Before I begin, let me state that I'm Kim, and I'll be guest recapping for a while. I haven't seen the show before this episode; I read all the recaps so hopefully I'm all caught up, but I want to apologize in advance if I make a mistake in terms of a character name or background. I appreciate your understanding, and hopefully by my recap, I'll be all set! So enough about me -- let's start with the show.
Either the producers knew that I was recapping this episode, or the show has been pre-empted so much that they figured people would have forgotten the premise by now. Or, now that I've read the recaps, I realize that they do this every week. Regardless, they start out with a quick discussion of the show's backstory, which is helpful to me, and might be to you, if you're new to the recaps. In the near future, Max was "designed to be the perfect soldier" and "trained to be the perfect weapon." As a child, she escaped the lab, and a few months later, terrorists set off an electromagnetic bomb, which caused the U.S. to turn into a Third World country. Max now works as a bike messenger and drives her motorcycle really fast around Seattle, but she's always looking over her shoulder. She made a friend in Logan Cale, who is rich and working as an "underground journalist" named "Eyes Only." For the purposes of these recaps, he'll be known as "Cap'n The Cap'n." Max wants to find the others who escaped with her.
Max enters Cap'n The Cap'n's apartment, but he's not there. Some guy that I later find out is unfortunately named Bling explains that Cap'n is out somewhere. Max can't believe that Cap'n "spaced" that they were going to "hang." The other guy says that Cap'n has been acting weird lately. Max doesn't seem that upset that he stood her up as she explains that they were supposed to go to a basketball game. The other guy says that he'll go to the game with her, and Max gives him both tickets because she's "not a big sports fan." Max turns to leave, and notices that a painting is missing from the wall. You might think it's because of her photographic memory, but really it's because there's a mark on the wall where it was hanging. Plus, it's dirtier where the picture was than where it wasn't, which doesn't really make any sense. Other guy explains that Cap'n sold the painting, and supposes that he "got tired of it." Max contemplates this as she leaves.
Shots of homeless people and dirty alleys. A futuristic-looking car (which I think is actually a Pontiac Aztek) pulls into an alley, and The Cap'n gets out. He doesn't turn off his headlights, though; maybe in the future it's standard to have the lights turn off automatically or something. He walks with a cane, but still pretty well, and knocks on a door. A blonde woman answers and glances out into the alley before inviting him in. Once inside. The Cap'n hands her some money. The woman explains that "$10,000 covers the first consultation, it's $5,000 for each session after that." Wow, and I thought my health insurance was bad. The blonde woman (who we now know is a doctor) explains that The Cap'n can afford it (but then why did he have to sell the painting?), and tells him to undress. Blonde Doctor helps me out some more by explaining that, six months ago, a bullet hit Cap'n in the spine, causing a loss of mobility in his "lower extremities," but that last week he started to feel sensation in his legs, and now he's able to walk again. The doctor calls it a miracle, and The Cap'n agrees, but then the doctor says she knows it's not a miracle, because she's seen the results of his blood test. Okay, The Cap'n is kind of hot. I have to confess. In a Miami Vice five-day-stubble kind of way. The doctor explains that Cap'n has "obtained stem-cell enriched blood," and she presumes that he was able to buy it. The stem cells have regenerated muscle tissue, which is why he can walk, but now he's "finding it difficult to stand, and walking is becoming increasingly painful." Cap'n concurs. The doctor explains that his autoimmune system is rejecting the new tissue that's formed. Kind of like when people get an organ transplant. Cap'n asks if he'll end up back in a wheelchair, and the doctor says that he will unless they can get his immune system in check. Cap'n says that he doesn't care what it costs or what he has to do -- he wants to keep walking. And…credits.
Max is pacing while O.C. suggests various activities they could do. Max dismisses them all with a grunt. I'm worried about Jessica Alba's breasts -- the bra they've got her in looks so uncomfortable. It's like in the latter seasons of Party of Five when they used to practically bind Claudia's breasts so that she didn't look that much older than she really was. Except they're going for the opposite here -- making Alba look bustier than she really is. And it looks painful. O.C. jokes that some guys in black helicopters were looking for Max, which finally causes Max to stop pacing. O.C. tells her to call Cap'n because he ruined her evening. Max denies that Cap'n has the power to ruin her evening. O.C.'s all, "Whatever," and leaves. Max picks up the phone. Cut to Cap'n walking out of the doctor's office as his cell phone rings. He pulls it out of his coat pocket, but then falls and drops the phone. He is unable to grab it before his voice mail picks up, so Max hangs up disappointedly. Is it weird that the government has captured all forms of communication (like television) and yet people still have cell phones? Just wondering. Cap'n pulls himself into a sitting position with much grunting and straining, so you know it's painful. Okay, if the dude was in a wheelchair for six months, wouldn't his upper-body muscles be a little bit more developed? Or did he hire someone to carry him around all the time, like some sort of post-blast Mr. Burns?
Max and O.C. walk their bicycles into JamPony HQ. Max complains about how completely Cap'n blew her off, and O.C. male-bashes a little bit. Max thinks there's something else going on. O.C. postulates that now that Cap'n is out of the wheelchair, he's cheating on Max. But are they even in a relationship? O.C. male-bashes some more. Hey, what's up with that? According to O.C., all males cheat and grab themselves when they're anxious. Nice. Because, you know, all lesbians hate men. Do you think that a woman who claimed to be a lesbian turned down James Cameron once and this is his revenge? Max laughs and says that Cap'n can do whatever he wants, but she just wants to make sure he's not in trouble. O.C. doesn't want Max to get hurt, and still thinks that Cap'n is "just out being a doggy-dog." Max doesn't think guys only think about sex, just as a nearby guy tells his friends that he just delivered a package to a woman who wasn't wearing a bra. O.C. is all, "I rest. My case." Whatever. I can't even summon up the energy to get that angry about that scene, because it was so lame.
After a few shots of the streets of Seattle, The Cap'n leaves his apartment and greets an elderly lady, who tells him that any day you can put one foot in front of the other is a good day. This lady will be important later, so I'm just mentioning her now. In case you thought her sole purpose was to show that Cap'n likes walking. Max walks up and greets Cap'n and gives him some guff about standing her up last night. He groans, "Something came up." Max asks if he's okay (because of the groaning), and then offers to let him "feed a female." If that's how people are going to talk in the future, just kill me now. Please. Cap'n says he has a meeting. Apropos of nothing, Max asks about the painting The Cap'n sold. The Cap'n claims that he "got tired of it," and gets into his car to go to the meeting. Max looks "thoughtful," or at least as thoughtful as Jessica Alba can manage, so it ends up more like "constipated."
Someone dressed in black is assembling a gun. The music is ominous. The gun is assembled. The person in black puts the gun in a case and then pulls out a picture of the doctor. See, because the mysterious person in black will use the assembled gun on the doctor. Got it.
The Cap'n is shirtless (yay!) at the doctor's office. The doctor is giving him a big shot. She gives him some medi-babble, and he just wants it to work. The Cap'n is hooked up to a reclining bicycle, and the doctor asks him to move the pedals while she watches a computer monitor -- to see if he moves the pedals, I guess. I don't know why she couldn't just watch him -- I certainly am in his little shorts and all. He doesn't move the pedals, but he sure grunts a lot. She medi-babbles some more as the camera pans over The Cap'n's shoulder so that we see a shadow on the glass roof of the doctor's office. If the doctor were so concerned about privacy and all, why would she have her office in a building with a glass roof? Cut to the roof -- the shadowy figure watches The Cap'n and the doctor and then retreats.
The Cap'n walks out of the doctor's office, followed by the doctor. She locks up and tells The Cap'n not to be discouraged and that they'll try again the day. The Cap'n grunts over to his car, and the doctor goes to hers. Black leather glove-encased hands pick the lock on the door to the doctor's office (and never mind the fact that The Cap'n and the doctor are only a few feet away). We see that the shadowy figure is Max. She walks into the office in her black leather and sees the chair that The Cap'n was sitting in. This triggers a flashback to Project Manticore -- Max being operated on by doctors. After the flashback, she walks over to some filing cabinets and starts looking through them. And of course, Max can't break into a building without getting caught, so the doctor walks back in with a gun pointed at Max. Apparently, the doctor forgot to turn off the coffee pot. But I thought they didn't have coffee anymore? I'm so confused. There's some really dumb dialogue, and then Max kicks the gun out of the doctor's hand and into her own hand. I'm not sure of the mechanics of that one, but I'm just going to roll with it. Max asks why The Cap'n is seeing the doctor, but the doctor won't reveal anything. Max accuses the doctor of running a con, since The Cap'n is perfectly healthy and doesn't need a doctor. The doctor tells Max to leave "before [she calls] the police." Um, if she's running a secret medical practice in an alley, does she really want to be calling the police?
Before we can find out the answer to that burning question, gunfire erupts through the window and Max tackles the doctor to the floor, saving her. Lots of shattered glass. Max goes after the shooter, and a fight erupts in the alley. The doctor makes for her car. Max and the shooter face off, but this triggers a flashback in Max. Apparently, when they were escaping Project Manticore, one X5 stayed behind, and the shooter is that X5 -- her name is Jase. Flashbacks of Younger Jase watching the others escape while she looks sad. Jase doesn't react to Max calling her by name, and the fighting continues. Max jumps up and grabs a handy beam lying across the alley, and then drops down into the passenger seat of the doctor's truck. Through the roof of the cab. Which would be metal. Don't look at me -- I didn't write it. Max looks at the doctor and has another flashback to the operating room at the Manticore Project -- the doctor was one of the people operating on her. Max asks angrily why a Manticore solider is trying to kill the doctor. The doctor feigns ignorance and asks who Max is. Max bad-dialogues, "Someone who saved you from winding up dead. But that could still happen. I haven't decided yet." Oh, Lord.
There's a new painting on The Cap'n's wall. The Cap'n himself is on the phone with an informant when Max walks in and hangs up the phone. Rude! Max asks The Cap'n about "Dr. Vertes" (finally a name!) and adds that she followed The Cap'n to the doctor's office. Stalker alert! Max was worried. The Cap'n tells her to keep his nose out of her business. Max reveals, "An X5 assassin tried to kill Dr. Vertes," but "thanks to…her transgenic guardian angel, [the doctor's] fine." The Cap'n looks surprised, so Max further reveals that Dr. Vertes is from Manticore too. The Cap'n knew that. Max is pissed that he didn't tell her before. The Cap'n says that Dr. Vertes is "probably the only person on the planet who can keep [him] from landing back in a wheelchair." Max offers another blood transfusion, but The Cap'n fills her in on why that won't help, and says that they'll know in the forty-eight hours whether the treatment worked. Max didn't know, but she doesn't apologize. The Cap'n asks where the doctor is now, and Max says that she's "at the safe house." The Cap'n didn't want to tell Max about his problems "for all kinds of reasons." He starts to walk over to her, but falls flat on his face. Except instead of looking like his legs gave out, it looked more like he tripped on something, and it was kind of funny. He tries to get up by himself, but Max picks him up and plops him in the wheelchair (which happens to be sitting right there). He pushes her away and then says, "I got to ask you -- is it easier for you if I'm in the chair?" Max stares blankly at him (is it too much to ask for Jessica Alba to show some emotion?) and spits out, "Let's go see her."
In the car, they are silent until The Cap'n apologizes. He gives a little speech about how he felt like a regular person again, "whole, complete." Max says, "You've never not been that to me." What's with the double negative there? Couldn't she have just said, "You've always been complete to me?" Or maybe, "You complete me." On second thought, the double negative suits me just fine. The Cap'n says that staying out of the wheelchair matters more than anything to him, and he won't "live his life like that."
In her office (and I hope she got all that shattered glass fixed), Dr. Vertes explains to Max and The Cap'n that she was recruited by Manticore before the pulse, and she worked on X3 through X7, treating injuries, but also conducting experiments. Max asks if that meant "breaking the arms and legs of young children." Dr. Vertes points out that her research then is allowing her to help The Cap'n now, but that she couldn't take it anymore, so she went down to what used to be El Salvador and "did charity work in the countryside." Max spits, "You're a great humanitarian." The Cap'n breaks the tension by asking why Manticore wants to kill her. Dr. Vertes says that she knows too much, and many of her former colleagues have died under mysterious circumstances in the past few years. But now they've found her. Also, she now knows where The Cap'n's stem cells came from. Max tells them that Jase was one of the X5s that stayed behind when they escaped. Dr. Vertes says that Jase was "reprogrammed," because after the escape, the heads of Manticore felt that the X5s were given too much independence, so they were "simplified." Max wants details, but Dr. Vertes says that she didn't work in that department. Max and Dr. Vertes stare at each other for a while, and then Dr. Vertes offers to refer The Cap'n to a colleague and refund his money, because she can't stick around Seattle now that they've found her. Max says that she'll take care of Jase, and Dr. Vertes will continue to treat The Cap'n. Dr. Vertes doesn't want to, but Max insists.
Someone in a lab coat sweeps up shattered glass in the doctor's office. Jase breaks through the glass ceiling (I told you that was a bad idea) and attacks Max. They fight. I love how neither of them gets any cuts, despite rolling around in the "shattered glass" all over the floor. Just as they face off across the room, Jase grabs her side and collapses.
Jase is restrained in a bed while Dr. Vertes examines her. Max asks what's wrong. Dr. Vertes says that Jase is pregnant. Max has no visible reaction. I understand that she's transgenic and all, but I can't take the poker face much longer.
Dr. Vertes comes back into the room and tells Max and The Cap'n that both doctor and mother are okay. The Cap'n makes a comment about "the family way," like, who says that anymore? Max asks how it happened, and Dr. Vertes says, "The usual way." Now how does she know that? Jase could have been artificially inseminated, or implanted with some other sort of creature. Do you mean to tell me that the Manticore doctors wouldn't try to breed more transgenics to see what happens? Anyway, this is all an excuse to get Dr. Vertes to reveal that some of the older subjects were allowed to "maintain their normal cycles for research purposes." Max gets all annoyed that Dr. Vertes considers them "a bunch of lab rats." Dr. Vertes walks off. The Cap'n tells Max that whatever Dr. Vertes did, it's in the past, and she has just saved Jase, her baby, and possibly The Cap'n himself. Max doesn't want to be nice to her, but The Cap'n points out that "not everything and everyone associated with Manticore is evil incarnate." Max hisses, "We'll agree to disagree on that one." The Cap'n points out that Jase could have already contacted Lydecker (while she was restrained and unconscious?), and Max discloses that Jase is on a "deep cover op" and will have "minimal contact with base" until the mission is complete. The Cap'n says that he doesn't like Jase being there. I'm not sure what that was all about, but it was weird.
Max stands over Jase's bed and stares at her, like that's not creepy. Jase wakes up and starts straining to get up, while having flashbacks of the brainwashing she got where she learned to associate Max's face with concepts such as "traitor" and "plague." I bet James Cameron wishes he could brainwash all of the viewers to think things like "good acting" and "more than a set of lips and boobs" when we look at Jessica Alba's face, but it ain't going to work. Jase breaks out of her restraints, and Max pins her down, saying, "I will kill you if you leave me no other choice. But you have to ask yourself, 'Do you feel lucky, punk? Do ya?'" Okay, she doesn't say that. But she should have. Really, she asks Jase if she wants her baby to die too. Max refastens the restraints. Jase doesn't know what Max is talking about, so Max tells Jase that she's pregnant. Jase thinks it's "a psy-op." Jase looks horrified and says that Max is crazy. Max starts asking Jase about her pregnancy as Dr. Vertes eavesdrops from the doorway. Max reminds Jase that Manticore will take her child away and she'll never see it again, "just like with our mothers." Then there's a flashback of a sobbing mother being led away from a newborn. Okay, I know they're transgenic and all, but you want me to believe that they remember their birth? Whatever. Jase says that "the only thing that matters is accomplishing the objective." Max says that "everything matters except the objective." Jase points out that Max betrayed everything, including her "brothers and sisters." Max says that she isn't the enemy. Dr. Vertes listens in as Jase says that she will complete her mission, return to base, surrender to command, and accept "whatever disciplinary action they deem necessary." Dr. Vertes walks away.
In her office, Dr. Vertes gives Cap'n EO another shot. More medi-babble. Cap'n EO is hooked up to the reclining bicycle again. This time, Dr. Vertes makes the pedals move mechanically and then stops them, and tells the Cap'n to move the pedals himself. After he fails to do so in about ten seconds, she says they'll try again, but The Cap'n wants to keep trying. He manages to move the pedals about an inch, twice, and Dr. Vertes tells him that he's on his way back. The Cap'n notices that Max has entered the room. Dr. Vertes gives her a slight smile, but Max walks away. The Cap'n grins.
Max brings Jase some food and asks if the baby is moving. Jase says that she's "not far enough along for that." Max asks if she misses the baby's daddy. Jase says that he's "a lab tech at the base," and then asks if Max regrets leaving Manticore. Max never has, because she gets to "choose how to live [her] life," and has freedom. Jase tells her to spare the propaganda. Max starts in with the keeping-the-baby business, and insists that Jase is "a human being with free will." Jase says that's easy for Max to say, because she's "not in restraints." Ooh, burn. I hope they have fire extinguishers in the future, because Max just got BURNED! Max undoes the restraints and says in a tiny voice, "I can help you, Jase, if you let me."
A phone rings on a dock somewhere. Lydecker answers. It's Dr. Vertes. Lydecker is surprised to hear from her, since he's trying to kill her and all. Dr. Vertes says that they used to "chat over coffee," and now she has trouble getting him on the phone. Lydecker says that it's out of his hands, but if she turns herself in, he can "use [her] body for research." Oh, that's a tempting offer. Dr. Vertes says that he "used to use it for a whole lot more than that." Oh, ew. Dr. Vertes reveals that Jase is AWOL and pregnant, and offers to return Jase and Max if Lydecker will call off the death orders. Lydecker agrees. Oh, that evil Dr. Vertes.
Max walks into the Halls of Justice and tells The Cap'n that "Jase has decided to switch teams." She's going to become a lesbian? Oh, she's leaving Manticore. The Cap'n wonders if they can believe her. Max believes Jase and asks The Cap'n to make arrangements to get Jase out of the country. The Cap'n is only too happy to get Jase away from Dr. Vertes. Max says that Jase is alone at the safe house, and that she trusts her. Max asks about The Cap'n's legs. The Cap'n says they are still wobbly, but he has another appointment with Dr. Vertes that afternoon. Max says that "life is good," and leaves.
Jase lies on a mattress on the floor at the safe house. She hears a noise -- it's Lydecker, Dr. Vertes, and some jackbooted thugs. She doesn't look that surprised to see them. Lydecker interrogates Jase, who basically grovels for forgiveness. Lydecker points out that Jase's mission was "to eliminate this individual, here." Lydecker pulls out a gun…and shoots Dr. Vertes. D'oh! Never trust anyone from Manticore. Lydecker looks a little bit sad, but not too sad. Jase asks for permission to speak, but Lydecker denies it, and then says that Jase's "current medical situation provides a unique research opportunity." Lydecker asks if Jase has any problems with that. Jase says no, and is given permission to speak, so she says, "It was never my intention to abandon the objective, sir. As a prisoner of the rogue X5, I gave the appearance of cooperation in order to gain her trust and redeploy." Evil! I told you! Unless she's lying. Lydecker says that Jase will be debriefed, but right now "the rogue X5 is [their] top priority." Jase will return to duty.
At JamPony HQ, someone is doing bike tricks. Yawn. Normal breaks it up with some sort of weighted boomerang quarter. He throws it, it hits the bike trick guy in the head (which causes him to fall to the floor), and then it rolls back to Normal's feet. I have GOT to get me one of those. Pointless. Max gets a page and calls Jase, who says that she's started bleeding. Max says she'll get a doctor and be right over. Of course, Lydecker is sitting right there while Jase makes the call, so it's all a trap.
Max approaches the not-so-safe-anymore house on her motorcycle. The Manticore goons prepare to take Max down. Baldy Goon reminds Lydecker that "she" authorized the use of deadly force, but Lydecker doesn't give a damn! He's going to make like Frank Sinatra and do it his way. Jase watches Max approach out the window, and then signals to two goons to leave. Jase then pulls out a watch, and Max uses her super-zoom eyesight to see that Jase is using the watch's reflection from the (non-existent) sun to give her an "escape and evade" signal. Go, Jase! Max reverses directions. Lydecker tells the goons to initiate pursuit. Jase exits the building, and Lydecker orders her to return to her position. Jase rips off her headset and takes off, kicking some goon ass along the way. Max zooms back on the bike to help out. Jase hops on the back of the bike and they take off, taking out goons along the way. Then. Oh, then. Max pops a wheelie for no reason, and then heads up a ramp that allows her to fly over Lydecker's head. He reaches for his gun (which he should have already had out the moment he realized that Jase was double-crossing them), and Max flies overhead and blows him a kiss. It was so bad. I can't even adequately describe how stupid it was. Max and Jase escape. Baldy Goon wonders how Lydecker will describe this to "her" in his report, because "she's going to be one pissed-off lady." Would they just show us this lady already? Lydecker looks a lot like William Shatner.
At the Hall of Justice, Max tells The Cap'n that Vertes is dead. The Cap'n is all depressed, but he recovers enough to tell Max that Jase can leave the country that night. The Cap'n suggests that Max go to Dr. Vertes's office and yank his medical records, since Max is mentioned in them. Max says woodenly, "Right," and gets up to live. Then she turns and tells The Cap'n that "this is going to be okay." He agrees. They stare at each other for about ten minutes, like, would she kiss him already? Then she leaves.
Max sneaks into Dr. Vertes's office, which is unlocked. She pulls The Cap'n's files, but drops them on the floor. While picking it up, she sees his psychiatric evaluation, and focuses in on words like "despondent" and "suicide," and then remembers that he told her that he wouldn't live his life in a wheelchair. Cut to The Cap'n hitting his leg against his desk robotically. Cut to Max speeding down the highway. Cut to The Cap'n pulling a gun and some ammo out of his desk drawer. Max is still speeding down the highway. The Cap'n loads the gun. As he raises the gun, he notices some water dripping on his keyboard. He looks up to see that there's a leak coming through the ceiling. Max, still speeding. The Cap'n goes upstairs to the (apparently unlocked) apartment of his elderly upstairs neighbor. You know, the one he talked to at the beginning of the episode? She fell in the bathroom, and now the sink is overflowing. The Cap'n says he'll call the paramedics, but Elderly Neighbor suggests that he should let her die. She thinks that she's too old to live any more. The Cap'n asks her to stop talking like that and dials the phone. See, because…oh, you get it.
Max arrives at the Halls of Justice and can't find The Cap'n at first, but sees the gun sitting on the desk. She finally sees him and hugs him, saying that she was "so scared." Jessica Alba tries to summon up "scared," but fails. The Cap'n hugs her back. He explains about the accident upstairs and nonchalantly puts the gun back in the garbage, like, why would he throw it away? Max asks if the Elderly Neighbor will be okay, and The Cap'n says that she'll be fine. But they're really talking about…oh, you got that too. Sorry.
Max loads Jase onto a bus headed for Mexico. Jase thanks her, and Max tells her to "make sure the kid has an excellent life." Jase wonders about the baby daddy, and Max says she'll try to contact him so that they don't get busted. Jase feels like she just woke up from a bad dream. Max says that's "one of the reasons why [she doesn't] sleep." Wait, what? She doesn't sleep? You'd think they'd have mentioned -- oh, that's right. They mention it every week. Also, if it's that easy to overcome Manticore's brainwashing techniques, why haven't more people done it? I'm just saying. In the ultimate syrupy ending, Jase says that whether it's a boy or a girl, she's naming the baby Max. Puke. Jase gets on the bus and takes off.
Max sits on the Desiccated Space Needle and hopes that The Cap'n will be okay. She realizes that it's been eleven years since she escaped from Manticore. We see her pop the cork on a bottle of champagne and offer up a toast to Lydecker -- well, she tells him to kiss her ass. Um, again. Coffee is unavailable, but bottles of champagne are as common as…imported beer? Whatever.
In two weeks: I don't even know. I watched the whole preview twice, and I still can't tell what's going on. Something about a little kid, and he has visions, but they're real, and it's a small town, and then Max hits some people with a pool cue and then there's a big explosion. That's all I got.