For a standalone episode, “The Bank Job” really impressed me. It did a lot of things right. For example, Kate actually contributed something useful to the Sanctuary team besides her lame witticisms (I use the term “witticism” loosely). She got to use her oft-described, seldom-seen criminal prowess to shut down a bank and start a stand-off with the FBI. All these hidden talents – why isn’t this girl running for public office?! Next time Magnus needs to take hostages or mug someone, she knows who to call.
Obviously I find Kate’s character kind of ridiculous (I’m an Indian and a Chicagoan, just like this character, and I can tell you there is nothing remotely believable about Kate as a hardened con artist — I try to suspend my disbelief, but it’s not working in this case). While I still find Kate-as-badass laughable, I think this episode actually did quite a good job of making her look competent. When the bad guy snatched her gun, we were set up to think, “God, Kate’s such an idiot! She’s supposed to be the expert here, and she left a loaded gun in her belt!”
Of course, at the end Magnus reveals that Kate did it on purpose to trick the bad guy into outing himself. That was a nice surprise — I was actually relieved that Kate was smarter than I thought — and I was a little ashamed of myself for assuming that she was dumb enough to have screwed up like that. I’ll try not to underestimate her in the future (although I will still laugh at her fingerless gloves and mock her thug act – she’s about as threatening as a dachshund in a Halloween costume).
By the way, there was more to this episode than Kate:
Clacked by Ruby T.
on Nov 02, 2010 @ 00:30 EST5EDT
I thought it was a fun episode. Magnus was kick-ass and I love her solution to keeping everyone there – bank job!
Kate was tolerable but I still think the Sanctuary producers like her a lot more than I do.
Favourite line courtesy of Walter (Gary Jones): I knew that accent was fake.
Helen was kick-ass! My favorite moment of the episode was when she punched out that guy.
I loved that Gary Jones line too. Sanctuary is great when it’s tongue-in-cheek.
While I tend to agree with you about Kate, I know there are fans who really love her. And that’s fine with me – I’m glad Kate has fans, because honestly I would feel bad for Agam Darshi if everyone hated her character.
Ruby, I’d watch Agam Darshi in a split second if she were on another show. I think she’s beautiful and a more than capable actress. I know I don’t have to tell you the reason so many of us fans dislike her character is the way she was introduced. It’s absolutely no fault of the actress and completely the fault of the writers. They killed off a character that, while initially poorly used, was just beginning to be fleshed out and loved by fans only to replace her with an unrepentent enemy. Perfect recipe for viewer backlash.
They gave the character no sympathetic traits whatsoever in her introduction or in subsequent episodes. Maybe I’m missing something here, but up until the end of last season Kate seemed like a cold bitch with a chip on her shoulder. This season she has all of a sudden become a caring, but tough, person. That wasn’t character development, that was an unrealistic shift in her personality that just doesn’t settle well with me.
Nothing about this season has softened me to the Kate character at all, nor has it made me wish for Ashley’s return any less. It was handled about as poorly as is possible and the only way to undo it is to return Ashley to the fold. I could live with keeping Kate on the crew, but with Magnus’ daughter missing from the equation it just doesn’t add up. (Kill me for the bad pun.)
“The bank job” was a great episode, but still, I just don’t like Kate…. Can’t help it!