HAVEN “Sparks and Recreation” Review

HAVEN “Sparks and Recreation” Season 2, Episode 4 – After the emotional ending of last week’s episode, I was loving the extra dose of comedy we got in this week’s Haven.

Jason Priestley did a great job making Chris an anti-social geek who only coaches the kids on little league because he doesn’t consider children to be people. Chris is a cranky, irritable, marine biologist whose characteristics do not lend themselves well to being a plagued with popularity. I laughed out loud every time the townspeople would stare at him blissfully or dote on him because he reacted as if he was offended by their kindness. His father, possessed with the same Trouble, didn’t have the same comedic effect because as a politician, he ate up all the attention.

The popularity Trouble to anyone else wouldn’t seem like a trouble at all, but to Chris, it’s the worst thing that could have happened to him. As a viewer, it’s one of the funniest things I’ve seen on Haven this season. I could not stop laughing at the end when Chris was trying to coach the little league team, but the pitcher was incapable of performing because he was so mesmerized by him.

Chris also had a unique effect on Nathan and Audrey. Because Nathan was taken in by Chris’ Trouble, he was constantly defending him to Audrey. This led to a number of really funny scenes, my favorite being the one where Audrey first approaches Chris as a murder suspect causing Nathan to become so frustrated by her accusations that he shouts, “stand down partner!” prompting a baffled look from Audrey. Because Audrey is the only one who is immune to Chris’ effect, Chris becomes fascinated by her. I’m sure there will be some interesting development between all three of these characters and because I actually like Chris, I’m kind of excited to see where this all goes. (Also, is it just me, or does this have all the makings for a fan-fiction writer’s dream threesome?)

Meanwhile, Duke and Evi continue the hunt for information to prevent Duke from his fated death at the hands of a tattooed man. Starting with the map Duke received, they end up going on a scavenger hunt throughout the town of Haven getting information about the Rasmussen House and ending up in possession of a mysterious box with “Amor Vincit Omnia” engraved inside. What they miss is that the box glows under certain light revealing the name Croker on the lid. No clue what that means for Duke, but there is definitely more to that box than meets the eye.

We also get a lot more information about Dwight, played by Adam Copeland, and who Audrey describes as a “cleaner.” He comes in and discreetly repairs Haven after the Troubles do their damage. I’ve never seen Adam “Edge” Copeland in any of his previous work, but I really enjoyed him in the role of Dwight. Most of his interaction with Nathan was in comparing how differently he had worked with Nathan’s father. It was nice to see Dwight compliment Nathan after he had stood up to the Reverend and I think Nathan needed to hear that from someone who had worked with his father.

This was a fun episode of Haven and I really like both Chris and Dwight so I’m looking forward to the both of them being recurring characters and seeing how they will be woven into the Haven mythology.