(S01E04) Well, that's it until March 2010. The most important thing that V could do this week was to leave us hanging on the edge of our seats as to what's coming next. If the idea was to give us a sense of sheer hopelessness in the face of the power of the Visitors, then that's what we did.More importantly, we got to see the genesis of the Resistance movement led by Jack, Ryan and Erica. It makes an even more powerful figure when you consider that at this point there are exactly four people -- at least that we're following -- taking on 29 Visitor ships with technology and power almost beyond our imagining.
Everyone loves a scrappy underdog, and you couldn't ask for much more than that. But it was great seeing them take some of their first strikes against the Visitors as a unit. This is the struggle, against near impossible odds, that will keep us glued to our seats.
The series would have been served a little better if they could have ratcheted up the action a little bit, or given us a little more of a clear idea as to what Anna and Lisa are up to with Tyler on the ship. We know he's "perfect" for something, but for what? They need to remember that we need to remember where we are at this point for four months or so, so you need to absolutely hook us.
The general hook is definitely securing its hold. The revelation of the Visitor component being spliced into our own flu vaccine hints at the extent of their plans. In fact, the Healing Centers themselves are such complex creatures, I can't help but wonder what other things are going on there. More human experimentation? How can you possibly trust anything they say, and yet they were right about Valerie's pregnancy.
The producers promised some nods to the original V saga, and an alien/human hybrid pregnancy is certainly one of these. But I have to wonder how it's possible that this would be the first hybrid baby if the Visitors have been infiltrating our society for decades. Maybe all the other pregnancies are terminated before the mother can come to term. Have they ever had a female Visitor get pregnant by a male. Surely, the Visitors themselves have experimented in this area, if the two species are somehow compatible in this way.
It calls into question if the Visitors are lying to Chad about his impending doom. It's pretty easy to say that we've detected something that will kill you -- but none of your human methods would be able to see this -- and we can cure it. Just let us root around in your brain. I'm glad to see that as deep as he's become entrenched in Anna's world, Chad is still showing a healthy amount of skepticism and doubt.
The two cliffhangers for us to ponder over the next long while are a pretty minor one, and a pretty major one. Actually, the minor one has possible major implications. The Visitor Father Landry knocked out found him at the church and gut-stabbed him. Now, it's a pretty safe bet that Jack will survive this attack, but what does it mean for the Resistance he's a part of. He's on the Visitor radar, and that endangers everyone else.
So that's the personal stake. The much more sinister stake was the reveal of the absolutely massive Visitor fleet hovering very, very far away. It wasn't clear if they were headed toward Earth or just awaiting further orders, but there were a hell of a lot more than 29 ships hanging there. And while the 29 hovering over our cities look fairly harmless, all things considered, this is clearly a military fleet.
If our gang of four freedom fighters think they have a fight on their hands now, they have no idea. Hopefully, ABC finds a way to remind everyone about V in March, because I do think the show is finding its legs and by this fourth episode, it is almost firing on all cylinders. Certainly, it's an exciting action-adventure/science-fiction series, and really we never seem to have enough of those.
[For clips and full episodes of V, join the resistance fighters at SlashControl.]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
11-25-2009 @ 8:54AM
hartbroknagn said...
I liked tonight’s episode as well. Lots of reveals. I am really liking Ryan’s character and I think Georgie has lost it.
One thing that I learned is that if you pull out into the universe far enough, you are going to find something that surprises you. Either you are closer to earth that you thought or there is an invasion on its way. :)
Leave it to ABC (but wait they are not the only network) in its infinite wisdom to pull a show after 4 episodes only to show the rest four months later. Have they ever heard of the “Out of sight, Out of mind” saying? I hope this does not blow up in their faces and they lose a show that has great potential
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11-26-2009 @ 12:06AM
Johnzo said...
what happened with the skinning of the medical guy? It happened and then we heard nothing else of it. WTF?
11-25-2009 @ 8:56AM
Teri said...
Hmmm….Maybe the Alien/Human hybrid preganacy needs to carried by the male of the species.
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11-25-2009 @ 9:37AM
Kragragh said...
Question marks - they're your friend.
"Have they ever had a female Visitor get pregnant by a male."
"Now, it's a pretty safe bet that Jack will survive this attack, but what does it mean for the Resistance he's a part of."
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11-25-2009 @ 9:40AM
Oscar Gordon said...
The one thing I wonder about the pregnancy - if their medical technology is that good, wuldn't they have detected that the fetus does not have pure human DNA? This seems an obvious lead back to a fifth columnist. Maybe more than Father Jack is on their radar.
On a separate note - when they show Elisabeth Mitchell's hosue in the cutaways, it looks exactly like Joel Gretsch's house in The 4400. Is this a shout out to another alien invasion show?
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11-25-2009 @ 9:44AM
Adam said...
After this episode its clear why they got a new showrunner. What works? The actors, everyone is great (save possibly the kid who play Tyler). What doesn't work? Everything else!! What are the stakes? Why are the Visitors evil? Maybe if I weren't a BSG fan I'd look at this through more rosy glasses, but so far I love the thought of this show way more than the actual execution.
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11-25-2009 @ 9:49AM
Alex99 said...
After reading all the hype, I watched this ep just waiting for something to come along to knock my socks off.
It never happened.
-Valerie is pregnant. I expected that ever since they introduced the relationship of her and Ryan and revealed that he was a Visitor.
-Father Jack stabbed. Of course he will survive, they have too much invested in the character to kill him off.
-A massive Visitor fleet sitting off way far away. Well, why not? If they have 29 ships, they could just as well have twenty-nine thousand.
Other than that, I'm enjoying the story and will look forward to the return in March. Oh, and what's up with that? I can see skipping the holidays and coming back around the first of the year, but MARCH???
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11-25-2009 @ 9:49AM
Robert in SF said...
Conjecture warning!
I just wonder if the fleet of ships is not reinforcements, but a counter attack against the rogue Visitors that have come to Earth (I *hate* that everyone on the show calls them V's. Ugh!).
It reminds me of the Babylon 5 arc where there was a lot of talk of a future "Telepath War", with people presuming that it was a war between humans and telepaths. But it could have easily been a war within the telepath community. Sort of how some assume the "French and Indian War" was between the French and the Indians, when actually those 2 groups were the main enemies of the English in the war.
We have no context to judge the motivations of this first "invasion" or the coming fleet. Perhaps the fleet is coming here to fight the Visitor's faction trying to do whatever it is they want to do to Earth...Or maybe the first fleet came here to protect us from the approaching fleet...
It depends on how much they want to branch the show and break some tropes in their approach and writing. It could make for a much more interesting show.
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11-25-2009 @ 10:11AM
Ryan said...
Robert, that WOULD be quite a twist and would definitely be very interesting. But then what would be the alternative? Earth versus millions of advanced alien beings in their super advanced spaceships? I can see the Deux ex Machina now with the Fifth Column finding a "virus" that would only harm the Vs. Good times.
ANYWAYS... I did enjoy these four episodes, some more than others. But this final episode definitely hooked me enough that I will be one of the handfuls that somehow will find it again when it returns. If nothing else, at least a lot more people other than Firefly nuts like me know the awesomeness that is Morena Baccarin.
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11-25-2009 @ 10:22AM
zkbzjm said...
Kinda was expecting some Lizard action!Are they somehow ashamed of their true identities?
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11-25-2009 @ 10:50AM
Sam the Deaf said...
Now we know who the parents of Star Child. Oh boy. oh boy...
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11-25-2009 @ 11:20AM
Yesenia said...
"... at this point there are exactly four people -- at least that we're following -- taking on 29 Visitor ships with technology and power almost beyond our imagining."
But we do now that there are many 5th Column members out there, even if we aren't following them as much as the main characters. So its in no way 4 people against all the V's. The 5th column even has members
on the ships, it was a big plot point last night!
I mean, the V resistance is probably still outnumbered and overpowered, but its not just 4 people fighting the fight.
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11-25-2009 @ 12:37PM
HARLEY said...
I too am hooked and will look forward to the return in March.
I'm actually a little surprised that nobody mentioned the comment Lisa made to Tyler on the mothership before meeting her mother Anna . . ."don't worry, she won't bite." I thought it was classic!!
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11-25-2009 @ 12:42PM
Porchland said...
A few mystery elements they have not made clear yet but that will eventually need logical explanations:
1. The skinning scene made pretty clear that the Vs feel pain in the human skin, so is the human skin a mask or actually part of their body? The "skin him" comment implies that skinning the V would kill him, but maybe it just a painful punishment that takes you back to lizard-only status.
2. Why are they here? In the original series, it was to take the humans as food and the water for their planet.
3. If their technology is so overpowering and killing humans is the goal, why all the fake nicey-nice? Why not just a smash-and-grab?
4. Why do they need so many more ships? Warehouse space? Are they colonizing?
Also, I really hope the budget for the spring episodes includes some full-lizard action.
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11-25-2009 @ 1:18PM
RT said...
Thank you, ABC for clearing up the question of why I get a flu shot every year and always get the flu. Obviously it will be revealed that every member of Congress is an alien.
Meanwhile, bring back Jane Badler and ditch the pixie lizard queen. She's not the least bit scary.
Her male sidekick though, couldn't look more alien.
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11-25-2009 @ 1:43PM
Rob said...
Is it just me or does this series seem a bit too polished? Don't get me wrong,.. I'm still enjoying it (although waiting 'til march might just loose me), but the original seemed much more,.. umm,.. "intense", i guess.
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11-25-2009 @ 1:43PM
The1337 said...
After 4 episodes, V hasn't really impressed me. While it hasn't been terrible, it hasn't been utterly mindblowing as one would expect of the premise. I thought the last episode had several good twists, but for the last episode until March, I was expected more. Review of the episode on my blog.
http://th3tvobsessed.blogspot.com/2009/11/review-v-2009-season-1-episode-4-its.html
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11-25-2009 @ 5:15PM
Sir Yuck-Yuck said...
When Tyler was talking to the psychiatrist who was unseen for awhile I thought the reveal was going to be Jane Badler (Diana) but it was pregnant Valerie
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11-25-2009 @ 7:41PM
st3v3n said...
Heres my take on the ships:
The visitors said they needed a resource. Yeah, the planet. I think they need to take over the planet and call it their home for whatever reason, like their planet being destroyed, or just being evil, etc. I think they are doing it secretly just to avoid resistance. If those flu vaccines turned everyone who took it into the mummies they found at the lab, think of how quickly and easily it would dispose of us.
Maybe.
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11-25-2009 @ 8:49PM
Justin said...
Yeah, V is the most boring and most maligned mystery sci-fi show on TV right now. I'm not saying everything has to be like Lost nor should shows of that and this ilk do that but V puts all the cards on the table and does so faster than a premature ejaculator. No amount of solid character acting can make up for what is a poorly written show. V does not have a good poker face.
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