Well, I was wrong. This episode has the longest runtime, not the premiere. An hour and 37 minutes. An hour and 37 minutes of lingering shots of the scenery and background, longer-than-normal (I'd imagine) pauses in-between dialogue, a small amount of dialogue in general. Yet still engrossing in this odd, unexplainable way.
I guess that is Nicolas Winding Refn's film style. It, along with the cinematography, this episode, was completely different than in the premiere. There were hardly any fluorescent colors. Instead, a simpler, more peaceful atmosphere, feel, and mood, based on the cinematography itself. It was like it had a mind of its own. No need for dialogue throughout its entirety but just enough.
Before I began writing this, I thought I liked the premiere much better. I was going to rate this episode a six out of ten. Then, once a few seconds had passed and I was about to begin writing, I was going to give it a rating of seven out of ten. But I changed my mind. Eight out of ten is perfect.
And the more I think about it, this episode was more riveting than the premiere. I really liked Martin's sole aspect of the premiere, and I still do. And I'm very interested in the future of it, for the story to divert back to him, just from a balancing point of view. To keep the story flowing, engaging, and not too focused on one part. Attention will start dwindling, people will start growing bored, and in some cases, more bored if too much focus is put on, let's say, Martin or Jesus, instead of adding balance, going back and forth, keeping the flow moving.
But now, I'm more interested in the continuation of Jesus' story. I imagine the next episode will put the focus back on Martin, and I hope by the end of it, I'll have that same feeling. That feeling of deeper interest, wanting the continuation of his story. And that cycle continuing for the rest of the season. That would be perfect. Inadvertently or deliberately causing your audience's attention to go back and forth from one point to another, like a master puppeteer. That must be the pinnacle of expertise when it comes to directing in the film and television industry.