story of deaf mute Nick Andros (Henry Zaga, The New Mutants), the humorous loneliness of Glen Bateman (Greg Kinnear, You’ve Got Mail) and the suspicious arc of Nadine Cross (Amber Heard, Aquaman). The former two receive dream messages from Abigail, while the latter is on a mission from the diabolical Randall Flagg to attempt a violent coup on our survivors. His reasons aren’t quite divulged yet, but anyone paying attention will know he is up to no good.
Let me get the negatives out of the way first: Amber Heard is just not very good in this episode. She has none of the nuance of Nadine (whether it be book or previous mini-series version) has, none of her eeriness or pathos. She just sits there, kind of quiet, mousy and…there. I felt none of the danger from this character that I’m supposed to feel. Heard was even shown-up by her 13-year old counterpart Isla Crerar (While You Were Dating), who played her in flashbacks. Maybe this will change when she goes after Harold, her mission from Flagg, but for now, she is the obvious weak point in a room full of force.
The standalone story, if you can call it that, is young Nick, who finds himself getting beaten up in a bar for “disrespecting” a yokel (excuse me, local), who doesn’t realize he is deaf. Nick wakes up in a hospital full of the dead, unable to comprehend his surroundings at first. Zaga is fantastic here, a man who has a real chip on his shoulder due to his disability. Though his novel side story with the local sheriff and his wife (one of the best parts of the book, mind you) is nowhere to be found, you feel this man’s pain and anguish through everything he’s lost both previously and currently. His dialogue with Randall Flagg and Mother Abigail truly show excellent character development. The meeting between him and Tom Cullen (Brad William Henke, Orange is the New Black) is purely magical, as a beautiful bond between a deaf mute and man with down syndrome becomes one of the most genuine friendships to look forward to.
Stu gets a lot more to do here, as we flashback to him following Harold and Fran’s graffiti art, tracking them to hopefully become friends. Harold doesn’t take to the stranger, but the looks between Fran and Stu set-up the romance we see later on. Fran, who was impregnated by her ex-boyfriend, is trying to hide it from Harold by covertly chewing on prenatal vitamins. All of these interactions are quite humorous, with both Stu and Fran calling out Harold for his unwillingness to team up.
This kicks off the rest of Stu’s journey, as he meets the aforementioned Glen, a lonesome widow who lives in the woods with his dog. A lot of fun is to be had here, as the two men get drunk and bond over philosophical nonsense and Stu’s inexperience with caviar. Through the friendship, the two men realize they’ve both had dreams of Abigail, who has also included Fran, Larry and Nick in the court of five to lead the Boulder Free Zone.
What I will not spoil is the first meeting (kind of) between Abigail and Flagg. It’s shown in a very violent and sacrilegious way, one that fans of the book will be very familiar with. Abigail is an agent of God, Flagg of the Devil, and it comes to a brief head here.
‘Blank Space’ might be a little convoluted, but it gives the viewer a lot to chew on. The cliffhanger with what Flagg is planning with Nadine and Harold is agonizing to anticipate, the best thing a television program can offer.
