After a lackluster second episode, V delivered with an episode full of twisty goodness. If the series continues like this, I think the audience will enjoy all the campy fun.
Now the beginning of the episode was rather dull with a weird search for an assassin, but it was made infinitely more interesting because the assassin turned out to be a Visitor. Those damn reptiles sure are crafty! There was also the revelation in the end that Lisa was Anna's daughter and she is using Tyler. It wasn't a total bombshell, but the scene was made in a way that it really did seem more startling than it actually was.
I thought Erica's exploration into the Visitor's HQ was wasted. While we did learn the Visitor's uniforms have hidden cameras, there wasn't a confrontation with the Visitors. What would have made the episode much better was less daddling in the beginning, and some scenes where there is real tension between the Visitors and humans. The only opposition we've seen so far are the protesters who aren't given much focus. I wish there were some signs that those not in full opposition to the Visitors are still uneasy about them.
On a sad note, we probably won't be seeing Alan Tudyk again at least for a while, but the way he died fully propelled the story ahead which is what FlashForward isn't doing. We learn about the Fifth Column and how they are resisting the Visitors. Their "hero" is someone named John May. I know things like this are cheesy, but that's part of V. The reimagining is keeping it's roots closer to the original than BSG which isn't necessarily bad.
Morena Baccarin continues to impress with Anna who is shaping up to be as good as Diana from the original. That scene where she is standing there practicing her lines for the widow over and over again really caught my attention. I love how after a quick discussion, the widow instantly forgave the Visitors. Maybe it was technological coercion, or genuine emotion; we can't be certain. What we do know is that Anna is smart...and she has a plan.
The end of the episode brought together Erica, Jack, Ryan, and Georgie, setting up the group that will lead the resistance. There is one episode to go before the very long hiatus. I'm guessing that the next episode will build up the resistance, and when the show comes back in March, they'll be in a full force war.
Right now, the Visitors are far more interesting than the humans which was probably expected since aliens are always more interesting than humans. Only time will time of the writers can bring that same kind of intrigue to the humans that the Visitors have.
Score: 9.3/10
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
2 comments:
I'm more and more convinced this show is aimed at children. The things the characters do just don't strike me as too simplistic to be adult behavior.
Erica discovers the true surveillance room because it's conveniently across the hall from the phony one with 1960's technology the V's set up to fool her. She's able to defeat the security code entry' because she can read quick finger taps over a V's shoulder from across the hall. Later when she decides to enter the room, it's conveniently empty. The human crowds outside are still lurking, but there's no one in the surveillance center monitoring things.
And Joss Whedon will be so proud to learn these V's turn to vampire dust when you kill them. Vampires turn to dust because of magic. Which scientific principal do you suppose turns lizard flesh to dust?
If this were Scooby-do, It'd be easier suspend my disbelief.
laser guns turn flesh to dust