Overall: 8.2
This is probably the best episode of the new V we've seen so far.
Plot Synopsis:
Anna's Loyalty Test: The Fifth Column has apparently been busy; when the episode opens, we see Anna viewing footage of a suicide attack on the mothership in Sydney. Marcus reports that similar attacks have occurred on other ships, and Anna notes that the Fifth Columnists are seemingly immune to her bliss. To ferret out the traitors in their midst, Anna orders Joshua to use her lack of response to a series of disturbing images as a baseline to identify who can still feel human emotion. Joshua - who, as you may recall, is Fifth Column himself - later reports to Anna that her test has an error rate. Anna decides to deal with the false positives by asking those who fail the test to take suicide pills. Those who are loyal take the pill and evaporate; Anna commands that the rest be skinned.
Ryan Infiltrates the NYC Mothership: Meanwhile, Hobbes, who is growing impatient waiting for Erica and the others to come up with a battle plan, recommends that they embed a message into one of Anna's scheduled worldwide announcements (an announcement regarding the inauguration of the "live aboard" program - meep!) that will activate what Ryan calls the "sleeping giant." Ryan at first believes any attempt to infiltrate the New York mothership would be premature, but when he learns from his V doctor that Valerie will need very high doses of phosphorus to survive her pregnancy - and that said infusion of phosphorous can only be found on the mothership - he changes his mind and agrees to Hobbes' plan.
With the help of the others, Ryan assumes the identity of another V and manages to get past the checkpoint on the mothership. However, just as he grabs a vial of the compound needed to help Valerie, he is snared by security and brought to Joshua. Ryan is subjected to - and fails - Anna's aforementioned loyalty test. Fortunately, Joshua and the security officer, Samuel, are both Fifth Column. Joshua agrees to embed Ryan's message and urges Ryan to flee.
Unfortunately, while all this is going on, Georgie has been growing increasingly anxious on the ground. When he can wait no longer to hear from Ryan, he decides to go up to the mothership himself. The others are livid that Hobbes allowed Georgie to go, but Hobbes coldly declares Georgie expendable. Once on the ship, Georgie attacks a V, creating the distraction that allows Ryan to escape. At the end of the episode, we see Georgie being tortured by the V's.
Tyler: Additionally, Erica decides that Tyler would be safest out of the city and takes Tyler to stay with his father in Connecticut. Whilst Erica and Tyler's father talk, we learn that there may be something different about Tyler. Could Tyler be an orphaned V? I suppose time will tell. At any rate, it turns out Tyler's not even safe in Connecticut, as Lisa follows him there on Anna's urging.
Father Jack & Chad: And lastly, Father Jack gets in contact with Chad Decker and urges Chad to look deeper into the V healing centers. Chad denies that he feels any suspicions about the V's, but Father Jack wisely points out that if Chad weren't afraid of the V's, he would have sought treatment for his nascent aneurysm right away instead of stalling.
Writing: 8.5
I think we're starting to make some progress at last; the main characters are beginning to act a little more boldly, which is always more fun to watch. Of course, the Fifth Column's successful hijacking of Anna's propaganda session is a big - and satisfying - coup; I anticipate that we will see Anna's moves to crush the rebellion grow increasingly cruel as we move forward. Meanwhile, Erica's attempt to physically remove her son from the influence of the V's, though ultimately futile, is rather inspired. And Father Jack's conversations with Chad are also quite enjoyable; I dearly hope the good cleric's role in the resistance continues along these lines, as appeals to the Truth can certainly be as powerful as any act of war.
Acting: 8.0
I have no complaints on the acting front this week. Baccarin remains my favorite of the ensemble, but the rest also put in quite respectable performances.
Message: 8.0
What we have in this episode is a very nice juxtaposition. On one side, we have Anna, our cool lizard cucumber, whose zeal to weed out Fifth Columnists apparently has no limits, moral or otherwise. Anna can watch several of her loyal followers commit suicide without even so much as a blink; the loss of a few men means nothing to her. On the other side, meanwhile, we have Our Heroes, who balk at any line of reasoning which values some lives over others. I suspect - based on their reaction to Georgie's capture - that the protagonists of this piece will eventually try to do some foolishly brave thing to rescue their friend from the clutches of the enemy. That is, after all, what the Good Guys do - they don't leave men behind. The Good Guys are not utilitarians.
Isn't it refreshing that these writers are willing to draw such stark contrasts between good and evil in an era in which our cultural elite are carrying on torrid love affairs with the moral gray area? Don't get me wrong - I love my morally ambiguous bad guys as much as the next person (see my reviews for Babylon 5, for instance). But sometimes, I feel, we need truly evil villains. As I once observed years ago, "the presence of the monster challenges us to draw the line."
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