The Crowded Room Season 1 Episode 5 Review: Savior
Denis Kimathi
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Halfway through The Crowded Room Season 1, some things began to make sense, but it's such a shame it took until The Crowded Room Season 1 Episode 5 for this to happen.
As stated before, a limited series doesn't afford the luxury of being too mysterious in the storytelling format when every passing minute is as crucial as the next one.
While guessing what was supposed to be going on wasn't hard, no one needed that.
In The Crowded Room series premiere review, I said that some things could have been done differently, and based on what has happened so far, it shouldn't have taken five episodes to confirm what we had guessed all along.
Some people don't stand a chance, and Danny was one such person. From his first day on earth, his life seemed set to follow a certain path, and whatever he did, it wouldn't be surprising anymore after what we saw happen to him.
It was finally confirmed that, like most people who showed up to save Danny when he needed saving, Adam was one such person.
It's every lonely child's dream to have a best friend.
Danny was as unpopular in grade school as he was in high school. Being on the receiving end of bullying, it was no surprise he sought a more confident brother who understood and was ready to protect him.
Adam was born out of a necessity to ward off loneliness and bullying and fill in some gaps in his life. With Adam's backup, Danny could clap back on bullies.
Bully: Danny, heard you got beat up by a girl.
Danny: Hear you choked on your own cock.
We didn't know what happened to his father, but one thing was clear, Danny missed and needed him.
Growing up in the 1960s early 1970s America as a young boy raised by a single mother, Danny was more disadvantaged than most of his peers.
His mother worked all the time just so they could afford to live, so many things slipped through.
Danny: Can't you stay home?
Candy: Sorry, baby. We only got my paychecks putting food on the table. And I gotta go get dressed for work.
Danny: Can't you not go tonight?
Candy: You know I gotta work, baby.
If Danny had been in a proper two-parent household, then maybe some things that slipped through Candy's fingers would not have. She was tired half the time and saw no harm in indulging Danny with his fantasy about having a twin brother who went to stay with his dad periodically.
In his own words, he distinguished between when he was okay and when things went south after witnessing a disgusting racist act of violence inside the diner.
Danny: Sometimes I think the blood that night marked me.
Rya: What do you mean?
Danny: Well, from ancient Judaism to Shakespeare, blood, especially blood spilled in violence, has magical powers. It can ward off evil, or it can even summon it.
Rya: Is that what you think? That what happened to you is your fault?
Danny: Well, everything that came afterwards couldn't possibly just be a coincidence, could it?
The Crowded Room Season 1 has dealt with domestic abuse, rape, physical assault, and emotional abuse, and it was only befitting that we got a taste of the good ol' American racism of the 20th century.
White Supremacist: Nobody told you you could talk to him.
Black Patron: Nobody told me I had to ask permission.
White Supremacist: You niggers is hardheaded.
Walking into a bar/diner to get a cold one could lead to someone being attacked by white supremacists is a testament to how unhinged the world can be, and we should aim to do better.
Danny would have loved to attribute that incident to the misfortune in his life, but things had gone south a long time ago.
Not having a male in the household opened them up to a million and one problems, and in that desperation, Candy brought home one of the most harmful.
There are monsters all around, and we wish never to encounter some of them. We would all wish that for children like Danny, but if wishes were horses…
While Adam would help Danny cope with some of the worst things to ever happen to a child, he wasn't strong enough to stop those things from happening.
At school, it was becoming noticeable that Danny was vulnerable, and some people were good at exploiting the vulnerability. It is worse when those people are entrusted with ensuring others are safe.
Danny was the most unfortunate kid. He would jump from the flying directly into the fire more times than once.
He felt a great sense of relief when Marlin came in before the guidance counselor did anything scarier, but maybe it would have been better if Marlin hadn't. Then maybe someone else would have stopped both of these men.
Danny had grown to trust both of them, and having them do that to him was a great violation.
In a bid to protect him from monsters, Candy exposed him to the biggest monster of them all.
Your dad's not around, huh, Dan? And your mom, she works a lot. Two jobs. Seems to me like you need a friend.
Marlin
It was no surprise that Danny was very uncomfortable with sex because it was another form of violence for him as far as he could remember.
A child walking in on adults having sex is grim because their minds can't rationalize what is happening. And then to have an adult do that to them destroyed anything good that can be found in sex.
Unsurprisingly, he would dissociate from sexual experiences and reluctantly participate as Adam and Ariana. Let Danny sleep or play with fireflies because that was a better memory.
Danny had great memories of his mother; he would light up whenever she was brought up. Even if she had many shortcomings, she did the best she could, and while it might not have been enough, it was all she could, and that's okay.
"Savior" filled in the missing information surrounding Danny's trauma source, but it wasn't something we didn't quite know. While it was interesting and painful to see events unfold, they should have unfolded four episodes ago.
There are still a lot of mysteries surrounding the show, and as we get into the second half, many of them need to be solved.
Chief among them is the real reason Danny is under arrest.
Over to you, what did you think? How uncomfortable were you watching some of those scenes?
Chime in in the comments section.
Denis Kimathi was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. He has watched more dramas and comedies than he cares to remember. Catch him on social media obsessing over [excellent] past, current, and upcoming shows or going off about the politics of representation on TV. Follow him on X.
