Monday, November 28, 2011

Terra Nova: Season 1 Episode 10 - Now You See Me


Hello Past Dwellers from the future!  We're back with another installment of Terra Nova.  This season is sprinting towards its close with only 2 more episodes left (12/12 and 12/19).  It is unclear whether it will return for a 2nd season (full or another half) but with its ratings holding pretty stable, it is a strong possibility.  The show has become a reliable source of entertainment on Monday nights.  Not a deep mythology as some might have hoped but there is an interesting plot at work, and most of the characters are pretty entertaining.  Tonight was another case of a solid episode with some cheese sprinkled over it.  It was definitely fun to have one of those classic episodes where adversaries are forced to work together to achieve a short-term goal.  And of course, there was the whole "mole" hunt where at least the audience was let in on the big secret.  All the pieces are being put into place for a dramatic finish.  I have my guesses to how season 2 might get set up, not that it's any big surprise.  But we'll get there after our quick-as-usual and light-hearted recap below!

So there were 2 major stories in this episode with a few minor sub-plots (that can all be covered in the CHEESE Festival at the end).  Here we go!

Mole Hunt
So with Wash on duty somewhere other than Terra Nova and Taylor going Off The Grid for the day, Jim Shannon is left in charge of the main complex.  Terra Nova is in complete lock-down until the mole is revealed.  It isn't long before the audience is let in on who the mole is, but Jim and Reynolds spend the whole day bonding and trying to track her down.  

That's right folks, as many suspected, Reynolds is NOT the mole!  Jim trusted him right from the start as they initiated their search.  Anyway, they noticed some communication being done by mirrors and flashing lights so they went towards it.  Their mole got away in time but not before cutting her hand and leaving a droplet of blood in paint sealer.  Anyway, lo and behold, the mole ended up being our suspect #2, SKYE!  Of course, it's not as easy as just saying she's a traitor.  Naturally, the Sixers are holding some leverage on the poor girl.  





While Taylor and the Terra Novians are under the impression that Skye's parents died of some uncurable disease and are buried in Memorial Field, it turns out that the Sixers are holding Skye's very alive mother and have the medication to cure the mother.  However, they are withholding treatments until Skye reports with whatever her assigned mission is.   This would explain why Skye probably discovered Lucas's drawings in the rocks too.   Now, I guess this disease is something different than whatever Miri asked Josh to steal meds for.   If they are so dependent on Terra Nova for supplies, then what access to they have to some other drug?  Something that is growing where they live perhaps?  



Anyway, it was easy to sympathize with Skye's situation and since she's one of Taylor's favorite people, it's easy to assume that she won't be persecuted too badly once she is revealed to be the mole and her reasoning is cleared up.   They may even use the link to their advantage to gain the upper hand. 

In the meantime, Jim is "MOTIVATED" to get a blood sample analyzed from his one droplet that has dissolved in paint sealer.  Hilarity ensues when he pretends his in high school chemistry again to get Malcolm's attention.  They do finally draw fragments of blood from the paint sealer but it will take overnight to get results.  



Skye was a busy girl trying to escape the locked down Terra Nova.  She went with Josh on some charity trip to plant a garden or something, to make her connection with the Sixers.  But she got back to her Doctor Internship with Elisabeth later on to discover the blood analysis being done.  She went in later that night to destroy the evidence.  




Of course, while this was a setback for Jim, he then was able to form a list of Hospital Employees and families that have been recently treated.   The list was narrowed down to 84 suspects until Elisabeth was able to figure out from the remnants of the blood sample that it was definitely a female.  So now there are 47 suspects.  They will find their mole sooner or later!  


Jim enjoyed his day in command, but was happy that Taylor returned at the end of the day.  Oops, just spoiled the next section! 

Taylor and Miri's OTG Day
Taylor's reasoning for going Off the Grid was to examine his son's rock drawings to detect if any progress was made.  We were treated to some bad-a$$ hiking skills of Taylor's has he climbed down the waterfall and did some fancy jumping to get to the rocks.  Of course, all of those skills didn't prepare him to encounter his arch-rival Mira! 






This gave us some time to be treated to some good war stories between the 2 of them as well as some bonding.  First, Taylor was Mira's prisoner until Taylor got the upper hand after he grabbed a sharp plant and cut his bindings free.  (there was that silly "run away from Mira's gun" scene too.  I didn't forget!)   Then Taylor held Mira captive until they came across 2 slashers looking to compete with the duo for the land they were trespassing on.  This led to some completely believable cliff jumping and joining together to create some old-fashioned bow and arrows (no more guns.  They sunk!).  They take on the Slashers by setting one of them on fire.  It looked like the husband was really peeved that they burned up Mrs. Dino but then they just walked away.  Good times! 













So in the midst of all of this bonding time we learned that Mira left a miserable life to join up with the Sixers.  The election for the 6th pilgrimage was gamed to bring in this squad.   Mira was arrested for being on the wrong side of some conflict back in the future.  She had a kid to worry about and no one would hire her due to her record.  She saw an opportunity for a better life and took it.  She makes no apologies for what she has done.  Her daughter is close to being 7 years old.  


We learn once again that something really rough happened in Somalia with Taylor and his family.  But it is the cause of the animosity beween Lucas and his father.  Mira claims that Lucas is running the show and she has no choice but to follow him.  And while she was nice to Taylor saying he looked good by the end of their encounter, she did say earlier that he was absolutely looney!  But also, that he's getting close to opening that portal BACK to the future and that's when the fireworks are going to start. 

There was a nice moment where Taylor talked about a parallel universe where the 2 of them probably would have gotten along like gang busters.  He referred to Mira as smart, a good fighter and that they could have made one hell of a team.  It certainly looked that way, and possibly could be foreshadowing for conflicts to come.   Maybe a larger threat will loom on this haven away from the future.  Somewhere where Mira is happier with her daughter than she would have been in the future.  Maybe, in the end, she does believe in Taylor's ideals over whatever someone else's goal for the "PAST" is.  We'll see!   But, for now, Taylor and Mira part as enemies once again but with mutual admiration for each other.    


Cheesy Lines/Moments of the Week
  • Taylor's hysterical Future-Cycle Goggles he was wearing as he left Terra Nova.  

  • Taylor's dismissing of the soldier doing his duty and asking for the commander's purpose for leaving Terra Nova.  "Good Job soldier!  You're dismissed."  
  • Wouldn't we all love to have some of Skye's magical "Cut-Be-Gone" spray? 



  • The ever present Reynolds seeking approval of Jim for courting Maddie.  It just elevates each time. Now he declared his intentions to marry Maddie!?  WHAAAT!?!?!   In the end Jim did cut the kid a break and said that Elisabeth's father would make him look like a puppy dog in comparison.  Then there was the whole "Don't call me Sir" then Reynolds calls him Jim.  "No, it's still Mr. Shannon."   YIKES.  But the best?   "It was a pleasure riding with you today.  That's what cops say, right?"  

  • Another Jim and Reynold's moment where Jim shhhed Reynold's so he could get the blood sample before it dissolved.  That required "shhhh'ing"????  


  • And of course the tale of Zoe and the pet Dino continued today.  We learned of her daily names for the creature.  Hank, Orville and she finally settled on Boxer.   Unfortunately for Zoe, she had to let her friend be released into the wilderness before it couldn't co-exist with its own species.  It led to a bunch of sad looks from Zoe and silly jokes along the way.  Oh yes, and remember when she tried to hide Boxer in her jacket?  She had us all fooled!  It was all smiles at the end when Boxer found a parental figure/friend at the end.   Yaaaaaaay!!!!   






  • I'm not sure if everyone even caught this one but there was a major Star Trek joke reference in this episode.   Jim originally asked Elisabeth to look at the blood sample but she said the blood was too far disolved to make anything of it.   And then, as if she was Bones talking to Kirk, she said "Jim, I'm a doctor not a chemist!"    Ahhh you just can't make this stuff up! 


So that's about it.  I'm sure the crew went all out on episode 12 to provide us with some sort of cliffhanger for the pending 2nd season.  With the way things are going, my guess would be that Lucas will be successful in opening the portal going BACK TO THE FUTURE.  This will allow to expand storylines next season to take place in both timelines (if that's something they want to explore).   It also could open up potential story arcs where a Shannon family member or Taylor or someone gets stuck in the future and can't find their way back.  Lots of opportunities to explore.  I guess it could also open the door for a larger threat than the Sixers to come to Terra Nova for season 2.  Anyway, we'll see how it plays out but that's kind of how I see this going for now.  

So, we'll be back in 2 weeks for the penultimate episode of season 1 and then a finale on 12/19.  Whether we'll continue with the blogging if season 2 happens remains yet to be seen.   But, I still do intend to take up Alcatraz in the winter/spring (same night, time TBD) pending my then newborn child will let me and pending J.J. Abrams and Jorge Garcia strike gold again!   So with that, I'll sign off.  Hope you enjoyed my ramblings and I'll see you in 2 weeks! 

End Credits

  • This season I will be recapping FringeTerra NovaThe Walking Dead and Alcatraz
  • Other shows that are being discussed in comments recently:  Sons of Anarchy, How I Met Your Mother, Once Upon a Time, American Horror Story, Dexter, Chuck, among others.  Feel free to join in!
  • See trailers for the Mid-Season shows I'm looking forward to: AlcatrazAwake and Touch.   I doubt I'll have time to recap them all but they will most likely be discussed on this blog!  
  • As always, there are other shows that I watch as well and would be happy to discuss with all of you. For a complete list by day, you can check out my "FALL TV" post.

9 comments:

Kelly said...

"Jim, I'm a doctor, not a chemist!" LOL! When I saw that, I immediately sent a text to my work email so that I'd remember to mention it today, lol.
Did anyone else watch The Simpsons in it's heyday? I ask because Taylor reminds me sooo much of Hank Scorpio, and it makes me LOVE him! If you don't know who I'm talking about, I will gladly post a link :)
Anyway, why is it that everyone is doing bad things on this show for someone that they love? I would love there to be some Snidely Whiplash evil guy that has no goody two-shoes, gee-whillikers justification for being moles/spies/whatever. You can't even hate Mira now, because she's all "I'm doing this for my daughter". And Skye is "doing this for her mother". And Josh stole meds "for his girlfriend". SOMEONE BE STRAIGHT-UP EVIL ALREADY! Though perhaps Lucas will fill that role? Doubtful, though, because of "what happened in Somalia", lol. I'm sure he has good reason, just like everyone else! BOR-ING!
So Skye is the spy. Shoulda known, since it rhymes! Let's all give an underwhelming gasp on that one, lol!
Reynolds is definitely the prince of cheese on this show. It's definitely not as annoying as Zoe's stupid dino obsession though! Ugh, can't Zoe disappear like the other sister on Family Matters?? haha!
I did like the whole Taylor/Mira storyline. Sometimes a good old "enemies coming together against a common foe" story is good for the soul, lol. And yeah, perhaps this will come into play later on in the story.
This is definitely not a show you have to think about. It's fun and family-friendly, which is sometimes a welcome change from all of the other intense shows I watch (SOA or AHS anyone? lol!). But Taylor really is the best reason to watch it. I wish I could hire that actor as my life coach or something!
In other TV, SOA TONIGHT!! Second to last episode of the season. Is Clay gonna die? And what of Juice and Bobby? Can I give Opie a hug and make him finally forget about Donna? I can't wait to find out!
Oh, Did anyone see the Apollo Candy Bar on ONCE this week? I squeed with joy on that one :)

Mike V. said...

The star trek line was classic, no doubt! I'm sure it went over many people's heads. But the geek quadrant certainly picked up on those perfectly placed words! lol

I think you may have mentioned the Simpsons thing before, but I don't remember Hank unforuntately!

I think this is Terra Nova's attempt at having ambiguous characters like a lot of shows in recent memory. LOST, it was impossible to tell who the good guys vs. bad guys were. Yes, we'd root for our survivors in most situations but everyone had their backstory and reason for becoming the person they are. They aren't all just outright EVIL people. Even the Man in Black had his reasons. So, we get a similar feel on Terra Nova. You have these likable characters and you don't want them all of a sudden to be 100% evil...so they justify their reasoning for what they have done. You want straight up evil? Look no further than Heath Ledger's Joker in Dark Knight. That dude was just inherently a bad guy! lol I know you meant on Terra Nova, but that's really the last good honest to goodness "VILLAIN" I can come up with. The thing is...even with everyone being justified in what they are doing, there is still conflict, and there is still a side to root for! And obviously, we're currently rooting for Josh, Zoe and Maddie to be eaten by dinosaurs!

LOL...I don't even remember the other sister on Family matters. Good one!

Yep...I always love when aversaries team up. Reminded me of X2 - "X-Men United" What a great movie.

I have to agree. Taylor is a fantastic over-the-top character and he's a good time. and even better the more over-the-top he is. I mean, those googles....that waterfall jump! Fantastic! I do like Jim too, when he's not being all silly. lol But even the silliness adds character sometimes.

SOA - I really don't think Clay will die...definitely not tonight...maybe next week, but I still doubt it. But, I do think the truth will come out and forever change the club. He might even get voted out as Prez. You should check out mine and MJ's recent comments in the SOA blog post. If I have time tomorrow, I'll certainly try to post a separate blog for it again. Such a good show!

Definitely caught the Apollo Bar on ONCE this week. I tweeted about it right when it happened! (another benefit of Twitter. lol) Also, I didn't pick up on it but read about it afterwards. That piece of glass that "the queen" picked up at the end of the episode was glass from Snow White's glass coffin, which is what was shown to us down at the bottom of that "HATCH" (:-)).....Really liking that show too!

Kelly said...

Yeah, I hear you on everyone needing to have reasons for the bad stuff they do.. but they really need to think of something other than the threat of losing a loved one. Remember that girl from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation? Mira blackmailed her by having her brother held prisoner or something, right?
Oh yeah, did anyone else secretly want that cute little dinosaur to be suddenly devoured by the momma dinosaur? LOL!
Oh yeah, and did anyone see Dogen from Lost on Revenge last week? :)
I still kinda think Clay's gonna die.. or maybe that's just my hope! I'll have to check out your commentary.. looking forward to 10pm tonight!

Kelly said...

Lol, I keep leaving out comments that I mean to make:
ONCE- I definitely loved the feeling of the hatch! Snow's casket thingy kinda looked like the walls of the button room in the hatch, too. And Hopper and Henry being trapped reminded me of Charlie and Jack being trapped in "The Moth" :)

Mike V. said...

Yeah, true....The Christmas Vacation girl was motivated because of her brother being held prisoner too. Good point! And I'm sure whatever happened to Lucas and Taylor in Somalia will somehow revolve around the mother/wife! lol

At one point I did expect that dino to get eaten. That's pretty funny. lol Of course, at first it sounded like he was crying and Zoe was going to run after him and keep him forever. lol

I still haven't watched one ep of Revenge, so no Dogen for me!

SOA - Well, one thing's for sure...one of us will be right with Clay! I trust Kurt Sutter either way.

ONCE - I totally thought of Charlie/Jack in "The Moth" as well. I actually turned to my wife and said..."it may have even been this far into season 1 when Jack and Charlie got caved in" lol I was too lazy to count the number of episodes for each, but it's very close!

Leslie said...

So, Reynolds isn't the spy, but I'm still not sure he is as pure in his intentions as he seems. I keep thinking Eddie Haskell every time he talks to Jim (for a classic TV reference) :)
I had to laugh when Jim manipulated Malcolm to do the blood test. He just likes screwing with him!
I also thought the little dino was gonna be eaten for a second and then Zoe would be traumatized for life.
Mike, I don't know if you're caught up on AHS, but I'm curious to know your thoughts on the identity of the Rubber Man which I won't say in case you haven't watched it yet.

Mike V. said...

Leslie, I can't keep track of where I'm commenting on things! I mentioned on every other blog posting that I'm caught up on AHS! :-) lol I don't know how I feel about the reveal of the rubber man. I mean, Tate already donned the suit before, so it was kind of a let down. At the same time, it's quite disturbing which is right up this show's alley! I'm still loving that crazy show and can't wait to see what this demon baby looks like! lol

As far as TN - it's possible that Reynolds' intentions aren't noble, but for now I gotta go with him just being a cheesy boyfriend/solider dude. lol They already have Boylan and Skye as Sixer-helpers. That's probably all they need!

Leslie said...

On AHS - I thought you guys might have already discussed that on another post that I missed, but that's exactly what I thought about seeing Tate...kinda disappointed, but creeped out all at the same time! This IS a crazy show, but I'm loving it too!
After seeing the Alcatraz previews during TN last night, I finally watched the full preview, and I'm now really looking forward to that one and your recaps. (You won't be sleeping anyway with the new baby!) lol

Mike V. said...

@Leslie - Naaa you didn't miss any discussion, I just mentioned to the world that I was caught up! :-) lol

Yeah Alcatraz has me really intrigued, and I hope I can write something about it! You're probably right that I'll be up in the middle of the night anyway. lol We'll see how it goes!

And now, I MUST write something quick about Sons of Anarchy again because this season has been incredible!