Review & Recap: ’The Knick’ Season 2, Episode 2, ‘You’re No Rose’

Even the form-busting Steven Soderbergh can enjoy a little bit of formula from time to time. “The Knick” usually begins with a kind of a smash cut. This isn’t a show that softly eases into things. It’s: black, boom, picture, and the throbbing, anachronistic electro pulsations of Cliff Martinez are off and running, compelling the narrative forward with here-and-now vitality and portentous mood. As episode two, "You're No Rose," kicks into high gear with its typical form of picture, no dialogue, and few sounds outside of music, we discover a body. One of the most interesting supporting characters (and one of the most compelling actors who hopefully gets more work) is dead. It’s Jacob Speight (David Fierro), the health inspector, floating face down in the Hudson river, body swollen and ravaged by rigor mortis. The writers of the show, Jack Ariel and Michael Begler, then unveil a kind of mystery in reverse, where the audience knows what transpired, but the characters are in...