Talk us through itA ceremony of some description is being performed on a mountain Craig and a baby is created. Some dude drops the baby, that doesn't exactly look new born, off at an orphanage where we assume it's raised. Years later, and this is all from hindsight, the baby has grown into Ginny, a striking young lady who unfortunately has gone off the tracks slightly and is in a correctional facility. We quickly learn Ginny cannot lose at poker, much to the annoyance of one of her fellow inmates. Ginny is released and avoids the clutches of Reece, a local small time hood, who got her into trouble with the law in the first place. We learn Ginny can read minds, ergo why she is so good at poker. Our heroine tries to go straight in a series of dead end jobs but Reece drags her back off the short and narrow with promises of untold wealth via gambling. Winning at an organised poker game Ginny is ready for a high rollers game, but who are the two strange individuals who seem to be dogging her every step, and can she prosper by turning to the dark side? Ready to play a hand at the table of ultimate fate?
Review"Just like it was always meant to be" - ReeceAnd to the lesson: In some Iwi mythology the first human being was shaped from clay and placed in the fork of a tree with two branches extending above. One branch stood for good and one branch stood for evil, the Iwi believed that you had to choose one branch and the choice continued through the rest of your life. Writer/Director Vanessa Rare had the unenviable task of delivering the final episode of season two of Mataku after some previously excellent outings had graced the season. Rare tries for something on a much grandeur scale, the whole evil versus good thing, than previously seen in the franchise in an attempt to finish things off with a flourish and build anticipation for the third season. To a certain degree Rare achieves what she sets out to do but not in a totally convincing fashion. The God Child certainly has plenty of sizzle but could have done with a better cut of steak to be honest. Rare starts her episode with the by now common gambit of hitting the Maori mythology via narration at the start of the episode and getting things out of the supernatural hanger right up front. We learn two Gods are creating a baby from clay and lightening, but are unaware for what purpose. I would imagine anyone steeped in Maori belief would get a whole bunch more out of the start of the episode than I did, and I was kind of left wondering just how many rock videos Vanessa Rare might have been exposed to prior to making The God Child. The Dude on the mountain side certainly would not have been out of place in a Bon Jovi video clip, on a steel horse I ride. While delivering a derivative tale of fate Rare does add the necessary flourishes to keep the audience from totally tuning out. What did impress me with Rare's opening, and she repeats the dose to good effect later in the episode, is the use of time lapse photography at the back of the frames whilst keeping the foreground in real time. There's some real wizardry going down there, and it certainly added to the other worldly nature of proceedings. Gods operate in a different reality to mortals Rare informs us via her visual signature here. The Director sets up her central character well, loved the overlays and quick cuts indicating Ginny could read other people's minds and the blank cards she sees when she goes one on one with Furnell, and we pretty much get the gist of what the episode is about before things reach crisis point. For those wondering the episode is a fable that sees good and evil competing via the decisions Ginny takes, sort of a Maori take on the old Christian fable of the Devil and God competing for a single human soul. 
During the course of the episode I was kind of amused with Vanessa Rare's take on the The Tohunga, who apparently is meant to be the Maori take on ultimate evil. Besides the aforementioned Bon Jovi histrionics, and even Jovi wouldn't be caught dead or alive doing that visual (making it worth while doing in my perverse world view), there was also a feel that we might be getting the Maori equivalent of the dream demon himself Freddy Krueger. Where else are you going to get that sort of thing dished up friends and neighbours? Final thoughts on the Director were good use of blue filters in some scenes to add to the other worldly take on things, and some excellent special effects incorporate to delight and amaze. Check out a morphing car at one point. Guess I should mention the fast slow motion in use, and the excellent use of swing cam during the major poker game. Plot wise we have the "used before got the t-shirt" premise of good and evil matching up over a single soul, with the individual's choices determining the winner in the grudge match. Full marks to Vanessa Rare for upping the anti there with a history repeats feel to things. Not entirely sure what we are meant to take from the conclusion to be honest; is this scenario meant to be played out till the end of time, or until Ginny chooses the path of ultimate goodness or ultimate evil? Writer Rare isn't telling us so guess it's up to the individual to decide for themselves, not a bad thing in my book of counted sorrows though some viewers may not like the whole leave it to Beaver approach. Simone Kessell (Virginia) proves the next group of kiwi actors getting ready to take on the world is as strong as those already out there doing the business. Hey it's business time, sorry slight Flight of the Concords moment there. Was digging her performance here. Makareta Umbers (Furnell/Hine) was great fun and was clearly enjoying herself. And Glen Drake (Reece) delivers on the pakeha sleaze with aplomb, interchangeable with the Landlord from The Sisters episode. Kipa Royal and Frank Marinthe ride into town with the score and set the salon buzzing with their urban funk take on things. Excellent work, Royal and Marinthe are really on their game once again.
Summary ExecutionWhile acknowledging that The God Child isn't the best episode of season two, I still enjoyed my time spent at the poker table. Director/Writer Vanessa Rare proves that even when the try line is not open to Mataku the franchise is still scoring via long range drop goals. A repeat viewing is worth while once you have the overall plot fixed in your mind.No news on season 3, would imagine this indicates sales of seasons 1 and 2 haven't been knocking the house down. The God Child is worth a look for those following Mataku religiously but would be the episode I would gloss over if only wanting to dip your toes into Maori Mythological waters. There's a slight "seen it before" quality to things, and it pretty much follows a standard Christian theme that has been done to death.
ScaryMinds Rates this episode as ... A give or take episode, that will impress some viewers and irritate others.
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