Monday, November 21, 2011

Terra Nova: Season 1 Episode 9 - Vs


Well folks, we finally got what we were asking for!  An episode that primarily deals with the overarching mythology of Terra Nova.  It probably will be a disappointment for anyone who was expecting some major twists with altering time and all of that fun stuff.  It was a pretty basic reveal, but still meaningful enough to keep me tuned in to see how it will all turn out.  Another enjoyable episode for this Family Dino Thriller!  And, folks, I jotted down many notes for the cheese list!  It was off the charts fantastic this week.  No, nothing that will top the Spider Song, but what we don't get in quality we make up for quantity, right?  So, without further adieu...the recap!

Okay basic premise of the episode.  The Harvest Festival is upon us!  It's the celebration of when Commander Taylor first arrived through the Portal to Terra Nova to set the foundation for a new beginning of humanity.  However, when searching for the LEAK within Terra Nova, Jim makes a startling discovery of an old decomposed body which has ties to Taylor in Terra Nova's past.  Things unravel in an interesting fashion but eventually climax in a conversation between Jim and Taylor that reveals much of what has been building in small fragments since the pilot.  I don't think we need a play by play recap for this one so we'll just stick to the highlights.

Supply Run Raided by Sixers 

  • Yes, Terra Nova has been bugged, LITERALLY by a bug! (we'll get to that).  Anyway, Mira was tipped off a supply run to an outpost 2 days away from the main Terra Nova base.  

  • They attack Reynolds and crew from all sides like the Ewoks took on the Empire, or maybe Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men stole from the wealthy.   Anyway, they took all supplies and gave Reynolds a nice gash in the head.



  • The timing of this invasion pretty much cleared Boylan from being a suspected leak. 
Boylan's Capture and Interrogation
  • Taylor was convinced that Boylan was the leak in Terra Nova.  He even tortured the dude with loud noise and drugged his food to get information out of him.  But Boylan stuck to his story that he only provided supplies.  Josh defended Boylan to his Jim too which got him involved in the whole investigation. 


  • Jim stuck with Boylan when Taylor left the cell.  And drugged out Boylan ended up telling Jim some dirt about Taylor, thinking he was still talking to Taylor.  He mentioned something being buried at the Pilgrim Tree.  (where Taylor first arrived) 


  • Jim got some information from Malcolm on the Pigrim Tree and went out for a midnight dig, uncovering the body I mentioned above. 


  • Elisabeth was put on the secret mission of identifying the body but got caught by Malcolm raising awareness to Taylor.  Before she was discovered she had determined that the molecular structure of the body wasn't on record for any Terra Nova residents but that this one armed person arrived between the 2nd and 3rd Pilgrimages.  


  • Jim interrogated a freed Boylan back at the bar but to no success.  We found out that Boylan and Taylor used to be friends prior to the INCIDENT at the Pigrim Tree.  But then Boylan was asked to help him bury this body.  But he wouldn't reveal any other secrets.  Apparently, he agreed to keep Taylor's secrets in exchange for running Cocktails and Dreams. 

The BUG
  • So during rehearsals for the harvest festival, Maddie swatted a bug and found a chip attached to its foot.  It was brought to Malcom who identified it as their leak.  I mean, a bug is the bug!!???  Really!!?!!
  • Actually, it was more the message service between the mole inside Terra Nova and Mira.  It's almost like a carrier pigeon.  
  • Malcolm discovered that the bug flies from place to place based on a certain frequency.  He surgically repaired the bug's wings and they were going to have it take them to their target via GPS and their frequency. However, Taylor had other plans in mind. 


The Harvest Festival/Taylor Reveal
  • As Zoe reenacted Taylor's arrival to Terra Nova, she met with a one armed man (played by a boy) named Filbert.  Shannon figured out that this was the man that Taylor killed. 

  • Of course, Taylor had rigged Jim's house to transmit the frequency and frame him as the Sixers' Mole.  Why?  So Jim would drop the investigation.  


  • But Jim had gotten too far into his investigation and refused to drop it.  He wanted to know why Taylor would kill Filbert.  And then, the brain dump occurred. 
  • Basically, The future's original plans for Terra Nova were to suck it try and bring all of its resources BACK to the future instead of using Terra Nova as a new beginning.  Lucas was the first one sent to oppose his father.  He was working on calculations to be able to open the portal BACK to the future and send the supplies with it.  Taylor was furious when he found out and destroyed all of Lucas's equipment.  


  • Then somehow Filbert showed up through the portal between pilgrimages to take over as leader of Terra Nova.  He was going to kill Taylor, but Taylor was able to take care of Filbert first.   Lucas was even going to try and take out his old man, but Taylor disarmed him and told him that he was no longer welcome at Terra Nova.  And that, my friends, is how the rift between them was formed.  
  • Of course Lucas never stopped.  He would draw calculations on the rocks (pilot episode) to taunt his father.   He will keep working on a way to achieve his original goal. 





  • Taylor, meanwhile, cannot bear the thought of exposing this truth to the people of Terra Nova.  For them to find out they were brought there on the premise of a lie.  So, he keeps fighting the fight.  And now, he has Jim recruited to fight that great fight with him.    

  • They were able to rejoin the harvest festival just in time for an emotional speech by Taylor where he calls them all his family and he'd have nothing without them.  They set off some fireworks which showed Lucas watching them from a great distance away.  Yearning to be back with his father?  Angry and ready for vengeance?  Difficult to say.  Always emotion, the future is...

So, is Taylor telling the full truth?  I guess at this point we have to assume so.  I always thought there would be a darker past for him, and maybe there will be.  And we always thought there would be an objective for good from the Sixers as well.  Maybe the lines will be blurred eventually.  But for now, we're supposed to root for Jim and Taylor to right the wrongs of these evil future people who want to suck Terra Nova dry! 

And yes, there was much more to this episode, but I had to save it all for the ULTIMATE CHEESE LIST!! 

Cheesy Lines/Moments of the Week! 

  • I mean, the BUG was part of the LEAK.  Come on.  A "BUG"?????   I know I brought it up before, but come on!! 
  • Malcolm (to Jim): What's that in your eye?  It's a flicker of intelligence!
    Jim (to Malcolm): I'll be out of your 3 remaining hairs in a minute.

  • Zoe played Commander Taylor in the Harvest Festival.  'nuff said. 

  • Reynolds and Maggie have a smooch after he returned from the Sixers invasion.  She apologizes leading to this gem from Reynolds.  "Don't be sorry.  I was just thinking I might like to get ambushed more often."  Whew. 

  • Of course Reynolds didn't stop there.  He pretended to REALLY think Zoe was Commander Taylor at the end of the episode.  THEN he asked Jim if he could have permission to steal his daughter away for a dance.  THEN Josh cheesily takes Zoe's hand for a dance of their own.  Oh my it's just too much!!  
  • Jim's horrible excuse for digging up Filbert.  Someone left a note on his door?  Then Taylor asked for said note?  It reminded me of Joey on Friends always going back to blaming a raccoon every time he had to lie about something.  (I've never been ashamed of my Friends obsession, nor admitting that season 9 was the WORST!  But even with a bad storyline and bad jokes, that Joey can still make me laugh.)
  • Oh, almost forgot my favorite.  Jim tries to cover up his interrogation of drugged out Boylan to Taylor with saying he figured they'd try the Good Cop/Bad Cop routine.  When Jim lied and said it wasn't working, Taylor says, "Guess it's time the bad cop got into it!"  They worked hard to please us on this one folks! 
  • There was that whole Taylor kissing a baby scene too!  Creeeepy!!

And that's it for this week folks!  Even with me being invested enough to watch the show, if it gets renewed, I'm not sure if my recaps will continue past this season's finale.  But, maybe I'll still have time to keep the Cheese List going.  It's just too fantastic to drop!  But for now, let's keep on discussing this show along with all of the other ones we've been talking about all fall (see end credits if that confuses you!)  

Hope you enjoyed my ramblings and I'll see you next week! 

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!
  • Is anyone else out there watching Homeland?  If so, I'm all caught up and loving it.  Feel free to discuss in the comments!
  • 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.

6 comments:

Kelly said...

Ok, ready for this? I really liked this episode! Have I blown your mind? :)
Taylor is hands down the best thing about this show. He spreads the cheese so well, yet somehow it just belongs there ("we could do it if the dragonfly could fly but the fly can't fly!" and "Malcolm you're all right. "I don't care what anybody says."). Love it!
And speaking of Malcolm, boy does everyone love ripping on him or what?
Anyone else think that maybe that Mark guy (Maddy's cheeseball boy toy) is the spy? I dunno, it has to be someone we've met before, it's not Boylan.. so it seems it has to be either Mark, Wash, or Malcolm. Or that cheese-spitting one-legged man, lol!
I can't take Zoe anymore. It's like they're trying to shove the "she's cute!" thing down our throats, and it's so saccharin that I may have diabetes now. If I were Jim and Elizabeth I would've left in the middle of Zoe's performance as well, lol!
And turning to other news, SOA TONIGHT!!! Can't wait :D And The Muppets comes out tomorrow!

Kelly said...

oh yeah, and Terra Nova totally reminded me of the Jebediah Springfield episode of the Simpsons! Lisa goes on an investigation to out Jebediah for being a crook, not a hero. Remember that one? lol

Mike V. said...

@Kelly - That IS a shocker! lol I did enjoy the episode as well but you really liking it? crazy! Taylor is a good time and now that we know for the time being he is someone we should be rooting for, I'm all for his over the top cheese!

Malcolm is quite the punching bag...it's fantastic.

I have read various theories that Mark is a good candidate for the leak. Actually, the gash on his head might be a good indication of that. Mira had him at gunpoint and he had his hands raised in surrender. Why would he all of a sudden have a gash on his head? But agreed, Mark, Wash or Malcolm seem like the easiest candidates. Or Skye...can't forget Skye. The one legged guy would be hysterical.

Zoe is definitely the weak link of the bunch. She sure is cute, but they can cut it out a bit! Loved that Jim and Elizabeth left in the middle of the performance. I forgot to comment on that.

Super psyched for both SOA and The Muppets! (always have been a fan of them! You see them on SNL this past week or Fallon? Hysterical on both. I'd google REALLY with Seth and Kermit if you didn't)

I don't remember if I saw that episode of the Simpsons. But considering there are 20 seasons worth of episodes, that's not shocking! That being said, it sounds pretty familiar!

Word verification: moddoggi Who's got moddoggi!?!? lol

Leslie said...

I've suspected Reynolds myself. I think I even mentioned it in a previous post 2 or 3 episodes ago. Look at the screen shot you have with him standing behind Jim who's talking to Taylor. He just looks guilty. I'm suspicious of his polite, old-fashioned act. When the bug was traced to Jim's place, my first thought was that Reynolds was responsible for that, but I guess Taylor more or less admitted to it. (Oh, loved the Friends clip!)

Mike, if you decide not to recap this show, my vote goes for American Horror Story...not that you asked for anyone's opinion. :)

Mike V. said...

Thanks Leslie! I can't resist a good Friends clip lol And I do recall you mentioning Mark as the spy. It definitely is a good possibility. Plus, then we'd be in for a bunch of teen angst from Maddie if she has to dump him. lol Ahhh such fun.

AHS - I'd love to recap it...it just doesn't fit well into my schedule! lol It's a 10pm show and we watch a lot of other stuff on Wednesdays. Plus the Mrs. doesn't like to watch it right before going to bed. (understandably so!) I just don't know when I'd be able to recap it! I'm still an episode behind too, hoping to catch up for tomorrow. I'll consider it though. It definitely has the feel of a show that deserves recapping. Maybe at the very least I can post quick discussion threads for it and see how it evolves from there. But I appreciate the suggestion!

I was still planning on tackling Alcatraz next year pending my new insta-family situation will allow me! lol And I'm very intrigued by Awake and Touch. So we'll see!!

Mike V. said...

Great SOA interview with Ryan Hurst (Opie)!

http://www.tvline.com/2011/11/sons-anarchy-ryan-hurst-season-4-episode-12-preview/