I have to say, waiting a quarter of a year between episodes is a bad move because I’ve started losing any semblance of interest I have for this show. Before it reaches that point, let’s take a look at the episode we left off at.
It starts with a pretty good cliffhanger type in medias res opening, but anyone who’s familiar with any type of storytelling knows that the subject matter is prime for interpretation. In any case, there’s a lot of progress made in this episode. While I find the entire ‘blowing up a pharmaceutical lab’ by a total of about four people to be incredibly absurd, it serves as a good example of how a well-planned attack can procure a well-needed result. In any case, this episode isn’t all about the flash of an exploding alien research lab, a lot of reveals happen as well.
Tyler’s mom finding out he’s now on the alien mothership should lead to some decent drama, but I find myself less and less interested in the character, since Tyler represents the whole ‘thinking he’s a nonconformist when he’s just a douche’ archetype. The entire reveal about how Jack used to be a soldier didn’t really work for me (I mean, come on, what kind of priest can fight like that?), but the fact that he’s stabbed and left for dead by the end is a pretty damn good cliffhanger, I’ll say that. It definitely gives the impression that the entire idea of Resistance is a complete and utter waste and that they’re fighting what amounts to be a losing battle.
The most interesting reveals are about Ryan and Valerie’s baby – presumably a half V, half human baby; let’s just ignore the utter genetic impossibility of two completely different species somehow coincidentally having the exact same number of chromosomes and the exact same conditions for gestation, but the original series had a pretty decent plot twist involving that aspect, though it was more horrifying than worrying. I can’t really say how the final scene reminds me similarly of Mass Effect 2′s final scene, as well… hm. I probably just have Mass Effect on the mind. Anyway, I look forward to where the series will go but I’m losing interest rather quickly.
The title of this episode gives me bad memories, if only because it’s incredibly similar to the Brand New Day storyline from the Spider Man comics in recent years. Thankfully, it’s much, much less idiotic. In fact, this episode was rather enjoyable.
Things are actually going underway in this episode, as the resistance is formed at the end of the episode. The fact that it is only four people who can ostensibly barely make a dent in the V’s plans notwithstanding, it makes me hopeful that the series won’t fall into the tired routine other TV series such as Smallville or Heroes falls into – either dropping plot points entirely or focusing on inane storytelling methods so much that people just don’t care anymore. This episode also digs the V’s claws deeper and deeper into the ‘irredeemable monsters’ visage, as their manipulative and deceptive qualities are revealed. I’m rather disappointed that Chad Decker didn’t get as much screen time this episode, as his information war with the Vs was a welcome change from the Resistance storyline.
All in all, a pretty decent episode, as things are shaping up nicely and it seems that the series will be chugging along at a nice pace; here’s hoping it doesn’t get too full of itself.
If episode 1 set the structure, then episode 2 begins to solidify the series. It takes place directly after the end of the first episode, and we really get to see how the characters are reacting to their new found discovery. Some try to ignore it, others are unsure what to do, still others decide to continue resisting, but by the end of the episode they end up thinking the same thing anyway, to start a resistance … which is odd because that was the same thing they decided at the end of the last episode, too.
What this episode does well is show how distrustful the characters are now that they know the truth of the matter, and it leads to some of them making irrational or unwise decisions. The acting and dialogue is still pretty wooden to me, honestly. I’m interested, surprisingly, in Chad Decker’s story and development most of all, due to his ignorance of the truth yet incapability of yielding to the Visitors. The other characters evolve in predictable directions (FBI Agent, Priest, Visitor turncoat are all pretty stock when it comes down to it), but his character seems to be developing in the most interesting direction, probably because he’s the one who has the most interaction with the Visitors.
I’m thoroughly uninterested and unimpressed with any scenes that involve Logan Huffman. It’s nothing to do with his acting, but his character’s story is boring, pedestrian, and worst of all, annoying. The whole teenage subplot in the context of a show about alien invasion is completely absurd, and though I’m aware that it’ll eventually lead to him becoming an unknowing sleeper spy for the Visitors (if the show synopsis is to be believed), his storyline for the foreseeable future seems to involve him doing stupid teenage things. I’m half expecting him to get high in the next episode.
Not a bad episode, and the ending shows promise of potential story twists, but the show has still not realized its potential yet. We can only hope it will get better.
Let me get this out of the way first: I never watched the original V TV series. It was before my time. I have heard good things about it, and wanted to check it out (and I still plan on it … someday), but for now I’ve started watching the remake.
It was a good watch, and the show is well worth the time, but falls back too much on formulaic storytelling. From the start of the Pilot to the end, there’s nothing at all that will catch anybody that’s seen, well, any TV show or movie, off guard. The method by which the different character’s storylines are tied together by the end of the episode is done beautifully, and I suppose that that was the entire point of the episode – to lay down the infrastructure for future episodes. At this the episode succeeds marvelously.
The episode opens with the mundane lives of normal people on their normal everyday routine when alien ships fly over 29 major cities in the world, causing mass panic. Then, a few moments later, the Visitors make an open declaration of peace, causing mass joy (and later, mass protests). The episode centers on individuals who aren’t entirely sure that the Visitors are evil, but don’t exactly trust their motives to be entirely benevolent either. At least one of the characters already knows they’re evil from the start, and the others find out by the end one way or another, and the episode ends just as they begin to plan a resistance. I can already say that I’m going to be annoyed by the character Logan Huffman is playing – kids with daddy/mommy issues are the most annoying kind of archetypes. The dialogue is clichéd, but any problems it had are made up by the actors themselves.
Anyway, it’s to early to be judging the series as a whole as some reviewers are saying (have we learned nothing from Heroes?), and it’s definitely not the best pilot episode I’ve ever seen (that honor would belong to House). But it’s still a great opening episode and I’m looking forward to seeing how the rest of the season will shape up.