'Red Widow' review: Disbelief, unsuspended
In the premiere episode of "Red Widow" airing at 9 p.m. March 3 on ABC, crime boss Schiller tells a still grieving Marta (Radha Mitchell, pictured) he wants her to import a shipment for him, but she doesn't know when or how he will contact her. Credit: ABC
But the moment you do -- if you do -- it all collapses into an ash heap of stray bits of logic, non sequitur plot threads and one big inescapable fault line. Marta could just as easily go to the cops as turn to a life of crime.
Red Widow" halfheartedly insists Marta is bonded to the Russian mob "Bratva" code (think "omerta" honor code) -- mostly because it really wants to establish her as the nice-mom-next-door without any other options.
Here's another snag: Not once during these two hours do you ever get a deep sense of her backstory. As a result, Marta as Mob Mom is not fully believable or recognizable or (for that matter) relatable on any level. Without empathy, this "red widow" is just plain dull.
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