Liam Kincaid investigates a series of deaths linked to a new hybrid of Taelon and Human technology.
(originally aired in syndication during the week of October 25)
Written by Ethlie Ann Vare
Directed by Brenton Spencer
| Those Sassy Aliens |
| SANDOVAL (to Mayor DuBois): Publicly, you embrace family values. Privately, you embrace teenage prostitutes.ZO'OR: I find the contrast fascinating. |
ZO'OR: My intention was to understand your kind. That you are a species of liars and cheats is ... convenient. |
SANDOVAL: It's a rare pleasure to see my Taelon "friends" in such perfect agreement.
ZO'OR: Indeed. Please increase your surveillance of my "friend" Da'an so that Imay know the reason for it. |
GUEST STARS
Terri Hawkes - Detective Sherman
Eugene Clark - Mayor Carter DuBois
Majel Barrett - Dr. Julianne Belman
WHAT HAPPENED
Helicopters, fighter jets and ground troops are taking part in a fierce battle. A voice calls out, "Fall back! Fall back!" In another place, a man sweats and shudders as lights cascade across his face.
The battle continues, to the sweating man's discomfort. A soldier leaps over an embankment and begins crawling toward a wounded comrade. He calls for covering fire, then begins carrying the other man to safety. Suddenly, an explosion kicks up a cloud of dirt, while the soldier falls to the ground in agony.
The sweating man suffers some manner of seizure as the lights continue to play across his now unresponsive features.... (more spoilers)
ANALYSIS
Once again, the Resistance proves that it's better to be lucky than good. Liam and Renee don't win the day through any great skill or meritorious behavior, but simply because the people they're up against are very, very dumb.
As a villain, Gavin Frost makes one heck of an ally for our heroes. Is he a deep-cover Resistance genius?
How else can we explain a "criminal mastermind" so monumentally stupid that he:
a) doesn't recognize Renee Palmer, the person responsible for producing the technology with which he makes his black market living
b) leaves Liam unattended in the back of his truck with his valuable stolen technology
c) leaves the keys in the truck so that anyone who wants to make the effort can steal the thing
d) commits all of the above crimes against common sense?
Admittedly, it's possible that Renee hot-wired the truck, but this seems unlikely given time constraints. Otherwise, without Frost's convenient overdose of incompetence, Liam and Renee might never have been able to stop the black market Mneme ring.
Of course, it's not only the villains who blunder their way through the episode. It's hard to see how a machine that enables people to relive the past is in keeping with Renee Palmer's mandate to adapt Taelon technology to "everyday" earthly use.
What's even harder to believe is her cavalier attitude toward the technology. For someone so involved in the Resistance, someone no doubt aware of the hidden agendas behind past Taelon-Human joint ventures, Renee's acceptance of Mneme at face value seems an odd misstep.
The root of memory is "me"
However, the theme of this episode is summed up not so much by incompetence but by Liam's discussion with Da'an about the sacredness of personal memory.
Aside from being reflecting the human race's inflated opinion of itself, the scene highlights the fundamental difference between the human and Taelon perspectives. These aliens actually think differently, and so Da'an, product of the Commonality, seems unable to fathom why humans wouldn't want to share their memories.
Of course, Liam disagrees -- and in a nice performance, while Robert Leeshock approaches Star Trek heights of histrionic anthropocentrism in this scene, he never quite falls over the edge.
Despite their different outlooks, Liam and Da'an remain more or less on the same side compared to true anti-human figures within the Commonality -- i.e. Zo'or. Da'an might have counted on Zo'or's attempt to understand the hearts and minds of the human species to backfire by giving Zo'or new insight into humanity, forcing the Taelon to treat humans with more respect.
DANGLING PLOT THREADS
How and why did Gavin Frost get a recording of Lt. McKee's memories in the first place?
What is Da'an up to?
What was Zo'or trying to achieve by blackmailing Mayor DuBois?
TUNE IN NEXT WEEK
Reruns continue in " The Once and Future World". Rivals Jonathan Doors and Zo'or race to secure a lost Taelon artifact as their struggle for control of Earth heats up.
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