RM - Killer Torpedo

Once again, JW has returned to Central (& South) America. This time, though, he wasn't chasing a catfish or a piranha, this time he was chasing something else.

Let's be honest here. "Killer Torpedo" was a typical RM episode: it focused on JW and his fishing - this made it different from, say, "Atomic Assassin", where JW talked more about Chernobyl and its effect on the wild life than about fish. No conflict of interest here, it is fish ahoy all the way.

But there are similarities to "Atomic Assassin" as well - namely the decrease of the folk/folklore element in the ep. In previous seasons, JW often approached local holy men or shamans or similar people for spiritual guidance in order to catch this fish, and he usually talked about the local fish- or water-related legends as well. Here, in "Killer Torpedo", this didn't happen - almost.

Yes, JW mentioned that the locals talked about some sort of a local 'mermaid' that may drag anglers to their doom, but it was very brief, and he practically didn't develop this angle at all. Moreover, instead of a shaman, he talked to a local professional angler (White Boy) and received advice that was much more practical than spiritual. This indicates a clear break from the previous seasons and shows that the S5 of RM will definitely be different from the previous ones. Not better or worse, but different.

The other difference in "Killer Torpedo" is the use of flashbacks...or not. It is the "Columbian Slasher" episode that had an overwhelming amount of flashbacks; this one - not so much. What it had an overwhelming amount of were...the black vultures, birds similar to the turkey vulture, but more drab in color. WTF? Basically every 10-15 minutes the episode produced one or more black vultures doing something that was completely irrelevant to the show. Were they supposed to serve as ethnic color for the episode? I honestly don't know.

But black vultures aside, "Killer Torpedo" was still an impressive episode, centered on JW's struggle with the fish - the Atlantic tarpon in this case. It was a straightforward struggle of man vs. giant fish and JW delivered by catching his fish. Too simple? Perhaps, but RM is a fishing show and catching fish is what it is about. By catching his fish (the tarpon in this case) JW has fulfilled the premise of this episode, as he usually done. My respect goes out to him as usual too.

So: a straightforward fish-catching episode that nevertheless indicates a break with the tradition established in the previous seasons. I give it four out of five stars.