After yet another hiatus, it is finally time for new episodes of ‘Invasion’. From the sounds of things, there shouldn’t be any more preemptions (at least there have not been any announced and, if there’s any chance of ‘Invasion’ getting picked up for a second season, there shouldn’t be any).
How did everyone spend their ‘Invasion’less time? Myself, I went out and got a new job as proofreader. No longer am I subjected to the horror of trying to do things like fix a corrupt boot sector over the telephone with people who have a hard time understanding the concept of clicking a mouse button.
I’m going to try out a new recap format this week in an attempt to eliminate all the two sentences on one scene, meanwhile somewhere else, two more sentences, and then in some other place, two more sentences and then back to the first place. If you have any suggestions about the new format (either suggestions for improvement or simply a preference for the old format), drop me a line.
ISLAND HIJINX
Russ and Dave are still at Szura’s Island Paradise and they have
decided to go ashore. Dave suggests they may be be better off getting
some help before going on to the island but Russ is anxious to find
some answers and ignores Dave’s cautioning.
Once on the island they find the bodies of Derek and Christina. The
gunshots seem to have done a pretty good job of killing them but it
also appears that Christina’s litter left her body and slithered its
way into the water.
Some further searching leads Dave and Russ to an old military
building. In the building they find ‘The Art of War’, Szura’s
unpublished cult leader manuscript (entitled ‘Robin Hood and the
Cambrian Explosion’) as well as a hijacked satellite signal which is
being used to monitor water temperature in a West Africa, Cuba and
Brazil (places we’ve been previously told have had hybrid problems).
Next they come across some woman giving a speech about the importance
of community whilst the other hybrids look on. Going back to the
book, Russ tells Dave that the Cambrian Explosion was a time of great
evolutionary change. They wonder if perhaps the hybrids are not an
invasive species but rather an evolutionary improvement. The
discussion is cut short when they spot Father Scanlon amongst the
crowd and at the first possible opportunity they grab him and pull him
aside.
Scanlon tells Dave and Russ that he’s been sent to the island because
he was the one who shot Tom. Originally he thought God had saved him
the night of the hurricane and Tom allowed him to believe that. Now
he believes that he was saved by EVIL.
Scanlon seems quite willing to assist Dave and Russ in their fight
against Szura and the three sneak into Szura’s tent. Szura’s not there
but they do find a scrapbook dedicated to Tom’s life (perhaps Tom’s
got a secret admirer) and all kinds of maps covering different parts
of Florida.
Scanlon isn’t sure of the exact numbers but he figures there are
around 100 people on the island. They tell Scanlon about their
evolution theory and speculate that the maps suggest Szura isn’t
willing to wait; he’s got something big planned.
While still searching Szura’s tent, they find a satellite phone. Russ
says that if they call in the troops, there’ll be no going back. The
hybrids will be exposed and they won’t be able to guarantee anyone’s
safety. Both Dave and Father Scanlon encourage Russ, saying it is the
only thing they can do. Russ, somewhat reluctantly, agrees and
contacts the coast guard to request immediate assistance.
They head out to the beach to wait for the coast guard to arrive.
Pretty soon a ship does arrive and a smaller boat is sent to shore.
One of the people on the boat is none other than Eli Szura. When Russ
asks what Szura is doing there, the coast guard officer says that his
name is Mr. Dennison and he’s running a program on the island to help
hurricane survivors.
Russ attempts to show the bodies of Christina and Derek to the coast
guard guy but they’ve mysteriously disappeared. Russ asks the coast
guard guy (who is acting rather strangely) if he’s one of them (the
hybrids) or just working for Szura.
With no other choice, Dave and Russ leave the island. They ask why
Scanlon can’t come with them and the Father says that everything will
be all right.
Once they, and the coast guard guy, leave Szura suggests that Scanlon
come to his tent later for a bit of ‘confession’.
AIRFORCE HYBRIDS
Larkin, as is often the case, is unhappy with her current assignment but her boss isn’t budging. Larkin eventually acquiesces and agrees to cover the power coming back on. All this discussion occurs while driving however and as she hangs up the phone her inattention leads to her running into someone.
Rushing out of her vehicle, Larkin checks on the guy. He doesn’t seem to be too badly hurt; it’s just his leg that is banged up. Larkin insists he go to a doctor but he’s not too keen on that idea.
Meanwhile, Tom is meeting with a colonel from the Air Force. She tells Tom that they’ve had a psych patient escape from their ward. The patient was recently in Iraq and that was what lead to his needing to be in a psych ward. She also says that they believe he may have been picked up and describes a vehicle which sounds very much like Larkin’s being spotted in the area.
As the injured guy still doesn’t want to go to the hospital, Larkin takes him to her house. While there, he does the stare at water thing (a fishbowl in this case) for those in the audience who might not have suspected the hybrid linkage.
When Larkin tries to treat his wound, she sees that is already healing. She asks if he’s undergone any recent changes. The man tells her that he was a lieutenant in the Air Force and that he tracked hurricanes. Apparently he was on the plane that crashed in the opening scene of the series.
The lieutenant starts to worry that ‘they’ sent Larkin and that hitting him with her car was just another test. He accuses Larkin of lying to him but Tom answers (having just walked into Larkin’s house) that nobody is going to lie to him.
Larkin pulls Tom aside and lets him know what the lieutenant told her. Tom goes to talk to him when a car pulls up. The lieutenant tries to flee but he is jumped by some guys from the Air Force. Tom had called them before he found out the truth and, though he obviously wants to help, there’s not much he can do.
At least there’s not much he can do right away. But Tom does go to the Air Force base and, after a bit of waiting, is permitted access to the base to meet with Colonel Lopez again.
Tom tells Lopez that he did some research on the lieutenant and Tom knows he was never in Iraq. He says that the lieutenant’s plane crashed during the hurricane and so did the helicopter that was sent to look for them. He reminds Lopez that he helped them bring in Paxton (the supposed sole survivor from the crashes). Tom wants to know how many people really survived the crashes. It turns out they all did.
Lopez agrees to show Tom around. She says what he will see may be disturbing but “we’re all patriots here.” She says that their operation started in 1996, right around the time of Tom’s own plane crash.
There are a bunch of different tests being down on the hybrids. Some have obviously been cut open while others have been shocked repeatedly or kept underwater for prolonged periods (this is where the lieutenant ended up). The tests were supposed to let the scientists learn more about the hybrid’s resiliency.
When Lopez says that the hybrids are amazing creatures, he objects to the term. She apologizes to him. They know about Tom being a hybrid though they’ve only found out recently. Lopez feels Tom has demonstrated his loyalty but there are certain factions which would love to have Tom being tested alongside the others. She implies that if he pushes too hard, that is what will happen.
GUNS AND SCHOOL: TOGETHER AT LAST
This particular segment begins with Rose waking Jesse up for school. Apparently he’s been sleeping with his gun for some reason. They talk about the gun a bit and then it is time for school.
Jesse and Kira are on their way into the school and Kira says she is excited to be going back to school. Jesse tells her not to get her hopes up and warns her that a lot of things have changed.
They meet up with Jesse’s new friend, Brett. Brett’s dad kicked him out of his house for leaving some soup on the table so now Brett is forced to live out of the car. Brett isn’t too concerned about himself but he’s worried his mom will be kicked out of the house next. Jesse responds by saying that at least he has a mom. He starts bitching about the hybrids and still blames Tom for Mariel becoming one. Kira gets pissed off at him and leaves.
A little later, in the library, there are a couple of kids harassing another kid by throwing paper at him and the like. Obviously these kids must be hybrids because you’d never see that kind of behavior in a high school. Brett and Jesse stand up for the kid who was getting picked on and it looks like a fight is brewing. The librarian tries to break things up but after she gets a good look at the hybrid students, she backs off to let them resolve the problem on their own.
Kira, meanwhile, has gone to the hospital to visit Mariel. She tells Mariel that she accidentally told Jesse about how Tom had taken Mariel to the water the night of the hurricane, thinking he already knew about it. Kira is also worried about tensions at school. Kids are coming up to her and asking which side she is on.
At the school, Jesse is looking somewhat the worse for wear. Mariel has been called in to pick him up and the principal is not too happy with him. He asks if the others will be disciplined but from the sounds of things they will not be.
Jesse tells Mariel that the hybrid kids were acting like they were better than everyone. He then gets all sulky and starts whining about how Mariel isn’t his mother; Tom killed his mother the night of the hurricane. He says things can never be the way they were.
At the end of the day, Larkin is taking Rose home. As they are going into the house they hear a gunshot. Larkin shoos Rose into the house and goes to investigate. It turns out that Jesse is drunk in the backyard and using his new gun to shoot at family photos featuring Tom and/or Mariel. When Larkin questions what he is doing, he starts whining about his hybrid family again. Larkin demands the gun but Jesse will not give it up. He goes towards the house where Rose sees him holding it; she looks quite scared.
A pretty solid episode this week. I’m not sure if it was intentional or not, but this was definitely a good episode to air after being off the air for over a month. There was lots of interesting new developments (Jesse’s increasingly ‘anger loner’ behavior, Tom’s Air Force discoveries, etc) but there were lots of things in place to remind you what had happened previously.
