V S2E6: Siege

"We act first and we act hard."

Okay, then.

With this episode, the show has moved definitively closer to our own opinion of where it needed to be: in the middle of an actual war for the survival of humanity, with all that entails. And yet...does anything really feel all that different?

Sure, Mr. Erica and Mr. Terrorist died, but the writing's a bit lazy and safe here. We're supposed to view these characters' deaths as the impetus to great change to the status quo and yet these characters have barely been developed at all. And sure, Father. Jack is stripped of his collar, revealing Soldier Jack, Hobbs is the New 2011 traitor since Ryan is officially no longer invited to the lunch table, and Tyler's an asshole. Oh wait, that last part's not new. Yes, the deck has been reshuffled and we suppose there's an opening now to take the story in unexpected directions, but with the FBI investigation into Erica now officially closed - and seriously, what was that? "Her husband got killed by sniper fire! Case CLOSED." - it seems she's going to stay firmly entrenched in her civilian life (and unrevealed to Anna as the leader of the Fifth Column) for the foreseeable.

And what does she mean when she says "From now on, no more reacting?" Or when she apologizes to Hobbs for keeping him in a "cage?" Is she suddenly okay with suicide bombings? Will she skin a V on camera or at least address WHY they don't do so? Will there be more attacks on ships? The proof is in the pudding, V. You have a history of making grandiose pronouncements that go nowhere and killing off two peripheral characters isn't the game-changer it was apparently meant to be.

We didn't hate this episode. On the contrary, we enjoyed it quite a bit; possibly the best of the season. Like last episode, the tension was high throughout and it was clear not everyone was going to get out of the situation unscathed or even alive. A fun hour of television, no doubt. But we remain unconvinced that things are going to change that much going forward. We hope so, and we're grateful the writers have realized that movement is key, but we're waiting to see if they're actually going to follow through with it.

In other news, Baby V, whom no one puts in the corner, meets Grandma V, who's locked in the basement; a development just ripe with possibilities and exactly what we were looking for. Let's get Diana out of the periphery and in on the action, V. She's delicious. But her dress must really smell because it's apparently the only article of clothing she's worn for 15 years. Also, we loved how Lisa found out about her grandmother: she happened to walk by as Anna used her super-secret space elevator, the one located right out in the open in a hallway, where anyone can stumble on it. Real mastermind of a plan there. Then again, it worked for 15 years apparently, so those lizards must not be terribly observant, on the whole.

[Picture credit: ABC TV]

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Labels: Television, V Season 2, V Series