The simple context of a missing person takes on a different progression when the lines between personal and professional get crossed. Rapp )Noah Reid) seems resigned to the fact that certain ideas and aspects of his client (Henry Park) are not adding up. Reid obviously plays Rapp a little less headstrong in this episode since he doesn’t have all the cards on the table. There seems to be a grudge for sure (in some way) but the way Rapp thinks will bring him ahead simply gets him in deeper which is obviously a normal line of action for him. Carrie Ann Moss continues to play Hargrove (the bones professor) with an elusiveness. She has her fingers on the pulse and like Catherine Tramell in "Basic Instinct". she is way ahead of the game.
She simply lets Rapp think that he is actually still in the game. The bike as a way of transpo is a nice choice but also used as a misdirect with the mother of the supposed roommate simply pushing the mystery further. The essence of the coven also rears its head but the question is is it simply based on controlling a sense of power but it also speaks to what Henry and his family really know about the island. As Carson and Rapp explore further, ritual seems to become an important part of the progression as does the girl at the hotel. If they are prepping Rupp for an endgame, the series really needs to step up. If it bogs itself down too much in lore, it will lose the characterization that made the first two episodes light enough despite a consistency of darkness. "Yaga" has to be slick and light to make its progression work with the tone itself (especially in a half hour format). Of course the soundtrack helps but it depends on the angle episode four ends up running at. 81%/B-
By Tim Wassberg
