9x08 LHdP 66.6: The Rip-off - "Killing in the Name Of"

This episode, while entertaining, was filled with recycled rip-offs that Alex Pina & Co. already used this season. So this lecture should be short and sweet. Hopefully. I'm going to re-summarize the rip-offs for you and then we can analyze how they've developed in the show since we last talked about them.

Ep. 112: El ABC del Satanísmo (The ABCs of Satanism)

Rip-off: The Exorcist
Summary: A single mother begins to notice dramatic changes in her 12 year-old daughter's behavior, which she initially attributes to her recent divorce. These changes include the exhibition of supernatural powers, such as levitation and supernatural strength, as well as a demonic male voice. Doctors remain skeptical about her condition until several paranormal events occur in the house, leading them to believe that the girl might be demonically possessed (or at least that she believes she's possessed). Two priests are brought in to exorcise the demon from the girl.


LHdP spin: The girl that Paco and Pove rescued at the abandoned school in Ep. 110 turns out to be a novice (aka. a nun-in-training). Throughout the episode, she displays behavior indicating that she's possessed by Satan, such as prophetic abilities, slipping occasionally into a demonic male voice, and having the typical "possessed black eyes". Deker remains skeptical that the girl is possessed or that their case involves paranormal activity until the novice starts sharing personal knowledge about his life.

Epic fail: This time Alex Pina & Co. have taken The Exorcist rip-off to the next level by creating a scenario that's almost an exact duplicate of the film. You have Deker, the skeptical doctor, and a young woman who clearly displays signs of being possessed. All we need is to resurrect Father Sistiaga so that he can die again when he tries to exorcise Satan from the girl's body. And, as Drs. Piper and Beke pointed out in their recap of this episode, some of the dialogue was taken directly from the film. What this tells me is that Alex Pina & Co. have gotten so lazy that they can't even be original in their dialogue. And, IMO, if you find yourself creating characters that are nearly exact duplicates of their rip-off counterparts and stealing the dialogue from those rip-offs, it's a clear sign that you shouldn't do the rip-off to begin with.

Rip-off: Harry Potter films
Summary: Harry Potter is an orphan who discovers at the age of 11 that he is a wizard. He is famous in the wizarding world, because when the evil Lord Voldemort attempted to kill an infant Harry, the spell rebounded and seemingly killed the dark lord himself. While Harry learns about magic at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Voldemort is planning his return to power. In the fourth film, The Goblet of Fire, Harry's blood is used in a potion to help restore Lord Voldemort to a new body. In the fifth film, The Order of the Phoenix, a prophecy reveals that Harry or Voldemort will kill the other. It also establishes that Harry and Voldemort share a telepathic connection.

LhdP spin: We learn that eight years ago, Paco and Mariano assisted in the rescue of victims involved in a multiple car crash. We also learn that Damián Sr. was one of the injured victims in that crash and that Paco is a universal blood donor, implying that Paco's blood saved Damián Sr.

Epic fail: Not only is Paco the "Chosen One" like Harry, now he's bonded to Damián Sr. like Harry is bonded to Voldemort - by blood. And given that Damián Sr. and Damián Jr. are evil personified, I'm guessing that in the end Paco or Damián Jr. will kill the other. We can even say that the novice's possessed state of being is similar to when the memory of teen Tom Riddle (aka. Lord Voldemort) possessed young Ginny Weasley's soul in The Chamber of Secrets. I guess that makes Don Lorenzo Dumbledore and Mariano Ron Weasley. And Pove might be Hermione. Actually, Pove kind of reminded me of Harry at the beginning of this episode with his scarf and glasses, but I digress. All we need for this rip-off to be complete is a telepathic connection between Paco and Damián Sr. and/or Damián Jr. The main reason why this rip-off continues to fail is because, aside from the fact that the film series is way better than this show and Paco and the hombres can't beat a bunch of charming kids with British accents, the last time I checked, LHdP wasn't about wizards or demons. On a completely unrelated note, I don't really read the HP books - that's what the movies are for - so do me a favor and don't spoil the last two films for me if you comment on this below, vale?

Rip-off: Nikita (film) and La Femme Nikita (TV series)
Summary: In the original French film, Nikita is a drug addict who kills a police officer during a botched robbery. She is sentenced to life in prison but "recruited" by the French intelligence agency and trained to be an assassin. The television series follows a similar premise, where Nikita is recruited to become an operative for Section One, a top secret counterterrorist organization. In both versions, Nikita's only choices are to comply or be killed. However, unlike the film, in the television series Nikita is not a drug addict, nor had she killed anyone prior to her recruitment into Section. She was framed, but Section believes that she is a killer and thus, that is the reason why they recruited her. Throughout the series, Nikita struggles to balance her role as an operative with her sense of morality.

LHdP spin: Mariana Salgado is a Commander in the CNI, Spain's intelligence agency. She blackmails Pepa (and later Aitor) into doing the CNI's dirty work, but you can tell that she doesn't like having to do so, possibly because she's romantically involved with Pepa's brother, Paco. When Pepa and Aitor save and protect the scientist that Aitor was supposed to kill, Salgado reveals that the orders to execute him came from people above her. When Pepa tells her to do her own dirty work, Salgado does so by killing the scientist herself and extracting a chip from his dead body.

Epic win: It's no secret that I like this rip-off, but the developments in this episode have made me love it. As I've stated before, Pepa's character is very similar to Nikita's character, but I've come to believe that she's not the only Nikita in this rip-off. We don't know much about Salgado's background or how she got recruited by the CNI. All we do know is that she's been with them for quite some time. Salgado's guilty expressions in the past two episodes, especially her reactions to reading Pepa's letter to Paco shows her reservations about what she's forcing Pepa to do. She seems vulnerable in those moments, like she's struggling with herself because of her love for Paco. I think Alex Pina & Co. did a nice job in contrasting the compassionate, moral side of her as a person with the emotionless, unforgiving side of her as a CNI agent. And thus, I believe that Salgado is also Nikita, but a seasoned Nikita. Pepa is a newly recruited Nikita - one who wants to hold onto her humanity and is therefore resistant to complying with the CNI by telling them, "Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me." Salgado represents Nikita from the latter part of the series - she's resigned herself to the fact that she's under the CNI's control and, while she might not like or want to do the jobs they assign her, she does it anyway. She's the cautionary tale, if you will, of what Pepa might become and it makes the entire storyline intriguing. It's still a rip-off, but by showing Salgado as an example of what Pepa could become, Alex Pina & Co. have injected some originality into it, and by doing do they have created a rip-off that actually succeeds.

Feel free to add any other rip-off you may have spotted, as well as your thoughts in agreement or dissent.

kalike

*The title for this lecture is based on lyrics from the song "Killing in the Name" by Rage Against the Machine