Tamara Tunie

The Red Road has had an uneven season. It’s struggled to make the most of its unique setting and promising characters, but it’s given leads Julianne Nicholson and Jason Momoa some of the most interesting material of their careers. It’s taken surprising turns in its small character moments while sticking to the familiar with its plot points. After this week’s season finale, it seems unclear what kind of show The Red Road wants to be, and this lack of focus robs the season of narrative urgency and emotional depth.

The Red Road continues this week with an entertaining, if not hugely memorable, table-setting episode. With only six episodes in the first season, there’s not much opportunity for multiple dramatic peaks and valleys, so it’s not surprising that episode three features some fallout from the characters’ various poor choices in episodes one and two and a few new touches, but no fireworks. These are presumably coming later, as we build towards the finale. As a middle episode, however, “The Woman Who Fell from the Sky” works well, expanding Phillip’s circle and focusing in a bit more on Rachel.

With Rectify, Top of the Lake, and The Returned, SundanceTV made a name for itself in 2013, creating and/or distributing thoughtful, stylish short-run television. The Red Road, their first series of 2014 and only second original series (the first being Rectify), doesn’t live up to these antecedents, at least in its pilot, but is nonetheless interesting. While it lacks the emotional depth and gorgeous visuals of these other series, the pilot makes the case for following for this first, six-episode season thanks to two of its central performances and its unique setting.