Overall: 8 (Hindsight Revision: 7)
On a few matters, I still feel a little uncertain, but there is enough promise here to guarantee my return in March, 2010. Here's hoping my cautious optimism is rewarded!
Plot Synopsis:
The Resistance on the Ground: At the church, Ryan, Georgie, Erica, and Father Jack meet (this, again, is picking up where last week left off). Georgie, burning with a desire to avenge his family, is eager to strike back for the attack at the warehouse in episode one, but the others do not believe they have the wherewithal to accomplish such a strike. Georgie then proposes that they capture a single V and skin him for the world to see. No one is particularly enthusiastic about this plan either - particularly not Ryan, who later takes Georgie to task for his bloodthirsty suggestion.
Erica notices Ryan's in depth knowledge of the V's and grows suspicious. She tries to look into Ryan's background, but finds nothing of note. Just then, Tyler enters, ready to talk to his mother about Lisa. Erica, however, is far too focused on her mission to pay attention right away - and when she is finally able to tear herself away from her computer, Ryan calls her and urges that their group meet right away, thus cutting her conversation with Tyler short.
When Georgie, Ryan, Erica, and Father Jack once again assemble, Ryan tells the other three that the vitamin injections the V's are hawking on the television news are part of a larger - and dangerous - plan that he does not specify. He says he remembers the names of the people who were involved in the injection project the last time it was attempted and offers to give those names to Erica. Erica runs the names in question through her database and gets one useful hit - Peter Combs, a chemistry professor.
They go to stake out Combs' place of work. When Combs emerges at the end of his class, Georgie follows him and threatens to skin him. He then takes a shot at Combs, and Combs returns fire, hitting Georgie in the stomach. Ryan then successfully picks off Combs, but before he can get any useful information out of the V, Combs calls Ryan a "filthy traitor" and takes a V suicide pill, flaming out and leaving behind a pile of ash. Erica figures out at this point that Ryan is a V and is ready to shoot Ryan down, but Ryan assures her that he's on her side. While Father Jack tends to Georgie, Ryan and Erica go through Combs' briefcase, where they find a suspicious invoice for a shipping company.
Later that night, Ryan, Erica, and Father Jack infiltrate the implicated shipping company, where they discover that the V's are planning to dose the flu shots, not the vitamin shots, with their drug, R-6. Horrified that the V's plan to take advantage of cautious human nature, the group decides that the flu shot supply in the warehouse must be destroyed. Just then, the V's arrive, but not before Ryan successfully starts the self-destruct sequence. The group battles their way to safety, and the warehouse explodes.
The Fifth Column: Anna orders Joshua to launch an investigation into Dale's murder. Joshua obeys, then reports back with news that no one in the medical staff has confessed to the deed. Anna assembles said staff and announces that if no one steps forward as the guilty party, she will select someone at random to be punished as an example to the others. Joshua appears ready to admit that he is the perpetrator, but before he can act, a fellow Fifth Columnist steps forward in his place. Anna, who seems to suspect Joshua, orders Joshua to conduct the skinning himself. When it comes time to administer the ghastly punishment, Joshua hesitates; he can't believe that his associate would sacrifice himself on Joshua's behalf. But his associate insists he go through with it, and, wincing, Joshua begins to cut.
Because of the events above and another matter that will be discussed shortly, Anna is rather pleased with herself. But then Marcus comes into her chamber and reports that their R-6 shipment has been destroyed (by Ryan, Erica, et. al., though they don't know this). He shows Anna the message they received just before the explosion took place - "John May Lives" - and tells Anna that the other ship captains are growing increasingly anxious. To respond to this anxiety, Anna communes with the V's en mass, filling them with the Bliss and assuring them they have nothing to fear.
Tyler: After the aborted conversation with his mother, Tyler complains to his therapist - who happens to be Ryan's fiance Val - that he and his mother are completely disconnected. He divulges that he has joined the Peace Ambassadors and expresses certainty that the V's will fix what he considers to be a "broken" world. Lisa and Anna watch this conversation via the patch on Tyler's Peace Ambassador jacket, and Lisa proclaims that Tyler is "ready" much earlier than she had hoped. Anna tells Lisa to bring Tyler aboard - she wants to meet him. When Tyler arrives, Anna shows him the engine room of the mothership in order to gain his trust.
Valerie: Valerie has not been feeling well lately. She attributes this to her heart medication and decides to patronize one of the V healing centers. There, the V's tell her they can cure her heart condition. They also inform her that she is pregnant (!).
Chad: Chad agrees to film a tightly controlled tour of a V healing center. Whilst there, he is scanned by the V's. The V physician informs him later that he will develop a brain aneurysm in six months time. Marcus assures Chad that the problem can be fixed - if certain arrangements are made, of course.
The Cliff-Hangers: After the flu shot supply is destroyed, Father Jack returns to the church. He takes out his personal firearm (from his two tours in Iraq, one presumes) and ponders over what his future role in the resistance will be. Just then, he hears a noise. He walks out into the sanctuary and finds an apparently troubled soul begging for his help. He moves forward to ascertain what precisely is wrong and is stabbed for his trouble. The crying man is, in actuality, a V.
Meanwhile, Erica returns home and finds an IM on Tyler's computer inviting him to the mothership. She tries to call her son, but Tyler does not respond. Instead, he enjoys the bird's eye view of the Empire State Building with Lisa and Anna and gushes that the view from space must be even more spectacular. At that moment, the camera pans away - all the way to our oort cloud, where a fleet of V ships lies in wait.
Writing: 8
There are many deliciously evil moments here. For example, I love the way Marcus regains control over Chad. "Oh, hey - by the way, you have a life threatening medical condition. We can treat it, but you'll have to wait for months. Unless, of course, you do what we say..." That last part is implicit, mind, but it is unmistakable. I also love what Anna forces Joshua to do to demonstrate his loyalty. Joshua may turn out to be quite a fascinating character indeed if the writers continue to take advantage of his precarious position. And that cliff-hanger? THAT was certainly a doozy!
Acting: 8
Please, please, let there be more scenes for Mark Hildreth! My favorite moments in this episode were his. Joshua's moment of indecision before he slices open his friend is absolutely classic, and that tortured moment of resistance before he succumbs to the Bliss is equally compelling.
Message: 8
This score is based upon a lot of hope, I must admit.
I think what we have brewing here is, in part, a cautionary tale - one that highlights the importance of engaged parenting. I don't imagine that Erica intended for her relationship with her son to come to this pass; I do think, however, that like many modern American parents, Erica has underestimated exactly how much attention her adolescent son really needs. Thus, Tyler is especially susceptible to Anna's wiles. Look how much attention Anna lavishes upon the boy; look how she appeals to Tyler's interests. I only hope Erica will wake up soon - otherwise, she will completely lose her son - if she hasn't already.
I also believe the introduction of Anna's Bliss may be setting up an interesting philosophical fight between Anna and John May - a fight between Anna's chemical, servile happiness and genuine happiness - the happiness we find in the un-messed-with ups and downs of a free life. Such a fight would bear good fruit.
Lastly, while Father Jack's arc still makes me a touch nervous in general, I actually think what was done here was nice. Giving him a past in the Army establishes that he has had previous experience balancing the spiritual and the martial, and it would seem his putting his firearm away signals that he intends to maintain this balance despite Georgie's expressed opinions on the religious vocation. At least, I hope this is the case, as Georgie's demand that Father Jack choose between soldier and priest sets up a false dichotomy. Countless priests have fought evil in their own way - not with guns, but with material aide and spiritual comfort. I don't consider Pius XII's sheltering of Jewish refugees in Vatican safe houses during World War II to be anything other than fighting evil - nor do I consider St. Maximilian Kolbe's martyrdom in Auschwitz to be anything other than a strike against Satan. Georgie is mistaken to believe that violent actions should be the resistance's sole approach; such a view is far too narrow, particularly considering the manner in which the V's are striking the vulnerabilities within our souls as well as our persons.
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