Slack Water

"Slack Water" is the tenth episode of the American television police procedural fantasy drama Awake, which originally aired on NBC on May 3, 2012.

Written by Noelle Valdivia and directed by Nick Gomez, "Slack Water" was watched by 2.15 million viewers, including 0.7 percent of those aged between 18 and 49 in Nielsen ratings, upon its initial broadcast in the United States.

This episode marked the second absence of Rex, as well as the show's two therapists: Dr. Jonathan Lee (BD Wong) and Dr. Judith Evans (Cherry Jones).

Back in the "red reality", Vega alerts Michael that he will not be hosting a farewell party for him, and Tricia Harper (Laura Innes) informs the two that gun and drug dealer, Simpson Trujillo has arrived in Los Angeles.

[2] Writing for HitFix, Alan Sepinwall deemed a scene from the previous episode, "Game Day", "more powerful" than Emma's storyline in "Slack Water".

[4] He called the personal and police stories in this episode "predictable", adding: "It was clear, for instance, that Hannah was right and the other adults were wrong about what Emma wanted.

[5] He was critical of the shooter storyline, calling it a "bland, utterly impersonal murder mystery which basically wraps up ten minutes early and then has to play for time.

"[5] Handlen appreciated the reference to The X-Files as well, and concluded of the episode: "While 'Slack Water' was well-acted, and had some well-observed exchanges, it came off as flat in the worst possible way, exposing not just the flaws in its own script, but the potentially insurmountable difficulties which face this series in the weeks ahead.

"[5] Largely positive of the episode, Matt Fowler of IGN opined that Michael's two reality storyline was "undiscussed", in turn lacking the "emotional and thematic connector between the two worlds; making them feel totally separate and not part of an individual's enclosed psyche.

[6] Writing for Screen Rant, Kevin Yeoman enjoyed this episode more than the previous one; he opined that "Slack Water" puts an emphasis on characters.

[7] Yeoman wrote, overall: "Even though the last two weeks have felt strangely sub par with the rest of the season, the episodes themselves have remained entertaining in large part to the fantastic performances of everyone involved – though special consideration must go to Isaacs and Allen, for obvious reasons.

[8] Den of Geek's Caroline Preece was highly critical of the episode, writing: "The central mystery has all but ironed out by the show's events and producer's comments, and the character of Michael has become little more than a casual observer of his own life.