Overall: 9.3
Holy crap! That was awesome. V has finally popped its feature cherry.
DO WANT MOAR LIEK THIS, PLZ. KTHX.
Plot Synopsis:
ABC.com has a recap here.
The Skinny:
Dear writers,
Thank you, thank you, thank you for laicizing Jack before starting any kind of relationship between Jack and Erica. The last thing this show needs is a stupid Thornbirds scenario. I also thank you for allowing Jack to keep his faith despite losing his collar. Should you decide to pursue the Jack/Erica angle, I only hope you will allow Jack to behave like a faithful Catholic. No premarital sex! Or, if you really must have a sex scene because you're Hollywood, let Jack feel intensely guilty about it and go to confession. I'd prefer the first scenario, but I will grudgingly accept the latter.
Sincerely,
Me
Now on to other matters. First of all, if you love Hobbes' turning traitor, raise your hand. Yeah, I thought so. What's particularly great about this twist is that it didn't come out of the blue. Remember that meeting between Marcus and Hobbes a while back? Hobbes made it pretty clear then that his allegiance to Erica was based purely on self-interest and, by the way, not 100% secure. And here's another nice touch: Once Hobbes and the others learned of Ryan's betrayal, Hobbes declared with all the righteous indignation he could muster that he was going to "kill the lizard" -- but in this episode, Hobbes defects for the exact same reason that Ryan defected. Every man has his price. And when Erica gathers the troops and apologizes to Hobbes for trusting Ryan, the sheer irony of the moment is palpable. I can't wait to see how all of this will eventually bite Hobbes in the ass.
Secondly, Anna once again pulls off a Grand Scheme, and This Time It's Personal. Really personal. And I think there's more than one reason why Anna targets Joe. Yes, she does want Tyler, Lisa's chosen, on the mothership, but as she said last week, there are others. No -- to get to the root of Anna's motivation, you need to listen to the way she speaks to her unconscious second in the teaser. What she really wants most of all is revenge. How very human of her.
The emotional confrontation between Ryan and Erica; the equally emotional fight between Erica and her son (Tyler gets spanked finally! Woot!); Erica's decision to take up the mantle of resistance leader for real -- overall, it is the intensity of this episode that is its most outstanding feature. This may turn out to be the turning point for what has been, so far, a relatively mediocre (though enjoyable on a surface level) series.
Writing: 9.0
I think the writers are finally settling on where they're going to take this series, and it's about time. This script feels very different from the ones which preceded it. It's tighter, and the stakes are much, much higher.
Acting: 9.0
Baccarin really knocks Anna's cold rage out of the park. And once her character drops her sense of helplessness, even Mitchell brings her A game. Her delivery of that final rousing speech was absolutely terrific.
Message: 9.9
I still have a tiny reservation when it comes to the Vatican's decision to snuff out anti-V rhetoric. Otherwise? This episode is the very definition of a rebel yell for freedom. After Erica's last speech, I was ready to storm the motherships singing the Battle Hymn of the Republic. Yes -- it was that good.
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