The Gua meet to discuss whether to launch the Second Wave of attack, and Joshua steps forward to argue against it.
(originally aired October 15, 1999)
Additional credits
Alison Matthews - Maya
William DeVry - Karl
written by series creator Chris Brancato
directed by executive producer Larry Sugar
Nostradamus Says
He's a prophet, not a secretary! There's no quatrain chronicling the Gua meeting.
What Happened
On a rainy evening, limousines pull up in front of a corporate office building. It's the directors of the alien Gua, arriving for an important meeting. One -- Maya -- greets their apparent leader, Karl, and flatters his taste in human husks..
As the meeting itself begins, Karl thanks the elite directors and operatives who have assembled on such short notice. He has called the meeting to let them all know that there has been "a call for peace on the homeworld" leading to a debate over whether to invade Earth. As such, the supreme leadership of their race, the "Guahead," has asked for a recommendation from those already involved in the earthly arena. Karl notes that a unanimous recommendation will be of tremendous weight in the final decision.... (
Foster represents what we have to fear most -- someone with the dogged perseverance to create a movement.
Analysis
Reviewers hate clip shows.
It's almost impossible to say anything new about a bunch of disconnected footage that you've already seen. And while the connecting material usually tries to tell a story, if the story were at all substantial it wouldn't need a bunch of recycled footage to pad it out.
The hapless reviewer's only hope is that the new connective tissue somehow reinterprets the old stuff and makes it tell a different story than it did the first time. I'm not sure that's ever actually happened in a clip show, and it just doesn't happen here.
Instead, we get two sets (one of which, only seen for a moment in the teaser, is probably the production studio's lobby), no action, and lots of old footage. It's a bit of a surprise that they have three guest stars, but then again,
aren't in any of the new footage, so it's likely they filmed it in a day or two during the production of another episode.
As science fiction television goes, it's probably the cheapest and least consequential season finale since Star Trek: The Next Generation gave us "Shades of Grey" back in its second season. That was ten years ago, so hopefully we can go another ten before we have to sit through another one like this.
Enough whining about the show's cheapness, however. There are other things to talk about, none of which put "The Decision" in a better light.
I'm actually surprised that they even aired this one as the season finale. Last week's episode, "
s arguments make a good case about the danger Cade poses to the Gua, but this in fact makes his recommendation to delay the "Second Wave" -- full-scale invasion -- part of the aliens' long-term plan for conquering the Earth look remarkably stupid.
Let's think about this a moment. Cade is one man, a wanted fugitive with no hard evidence of the invasion and only a few scattered believers to back him up. If the Gua invade now, they'll have overwhelming force and the opportunity to destroy the social infrastructure that helps Cade stay out of their grasp. They can wipe out Earth's military defenses and industrial production, then use their additional manpower to hunt down Cade (and any others like him) at their leisure.
On the other hand, if the aliens wait, Cade has time to clear his name, find the evidence he needs, and attract more followers. Every day the invasion is delayed is another day Cade can use to interfere with the Gua's plans. Time is on his side, not theirs.
Assuming he's not playing some deep game of his own, Joshua should be smart enough to realize this. Even if he doesn't, someone else should bring up the point. That it apparently never occurs to anyone at the meeting points out yet again that the Gua are far more of a danger to themselves than Cade is -- "sharp planning" like this that has let him slip through their fingers time and time again.
This fatal stupidity was a gaping flaw in both the alien plan and First Wave's first season. When the Gua aren't sabotaging their plans by giving Cade obvious clues to follow, they're powerful opponents. In those episodes, Cade's failures are worrisome, his triumphs are exciting, and the moments of horror are chilling. However, all too often Cade gets a cheap win against the bad guys, just because they did something dumb.
Between this and the overall cheapness inherent in a clip episode, the episode feels a bit hollow, and there have been enough such episodes to make the entire season look likewise a little short on substance. Let's hope next year is better.
What We Learn
The Gua have conducted 1,800 experiments covering every continent on Earth over the last four decades.
Cade has personally eliminated 13 Gua operatives.
The aliens have been behind several dark moments in recent history, including the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles ("experiment MZP 3718"), the ethnic violence in Yugoslavia ("KVB 9631") and the Heaven's Gate suicides ("KXM 6455"). Sadly, not even the Gua claim credit for Pauly Shore movies.
Dangling Plot Threads
If Joshua is so convinced Cade could ruin everything, why doesn't he act like a real patriot and finish Cade off? It's not like he hasn't had the opportunity -- in last week's "The Aftertime", for instance, he could easily have ambushed Cade in the parking garage.
Joshua claims he has the Gua's best interests at heart -- but does he really?
So what was Karl's vote? And how will the Gua head react to a 6-5 vote, whichever way it went?
Tune in Next Week
U.S. viewers will have to wait for January for the Sci Fi Channel to start airing First Wave's second season. When that blessed day arrives, WWF wrestler Sable will make a guest appearance as alien assassin Lucas in "Target 117."
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