Cade Foster has convinced the National Defense Agency that the aliens are invading. Is this the turning point in the war, or just another Gua hose job?
(First aired in the U.S. on August 13, 2000)
Written by David Wilcox
Directed by Michael Robison
| Nostradamus Says |
| As has been the case in several other episodes where Cade is captured or manipulated, Nostradamus is silent about this adventure. Why doesn't the old geezer warn Cade about these things? |
CADE: I get closure every time I turn an alien into a puff of smoke. |
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GUEST STARS
Teryl Rothery – Dr. Heather LeGuin
Tom Butler – Bill Blaylock
Campbell Lane – Uncle Harry
Jim Shield – Agent Chris Mitchell
Nadine Wright – Agent Olivia Tomalin
WHAT HAPPENED
Cade Foster jimmies the lock of a car and climbs in. A briefcase rests on the driver’s seat.
He calls Eddie. "This is too easy," he comments.
He’s right. Inside the briefcase are 12 Gua orbs, but there’s a bomb underneath the seat. It’s a setup.
Knowing the odds are against him, Cade dives out of the car. He almost makes it, but he’s still too close when the car explodes. (spoilers)
ANALYSIS
This episode was originally called "Last Temptation", but somewhere along the way the title was changed to the more secular "Rubicon". The latter is the better title, but the former is more accurate.
Caesar’s Rubicon was a decision point, beyond which he was committed to his bid for power in Rome. Cade makes no such decision here – he’s simply offered a chance to lay down his arms and enjoy the rewards of a successful campaign against the Gua.
That puts this script in a difficult position for creating good drama. The ending depends on him refusing temptation, on not doing rather than doing, and that deflates the tension.
Like Cade, we’ve learned from previous experience that the Gua have all the resources they need to pull off a gigantic con game, but there’s not much either we or Cade can do but watch it unfold. Cade has very little leverage in this episode, and even his escape at the end depends on a convenient Joshua ex machina ending.
All this inaction threatens to make "Rubicon" pointless. Fortunately, the failure of this experiment has real consequences: Joshua has tipped his hand, and somebody has finally guessed that he’s sabotaging the invasion from within.
Bad Joshua! No biscuit!
Joshua has gotten away with a lot of "flukes" and "failures," and has thoroughly hamstrung the Gua’s pursuit of Cade Foster with a series of arbitrary rules about who should know he’s on the loose and how he should be captured. This time, however, the Gua leader has gone a little too far.
Even the dumbest Gua warrior – and some of the Gua make television executives look bright – can figure out that the damage Cade does on a weekly basis vastly exceeds any benefit of letting him go free and continuing to study him. Joshua’s argument that "Cade represents the potential of a large and dangerous human resistance force and must be understood" is ridiculously flimsy, and it’s high time somebody called him on it.
"Rubicon" is still a mediocre episode. This latest twist in Joshua’s storyline makes it important, though, and promises some major developments as First Wave closes in on the end of its second season.
UNANSWERED QUESTIONS
Are "Dr. LeGuin" and "Agent Blaylock" sneaky references to science fiction authors Ursula K. LeGuin and James Blaylock?
RETRO-CONTINUITY
There’s just enough room to wiggle, but it’s strongly implied near the end of "The Box" that Uncle Harry was set free by the Gua and was picked up by Cade’s friends. Apparently First Wave’s writers have changed their mind on this plot point.
TUNE IN NEXT WEEK
Peter Graves quizzes Cade on whether he likes gladiator movies in "Gladiator 2000". Okay, maybe not, but doesn’t that sound more exciting than watching Cade defeat yet another prototype super-warrior?
Do you actually watch First Wave? Send your comments to the editor.
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