Slack Water

"Slack Water" was written by staff writer Noelle Valdivia, her third writing credit for the series. She previously co-wrote episode six, "That's Not My Penguin", with series creator Kyle Killen, and later co-wrote the story for the series finale, "Turtles All the Way Down". The episode was directed by Nick Gomez, his only directing credit for the series.

"Slack Water" originally aired on NBC on May 3, 2012,[1] and was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on Sky Atlantic on July 1, 2012.[2] According to Nielsen ratings, an audience measurement system that determine the audience size and composition of television programming, the episode's initial broadcast in the United States was viewed by approximately 2.2 million viewers and earned a 0.7 rating/2 percent share in the 18–49 demographic, meaning that it was seen by 0.7 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds and 2 percent of 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of the broadcast.[3] In the United Kingdom, the episode obtained 182,000 viewers, making it the fifth most-viewed program for that channel.[2]

Laura Innes' performance was critically acclaimed.

Writing for HitFix, Alan Sepinwall deemed a scene from the previous episode, "Game Day", "more powerful" than Emma's storyline in "Slack Water".[4] He called the personal and police stories in this episode "predictable", adding: "It was clear, for instance, that Hannah was right and the other adults were wrong about what Emma wanted."[4] Speaking of the guest stars, Sepinwall praised Innes' "excellent" performance, calling it "the episode's strongest moment".[4] He also appreciated the cultural reference to The X-Files, but observed that "none of the episode titles shown were from actual X-Files installments".[4]

The A.V. Club's Zack Handlen was largely critical of the episode, but commented that Bobadilla portrays Emma well, saying she is "low-key and pleasant".[5] Despite this, Handlen was not appreciative of the character's pregnancy plot, because it was handled in a "crass or blatantly exploitative way".[5] He was critical of the shooter storyline, calling it a "bland, utterly impersonal murder mystery which basically wraps up ten minutes early and then has to play for time."[5] Handlen appreciated the reference to The X-Files as well, and concluded of the episode: "While 'Slack Water' was well-acted, and had some well-observed exchanges, it came off as flat in the worst possible way, exposing not just the flaws in its own script, but the potentially insurmountable difficulties which face this series in the weeks ahead."[5]

Largely positive of the episode, Matt Fowler of IGN opined that Michael's two reality storyline was "undiscussed", in turn lacking the "emotional and thematic connector between the two worlds; making them feel totally separate and not part of an individual's enclosed psyche."[6] While Fowler appreciated the "green reality" being in a "suitable and satisfactory manner", he "didn't care all that much about [it]".[6] He was disappointed with the absence of Michael's "thriving" therapy sessions in this episode.[6] Fowler was more positive of the "red reality"; he too appreciated the character of Emma, though he found her moving in with the Brittens "wonky".[6] He concluded that he liked the "ambient, new-agey" background music, and said "while 'Slack Water' was a good episode, it also wasn't the best that this show can do".[6]

Writing for Screen Rant, Kevin Yeoman enjoyed this episode more than the previous one; he opined that "Slack Water" puts an emphasis on characters. Despite this, he commented that the episode felt "dull" due to the "noticeable absence of not only Rex, but also Dr. Lee (B.D. Wong) and Dr. Evans (Cherry Jones)".[7] Yeoman wrote, overall: "Even though the last two weeks have felt strangely sub par with the rest of the season, the episodes themselves have remained entertaining in large part to the fantastic performances of everyone involved – though special consideration must go to Isaacs and Allen, for obvious reasons."[7] Nick McHatton of TV Fanatic gave the episode 4.0 stars out of 5.0, and said "Slack Water" was "one of the poorer episodes", calling the "green reality" "underwhelming" and the "red reality" "awkward".[8]

Den of Geek's Caroline Preece was highly critical of the episode, writing: "The central mystery has all but ironed out by the show's events and producer's comments, and the character of Michael has become little more than a casual observer of his own life."[9] Preece opined that this episode may have led to the show's cancellation, though she appreciated the acting, adding: "While I think the acting on the show is quite fabulous, and the weekly case as good as the best police procedurals on TV, the use of the show's unique dual reality format has been underwhelming, and the unfolding of its mystery far too slow."[9] Preece was also more positive of the "red reality", though she was "not entirely sure where the writers are heading with [the pregnancy] storyline".[9]

• "Slack Water" at NBC.com
• "Slack Water" at IMDb