The plot compression still frustrates.
Cut for spoilers.
Plot Synopsis:
Erica & Jack: Picking up where the last episode left off, the opening scene of this week's installment features Erica and Jack discussing their next move. Suddenly, their conversation is interrupted by a ship which flies overhead and towards the warehouse. Erica concludes that the Visitors have come to clean up their mess and decides to make an anonymous 911 call to alert the authorities. The call is intercepted by the V's, however, and Erica and Jack are nearly taken out by a seeker. Shaken, Erica tells Jack they can't trust anyone now - if Dale was a Visitor, anyone could be one. She tells Jack to go home and try to act as if nothing is out of the ordinary. Erica then heads home herself and extracts a promise from Tyler that he will not associate with the V's. Tyler, of course, will later break his promise.
The news reports that the U.S. government is deliberating over whether or not to establish diplomatic ties with the V's, a relationship that would grant the V.'s full freedom of movement within U.S. borders. Jack's fellow priest exults about this development before informing Jack that the police would like to speak to him about the man who died in their church the previous day. In the meantime, Erica is called into FBI headquarters to discuss Dale's disappearance with a new task force that has been formed to assess the threat the Visitors might pose. Both Erica and Jack hide what they know during their respective interviews; Erica in particular puts on quite a respectable show of being concerned about Dale when his car is discovered at the scene of the previous night's massacre and a team from her office goes over to investigate. Jack, however, is far more uncomfortable concealing the truth. Indeed, his conscience finally gets the better of him, and he reports to the FBI, handing over the photos he received from the man who was stabbed. Erica thinks this is an incredibly naive move, but Jack believes giving the photos to the task force might make the U.S. government think twice about getting friendly with the V.'s and expresses resentment that Erica abandoned him the night before.
After Jack leaves, Erica is called into the head office. Her supervisor plays back her 911 call and demands to know why she's been lying about her whereabouts the previous night. Erica claims that Dale was a traitor and pleads for time to prove it. She then goes to visit Jack, apologizing for leaving him without guidance and asking for his help. Jack declines, stating that he can do the most good if he sticks to his ministry. Erica then goes to visit Dale's wife, who hands over Dale's personal phone records. Erica discovers that one number Dale has called frequently of late cannot be traced to a source and presents this to her supervisor as evidence that Dale was a mole.
It is ultimately announced that the U.S. has decided to allow the V.'s access. This inspires Jack to seek out Erica, certain now that doing nothing is not an option. Erica presents a list of people the Threat Assessment Task Force has compiled - people who have made calls complaining of alien invaders. Could this list be of future rebel recruits?
Chad: Chad, still smarting over how completely he was pwned by Anna last week, decides to set up a debate on his network between politicians who are pro- and anti-V. Marcus and Anna are not amused and call Chad up to the mothership for a dressing-down, but Chad is prepared: he points out that the debate has helped the Visitors' approval numbers and insists that they should be thanking him for the hand up. Cockily, he demands that their working relationship continue on his terms. Boy, is he headed for a fall!
Tyler: As suggested above, Tyler promptly disobeys his mother and reports for duty as a Peace Ambassador with his friend in tow. There, he flirts with Visitor Lisa, showing her pictures of his bike and inviting her out for pizza. But before he can take his advances any further, an altercation breaks out between Brandon and a protester - an altercation Tyler finishes with a right hook. He is consequently locked out of the Visitors' compound, and his status as a Peace Ambassador is now in jeopardy.
Ryan: Ryan seeks out fellow rebel Visitor Angelo Russo to get the cut on his arm mended and to recruit Angelo for the upcoming fight. Angelo, however, wants no part of a new resistance and drugs Ryan before hightailing it out of his garage. Later, Angelo contacts Ryan from some location unknown and advises him to leave his fiance for her own protection. He is certain the V.'s will hunt Ryan down.
The Visitors: In addition to establishing relations with the governments of the world, the Visitors on the mothership also keep busy gathering intelligence on the burgeoning human resistance, interrogating one prisoner and examining video footage of the meeting at the warehouse. And if you think you've seen the last of Dale, think again: the Visitors revive him at the end of the episode.
Writing: 7
I've been informed since my previous review that the show's creator originally intended for these opening storylines to extend over more than four episodes, which likely explains why this episode and the last feel like they've fallen prey to Network Compression Syndrome. Too many characters are being juggled at one time, which means we only get snapshots of each - and snapshots are not nearly as satisfying as full-fledged explorations.
I would've liked to have seen at least a few moments of the debate Chad hosted - not to mention at least one scene at the State Department. And what about the reactions of the man on the street? A comprehensible sense of the public mood, I think, is still lacking. Who were the protesters outside the Visitors' compound? What were their motivations?
And while I'm at it, what does a position in the
If the writers would - or could - limit themselves to three plots per episode, some of these questions could be addressed with depth. We could, perhaps, devote a full twenty minutes worth of screen time to Tyler's indoctrination, or the public debate, or even the history of Ryan's defection, which I think would also be genuinely interesting television.
I'm fully on board when it comes to this show's premise - it is certainly rich in story potential. I just hope it can pull out of this opening crush and recapture the magic of the original.
Acting: 7.5
Elizabeth Mitchell is a little flatter this time around. In particular, her opening scene with Jack does not convey the sense of urgency it should have conveyed. I am also bothered by Scott Hylands (Father Jack's fellow priest); unless his character is a red herring, Hylands is being far too obvious in telegraphing his identity as a Visitor.
Message: 7
Shows are making me nervous all over the board this week. Father Jack's walking around without his clerical collar could mean nothing at all - I know Father D. didn't wear one when he was on call for the volunteer fire department - or it could signify that he will eventually abandon his identity as a Catholic priest. Given the undue emphasis on his cursing in this episode, I'm now afraid the second interpretation will turn out to be true. If this happens, the writers are getting a peevish letter from me. Why? Because what I want to see is Father Jack in a position analogous to that of a military chaplain, a source of spiritual guidance for the human rebellion. Writers, please: we don't need any more fallen Catholics on TV. Practicing Catholic characters are far more ground-breaking.
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