The McGuffin Review V-Episode 2

Posted by Cory Johnson on 11.13.2009

How can Erica explain what happened to Dale without sounding insane or implicating herself? Ryan reaches out to an old friend and what is Anna's next move?



Welcome to the McGuffin Review of V, Episode 2, “There is No Normal Anymore”. We are trying a new format out this week, so please let me know what you think in the comments section below. First we have a few comments to address.

You should check out the original again. I caught it on SyFy and it actually withstood the test of time pretty well. The story/characters are all really solid and the FX aren't as bad as you might imagine.

Posted By: punchdrunk

There is no way that I will be able to deny it forever and I know that I will just give in and watch the whole thing over again, but I really hope it doesn’t ruin my childhood memories. Thanks.

I really enjoyed the show! Missing was Diana, as she helped jump start puberty for me. Who knows, maybe they'll bring her (Jane Badler) or Marc Singer back!

If not, I'll still enjoy this series.

It's like a David Icke book played out on TV!
Posted By: DHX (Registered)

You weren’t the only one DHX, Jane Balder practically defined my concept of WOMAN at the time. She still looks great and is definitely worth an internet search. Not only was she beautiful, but Diana was an incredible villain. Thanks


Nothing but right-wing propaganda bullshit, just like the original series.
Posted By: Progressive Pete (Guest)

Awesome Pete, I’m not sure that the show is deep enough to really offer any political commentary, but please post more on this. It is strange, because I always thought that BSG would have more political debate, but it never happened here, probably because the politics were so preachy and overt. Thanks.


Episode 2, There is No Normal Anymore

Tyler is emotionally trapped after promising his mom that he wouldn’t get involved with the Visitors, but he is amazingly drawn to the whole “cool, futuristic alien vibe they are displaying. On top of that, he has a serious crush on Lisa, the Visitor Peace Ambassador coordinator. Tyler jeopardizes his budding relationship by punching an anti-visitor protestor. He thought this would be a good thing and was more than a little stunned when Lisa walked away in disgust and later told him that he is out of the peace ambassador program. Lisa was also upset with him because she vouched for him. Tyler’s future in the VPAP is now up to the committee. He is also cleverly hiding his peace ambassador uniform under his bed, apparently hoping that his mom is far too busy to look in the obvious places.


Ryan clearly did not break up with Valarie, as they apparently spent another quality (sheesh, doesn’t anyone on TV have an off night?) night together. The cut he took to his forearm doesn’t seem to be healing very well, with his scales becoming very prominent. Ryan goes to a garage, looking for Angelo. Angelo is apparently from the first resistance movement and another traitor Visitor. He patches up Ryan but also knocks him out with a shot. Angelo tells Ryan that he can’t trust anyone just before Ryan blacks out. Angelo is gone when Ryan wakes up. Back at his home, Ryan gets a call from Angelo, who tells him to get away from Valarie. Angelo lists all the information he could easily find about Valarie, where she works, where she is from, everything. Angelo warns him that Ryan is putting Valarie in the crossfire if he stays with her. Valarie notices that a picture in their house is upside down and there is a card containing a name and address for “Cyrus”.


Chad Decker couldn’t stand watching his interview with Anna, feeling a little burned, used, and totally manipulated by the alien leader, so he decides to show her how a white news anchor rolls. On the eve of a US vote on establishing diplomatic ties, Chad has an open debate on his show, with pro and anti-v sides presented. To calm a seething Anna, he points out that he helped sway and form public opinion. The government decides to pursue diplomatic ties, and grants a limited number of visas to the Visitors. After the measure passes, Chad receives a phone call from Anna herself where she thanks him and hangs up.


Father Jack is tortured by the slaughter at the resistance meeting and the way that the Visitors went after them. Jack cannot share the beliefs of his fellow priests that the Visitors are blessing and gift from God, although he has stopped voicing his concerns. The FBI Visitor Threat Assessment Joint Task Force (tell me that doesn’t reek of an officially named government group) visits to inquire about the man who died in the church last week. Father Jack calls the man disturbed and answers all questions vaguely. Feeling guilty that he didn’t help the FBI he turns over the photos, aka the pictures that prove the Visitors are retillian aliens, to the FBI. At the FBI office, Father Jack is stunned to learn that Erica is an FBI agent, almost as much as she is shocked to learn that he’s a priest. Erica is furious that he turned over the photos (“what part of don’t trust anyone didn’t you understand?”), but Father Jack truly thought he was helping. Father Jack is determined to resist the Visitors, but thinks they are going to need a lot more help. Luckily, Erica has a starting point.


Erica has trouble dealing with the fact that her FBI partner of 7 years, Dale, was a lizard. When an alien clean-up crew arrives at the warehouse, she attempts to contact 911, and we learn that the visitors control the emergency services. This puts a seeker (that little clear, floating ball thing with the spikes) onto Erica and Father Jack. Erica manages to smash the seeker it as it rounds a corner, Prince Fielder style. Not sure if the seeker was able to identify Erica and Jack. Erica is suffering from PTSD after her incident at the warehouse and the realization that anyone anywhere could be a visitor. While in the shower she sees Dale holding Tyler at gunpoint, reminding her that she left her gun in his car before turning the gun on her and pulling the trigger-snapping her back to reality. Erica’s FBI boss Paul is inquiring what happened to Dale. Erica lies and denies seeing Dale after they had dinner last night. Erica manages to retrieve her badge and gun from Dale’s car without anyone finding out. Erica’s boss plays Erica’s 911 phone call for her; the DEA had all the phones in the neighborhood tapped in a smuggling investigation! Erica, knowing she is busted, explains that Dale is a traitor but she didn’t have the proof. There is no record of her 911 phone call, and Erica convinces her boss that this is bigger and runs deeper than any of them understand. Dale’s wife reveals that Dale had another cell phone that he used to call his wife and one other number. The other number went to an untraceable line, and Erica matches up the phone calls to the tip off times for the terrorist cell they were working on. When Father Jack approaches her, saying that he has to do something about the visitors, Erica revels that she swiped the list of everyone who has called the FBI about the Visitors.


Anna selects a kimono for her Japanese address, showing her understanding of human culture. Anna addresses the world in their native languages, thanking them for establishing diplomatic ties. Anna thanks the US government for their trust, saying it will be rewarded, and that they are of peace, always.

Other things we learned….The visitors have been here for at least 7 years….the FBI has received thousands of calls about the visitors….there was at least one other resistance movement…the Visitors still use their very unique interrogation techniques, as one of the humans captured at the warehouse was interrogated while he believed that snakes were all over his chest…Dale awakens on a white table, apparently being very hard to kill.

Analysis
This episode was a huge step forward for the series. The plot device that anyone could be a Visitor is a great move. This allows Jack and Erica to be suspicious of everyone, and sets up the possibility of shocking reveal at any time. They resistance movement itself is a great plot device that allows them to add more characters every week or whenever they need to. The writing was crisp and flowed nicely, and Erica had some great lines. Erica trying to stay one step ahead of her boss and Angelo exposing Ryan’s major weakness were both perfectly done. The seeker scenes were great little well-done effects scenes.

Erica became a much more interesting character this week. Her ability to think on her feet to protect herself and what she knows about the Visitors was incredibly well done, as was the shower scene. Elizabeth Mitchell plays the silent tortured soul with pleading eyes so well that there was no need to change anything about the way she plays Erica from the way she portrayed Juliette.

Ryan has show-stealing potential. The traitor visitor angle feels fresh and you instantly want to know more about what he did in the previous resistance movement and most of all, what does he know about the Visitors and their plans? His relationship with Valarie feels incredibly doomed, but the look on his face when Angelo described how exposed Valarie is was a great mix of horror and shock.

Anna remains a good underexposed mystery. By keeping her vague and shadowy, the audience never knows what to expect from her. Good job of keeping her as the puppet master behind the curtain. They do need to stop delivering her catchphrase (“we come in peace, always”) at every opportunity, as it is already starting to grate.

Things I Wonder
Why do the visitors only torture humans in their underwear?
The snakes were a nice touch, but kinda predictable weren’t they?
Torry from BSG, and Supergirl from SMALLVILLE, Juliette from LOST, what other cult shows do they need to mine for cast member?
Unbelievable that Dale is still alive after Erica beat the hell out him and stabbed him in the chest, isn’t it?
How long until the Visitors break out the reprogramming stuff?
Wonder how many survivors the first resistance movement has left?
How long have the visitors been putting the infrastructure of this invasion together?
You’d think that an advanced Alien race could construct a seeker that could bounce, eh?
Is Chad the weakest character on the show?
Valarie is going to be the first to die, isn’t she?
Didn’t Ham get reprogrammed to kill Donovan once?
Is the Visitors need visa to freely travel, how come nobody has been tracking their ship movements (like the clean-up crew)?
Why don’t they just start shooting?
Is there enough Anna in this show?
What was the point of the kimono scene-geisha fantasy break?
Cyrus-Visitor or human, you make the call now.
What exactly does it take to kill a Visitor?
Who is your guess for first unexpected Visitor reveal?
What do you think of this show? Are you hooked?

Thanks for reading. As always, comments, feedback, and emails are welcome. In other TV news, the MAD MEN finale was easily the best episode they have ever done, and suddenly season four looks like can’t miss TV. THE PRISONER looks very strange, but I want to see it (damn you Iron Maiden). HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER was absolutely pointless and basically killed half a season’s worth of time just to demonstrate that Barney and Robin don’t work together.
This is Cory and I will be back next week with V, Episode 3. Until then, keep watching

The 411: This episode built nicely on the pilot. Ryan, Erica, and Father Jack all got plenty of screen time to define who they are and what they are willing to give to fight the Visitors. The Seeker and the Interrogation scenes provided some nice special effects. The show is starting to gain momentum and with just a little extra it has a shot of being something special.

Final Score:  7.9   [ Good ]