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Erica receives an intriguing invitation through Tyler: Anna wants the four of them -- herself, Erica, Tyler, and Lisa -- to have an intimate little dinner together aboard the mothership. Erica plans to come for the food and stay for the opportunity to blow the shit out of Anna's soldier-eggs. There are just a number of logistical issues to be overcome. First and chief among these is the fact that Joshua is forced to ditch his secret communication device before his part in the plan can be finalized, so he decides it's time to call in that favor Lisa owes him. Father Jack tries to get a message up to Joshua through Chad, hoping that the message will be cryptic enough to keep everyone out of trouble while testing Chad's loyalties. Chad flunks that test with flying colors, and Joshua is exposed and confined. Joshua does his best to convince Chad that the Vs are not our friends, and tells him where to look for proof. Sure enough, Chad secretly finds the chamber of horrors, but it's not immediately clear what his move is other than to have to listen to some of Anna's veiled threats.
Kyle's job, meanwhile, is to keep Marcus off the ship during the operation. That goes well enough, but Marcus has an agenda of his own: he expects Kyle to infiltrate the Fifth Column and spy on them for the Vs, counting on Kyle's history of retail loyalty. Kyle doesn't offer a discount for having half the job completed already.
What else is going wrong with the plan? Well, the tiny purse Erica used to smuggle a tiny bomb aboard is confiscated before dinner, and the scheduled diversion Joshua was supposed to create doesn't seem to be materializing. Fortunately, when Erica makes an excuse to leave the table, Lisa "busts" her, tells her she's on her side, gives her a new and better blue energy bomb, then springs Joshua so he can create the diversion as planned. Erica finds her way to the (unattended) egg chamber so she can blow the place to shit, which she does. And then she kills Joshua, at his insistence, to keep herself above suspicion. Which also works, and Erica and Tyler leave after Anna assures them that Joshua was a human in a V uniform.
In other news, Val has been rudely abducted, right in the middle of labor. Upon hearing that Val's been nabbed, Ryan bulls his way up onto the ship, but only because Anna wants to take a shot at bringing him back to her side anyway. Out of Ryan's sight, Val pops the little beastie out, and then is killed by Anna. Afterward, she denies the latter act to Ryan, and offers to take Val's place. And then she hauls off and Blisses him. As for the child, we don't get a look at it, but we know it makes electronically altered cooing noises and has a digital reptilian tail.
Even after such a busy evening, Erica and Kyle make it back to the church in time to hear Father Jack commit professional suicide, speaking out against the Vs to the congregation in defiance of Father Travis's orders and all but clearing the place out before getting his own ass fired. But Chad's there too, and it looks like he's chosen his side.
Given all the irons she's had in the fire, it's perhaps understandable that Anna's so slow to discover the massacre of her soldier eggs. She gives quite an impressive emotional display for a first-timer, ugly-cry and all. In revenge, Anna does something that turns the skies worldwide to a roiling pink. Prematurely or not, she's getting Biblical on humanity's ass.
And finally, Joshua is brought back to life, presumably so Marcus can ask him who he was working with. If Erica's serious about fighting Vs, she's really going to have to get a lot better at killing them.
--M. Giant
Want more? The full recap starts right below!Under the cover of darkness, Anna's Soldier is feasting on venison sushi. No, not at the latest Emeril Lagasse restaurant. His CGI mouth with its 962* teeth (*not all shown) are neck deep in dead deer in a darkened wood. He hears something (us?) and loses the jaw but gains some pretty reptilian eyes. All the better for seeing your beating heart, my dear. Elsewhere in the daylight, Val is hard at labor with Dr. Pearlman's assistance. Val is lying in bed, panting, whinging, and is two-centimeters dilated. Some women are waxing the floors and making meatloaf at two centimeters, but it does not surprise me at all that Val is flat on her back and whining. Dr. Pearlman pats her on the shoulder and uses her vast intergalactic medical knowledge to tell Val that the baby is coming. Val asks Dr. Pearlman for a fateful glass of water. You know in the story The Beauty and The Beast where Beauty asks her dad for a single rose and it sounds easy enough but he swipes it from the Beast's gardens and Beauty ends up in indentured sex slavery to repay the Beast for the cost of the rose? This was just like that. Dr. Pearlman goes to get the water, opens the door and The Soldier is standing there. He smashes her across the room while Val screams. Then he grabs Val.
Things are happier and less shitty in other parts of the world. Erica is pouring Tyler his orange juice while he moodily eats his brekkie. Erica smacks him around (with kindness!) until he confesses that Anna invited them to dinner Chez Alien. Erica surprises Tyler by quickly agreeing to break bread with Anna and Lisa. Tyler runs off to tell Lisa the good news, while Erica runs off to call Father Jack. She has a plan. At the church, Ryan is M.I.A., so Erica tells Father Jack and Kyle her plan. Tyler is joining the Live Aboard Program and there is nothing she can do about that, but she can try and stop Anna from birthing those babies. She is going to charge aboard the ship and blow the shit out of it. Kyle, obviously, really likes this plan. Father Jack, obviously, has some doubts. He points out that none of them have ever been up there and have no idea where the egg nursery (hatchery?) is on the ship. Erica concedes that point, so they call up their Man on the Ship, Joshua. He declares the plan impossible. Actually he said "Kim Possible" but he watches WAY too much Disney Channel. Ever since they done blowed up that shuttle, Anna has had the ship on lockdown. It is too hard to get around, even for him. Besides, there are only two ways into the hatchery: Through a guarded corridor and through a secret passage in Anna's bedroom. Erica quickly explains that she has been invited to dinner in Anna's chamber and can sneak in to the hatchery between courses. Joshua exclaims, "That's so Raven!" while Kyle reminds him that he has to create a diversion to distract Anna while Erica does her darndest to blow those eggs into alien omelets. Joshua will do his best, but he needs to know that they will really be there before he risks everything on his end. He has to go because his Fifth Column cohort has an urgent message: Anna has released a new fleet of guards. They are searching everyone. Joshua has to ditch the communication device or risk being outed as a closet Fifth Column fan.
Erica, Father Jack, and Kyle show up at Ryan's house with an Edible Arrangement, an entire season of Emeril: Kicking it Up a Notch--BAM!, and a Whitman's Sampler. But he is still having a sad. In fact, he is too sad to even sit in a chair and instead is hunched on the floor like he is hyperventilating and needs better circulation. Erica asks him what's up and he tersely answers that he needed his phone line free because Val is having his baby. Everyone looks surprised. Especially because he has an iPhone and they do have call waiting on top of a variety of other useful functions. They then explain that Erica is going to blow the Mothership out of the sky. The prospect of blowing shit up snaps Ryan out of his funk and he quickly grabs his car keys and Certs, because he's going with her. Erica wants him to stay in case Val needs him, but Ryan protests, "Damn, woman, I have an iPhone! She can call me." Erica remains firm, but Ryan wants to know how she is going to get out from under both Anna and No. 2's watchful eyes. Kyle steps forward and volunteers to get No. 2 off the ship. He pretends he has never met the man before, but knows that as No. 1 on the V's Most Wanted List, No. 2 will probably heed his call. They have a plan!
Up on the Mothership, Anna is painting her nursery green and humming lullabies to her pretty pretty soldier eggs. They are almost ready to hatch and she is just bursting with pride. No. 2 joins her to report that the armada from the home planet has arrived early. They are cloaked and within striking range of earth. Anna smiles at the news, but orders the ships to remain cloaked until they are ready for the stage. After the soldier babies are hatched and the ships uncloak, earth won't know what hit it. Oh, I think when thousands of flesh-eating soldiers and hundreds of alien crafts appear in the sky, earth will have some sense of the shit storm raining down on them. We're smart like that.
Kyle has realized that Joshua's communication device has stopped working and they have no means to get in touch with him. Father Jack demands that without Joshua's support Erica has to abandon the plan. Geez, what a wussy. Kyle suggests they skywrite a message to Joshua, which isn't half bad, really. Father Jack has a much much worse idea: Use Chad Decker to deliver a message. Erica and Kyle are like, dude, have you been sipping from the communion cup again? Because that is the WORST idea since the time Ryan thought it would be super easy to blow up that space shuttle. Father Jack promises to write the message in a code he got off his Little Saint Josephine Secret Decoder Ring, so if Chad delivers the message to Anna, she won't be able to understand the note. And if Chad gives the note to Joshua, mission accomplished! Erica and Kyle are both stunned by the stupidity of this plan that they don't have the strength to argue.
Ryan's phone finally rings. Dr. Pearlman breathlessly announces that the Visitors took Val. She fails to mention that she is a crap fighter. Ryan grabs his coat and marches down to the Visitors' Visitor Center. He closes his eyes and starts punching. Anna watches the turmoil and decides they should let him on board. He is an interesting specimen and she would like to...um, study him. Alone, in her quarters, without his shirt on. No. 2 looks offended because he is basically Smithers to her Mr. Burns and is so obviously in love with her. Anna straightens her tie (well, she would if she was wearing one) and restates her case: Ryan resisted her Bliss, fell in love with a human, joined the Fifth Column (no, not the boy band), and spawned a baby. If she can turn him back to her, she can turn anyone. No. 2 almost believes her, but then she licks her lips and fixes her hair.
Somehow Father Jack has gotten Chad Decker's phone number and left him a message. Chad shows up at the church wearing his quizzical face. Jack explains that "one of his parishioners" gave him an urgent message that has to be delivered to the Mothership. He doesn't know who it has to be delivered to exactly, but Chad can just leave it in the medical bay. Um...nice move, Father Jack. You totally just set Joshua up to go down. Brilliant plan. Chad doesn't believe that there are any Visitors in the Fifth Column, but Father Jack swears that even Anna's own people-like subjects are turning against her. He then places all of his eggs in Chad's basket and tells him that Anna is setting up the Fifth Column as a terrorist organization and Chad is helping her do it. Chad looks a bit chastened, but also doesn't totally believe it. Although it is kind of hard to call a priest a liar. Father Jack pleads with Chad to deliver the message.
Up on the ship, Joshua is taking a risk of his own. He tells Lisa that he is cashing in on the favor she owes him for faking
her empathy test results. He tells her that at 7 o'clock earth Eastern standard time, they are creating a diversion so Anna's baby soldiers can be blowed up. He hands Lisa a salt shaker for the ensuing omelet. Honestly, I have no idea what it was he handed her, but she knows and she looks concerned. She reminds Joshua that he is asking her to betray her mother and murder her own kind. Joshua nods, because he knows. But he also knows that she loves Tyler and that Anna has a plan for him and all the humans. That plan is an all you can eat buffet where the earthlings are the star entrée. It's time for Lisa to pick sides. Lisa takes the salt shaker.
Ryan's shuttle lands on the Mothership and he comes out fighting. A line of guards prevents him from going anywhere. He demands to see Anna and she is more than happy to talk to him. She fully admits that Val is on the ship. She kidnapped her to save her! Her pregnancy is a miracle, but a miracle with accompanying dangers like the stigmata or a sudden blindness. Anna wishes Ryan had come to her earlier for help, but now that he's here with Val, won't he let her help him? Ryan looks full of doubts and suspicions, but doesn't really have a choice. I mean, he's trapped on a ship, Val is trapped on the ship, his soon to be born ent is on the ship. They just got a Pinkberry. What the fuck? He stays. Ryan walks into Val's room eating a Pinkberry cone and taking in her surroundings. Val is on a metal slab in the middle of a large stark delivery room where all the doctors are ignoring her. Sorry to see the Future has not improved upon the child birth experience. Val is so happy to see Ryan and begs him to get her out of there. But Ryan has had a change of heart laced in his fro yo and thinks Val should stay. Her pregnancy is really difficult and complicated and shit and she should probably let the nice doctors continue to ignore her. Val shrieks in pain (no Scientological silent birth for the Vs either -- take that Xenu!) and the doctor wanders over to announce that the baby is crowning and it is time for Ryan to leave. I have seen the future of child birth...and it looks like 1952.
Erica is getting dressed for her dinner date and is giving Kyle and Father Jack a little FBI peepshow as she adjusts her gun on her inner leg holster. Kyle admires it brazenly while Father Jack averts his eyes and crosses himself. Kyle explains the explosive device that Erica will use "to scramble the bitch's eggs". It's a gen egg beater! Okay, no, it's a gen explosive that even alien technology can't pick up. No one asks how exactly Kyle knows what alien technology can detect, but since the supposedly super advanced explosive looks just like a Dr. Scholl's gel insert my guess is that the Vs in their skin sacks don't know nothing about achy sore feet. (What? I'm decrepit. Shut up.) Kyle puts the gel insert in Erica's "clutch"; he corrects Father Jack's assertion that it is a purse. Jesus, Father Jack, don't you know anything about women's fashion accessories? It's like you've been cloistered with men for the last ten years. Oh...right. And, Kyle? I'm not quite sure what it says about you that you feel compelled to correct a PRIEST on the etymology of PURSE vs. CLUTCH. Kyle slips the initiator into Erica's cell phone. All she needs to do is strap on an apron and she is ready to make a soufflé. Kyle explains that he will be sure to get No.2 off the ship so Erica can get her job done. She makes meaningful eyes at Kyle and then at Father Jack (slut!) and then heads off to her destiny. In high heels and a satin shirt. Like Charo with a gun holster.
Chad Decker did not pass go, but went directly to Anna with Father Jack's note and the instruction that it was to go to the medical bay. Chad asks her if this note means that there are Visitors in the Fifth Column; Anna swears that her people are loyal and that the message must be intended for the Live Aboard humans. Even up here they have been infiltrated by the Fifth Column. Chad sighs that he just doesn't want anyone else to get hurt. Anna reaches out and gropes Chad's hand AND forearm (which I'm pretty sure is third base in V-human relations) and promises that once they eradicate the Fifth Column, no one else will be harmed.
In a dark parking garage, Kyle pulls his gun and ducks and runs to a black SUV. He pulls the door open, gun at the ready, but the SUV is empty. No.2 is standing behind him and blithely tells him to drop the gun, because they have a lot to discuss. Kyle shrugs and holsters his weapon. No.2 hands him a briefcase and Kyle hands him a floppy disk full of Dr. Parker's research into reptilian viruses. No. 2 looks at the disk like, "WTF is this bullshit? We are ADVANCED technological lifeforms. We don't have any Apple IIe on the ships." And Kyle laughs that he had to protect himself somehow. As soon as No.2 gives him some information on why the Visitors are single white female-ing his hairy ass and keep framing him for things he will give them the rest of the information. No. 2 mutters, "curses, foiled again." He sighs and explains that they framed Kyle because they want to HIRE him. This has all been a big job interview. Kyle is unimpressed because he really would have preferred some sort of Celebrity Apprentice style hiring process. No. 2 then makes his big reveal: Kyle has already been working for the Visitors for years. He shows Kyle the photographic evidence and HR forms to prove their prior working relationship. Hey Kyle? YOU'RE HIRED!
Erica anxiously clutches Tyler's arm as they prepare to board the shuttle to the Mothership. He begs her not to embarrass him and Erica simply smiles, which should have been a big tip off to Tyler that something was up. On the ship, Anna's guards inform her that no personal items or firearms are allowed in Anna's private chambers. Erica sighs, hoists her skirt, humiliates her son, and unclips her gun. But she doesn't relinquish her clutch easily and the guard ends up allowing her to keep her cell phone in case she gets a call from work. After the awkward interlude, Anna and Lisa come out to greet their guests. Anna leaves them to attend to a brief matter to before she can join them.
Chad Decker has wandered into Joshua's medical lab. He tries to hand Father's Jack message to Joshua, but Joshua refuses it claiming he has no friends on the ground. As soon as Chad leaves, Joshua's Fifth Column cohort excoriates Joshua for refusing the message, which was most likely from Erica. Joshua points out that, BIG DUH: Chad Decker is Anna's willing pawn and cannot be trusted. His friend wants to send out a message to all Fifth Column members not to trust Chad, because apparently all Fifth Column members are a few sandwiches short of a picnic and are not smart enough to realize that Chad is a tool. Also, Anna's tool. Joshua nods that it should be done.
Meanwhile, Kyle is grilling No. 2 on exactly why the Visitors chose him for their scut work. No. 2 shrugs that Kyle has a long history of selling his services to the highest bidder. Kyle looks stung, like, hey dude, words hit as hard as a fist! No.2 tells him that they want him to infiltrate the Fifth Column and report back to them. Kyle laughs, but doesn't offer them any sort of discount for, you know, already having infiltrated the Fifth Column. Kyle points out that he still has Parker's research and wants the deal on his terms. If not, he's leaving and they will NEVER find him. No.2 shrugs. They may never be able to find HIM, but they already found HER. He hands Kyle a picture and Kyle blanches. Infiltrating the Fifth Column it is!
Up on the ship, Chad Decker looks a little unsettled as Anna's goons march past him towards the medical lab. Gosh, Chad, did you fuck up? The soldiers march into the lab, arrest Joshua's assistant and put Joshua in a tube of light that I guess is a temporary jail cell. The soldier barks that Anna will personally deal with Joshua, which sounds like a whole lot of fun. As the soldier's leave, Chad wanders back in to see his handiwork. He snorts that the message WAS for Joshua and Joshua angrily retorts that Chad set them up. Chad, being a moron, shrugs because Fifth Column = Bad. Anna said so. Joshua tries to impress upon him the error of his ways: Anna has him fooled, the Fifth Column is trying to SAVE humanity, Anna is evil and didn't prevent his aneurysm, but GAVE him one. Joshua directs Chad to a secret corridor to Anna's executive suite (not platinum level? better earn those reward points Anna). At the end of that corridor is a lab where all the Live Aboard humans are taken. Chad will find all his answers there. The inner journalist in Chad is curious, if the sad outer husk of a man is too trod upon to care.
Father Jack comes into his office and finds the Senior Padre looking over the homily he wrote for the evening's mass. He is not happy with what he has read about how Jack thinks the Visitors are false prophets leading people away from the one true god. Father Jack claims it's just a rough draft, but the Senior Padre isn't buying it, so Jack explains that he hasn't truly spoken from his heart about how he feels about the Visitors and he has lost touch with his parishioners because of it. Now he wants to rectify that situation. The Senior Padre says no. He wants no messages of hate delivered from his pulpit. The Visitors are a miracle from god like water and babies and chocolate-covered cornflakes. If Jack delivers that sermon, he will no longer be welcome in the church. Jack gulps and goes to the garden to pray.
Val has finally managed to push the baby out. As she collapses back on the cold metal table, she demands to see her child. The doctor has wrapped it in a blanket and shows Val her little bundle of oy. Even though they are pulling some Rosemary's Baby malarkey and we don't get to see the baby, judging from Val's face, we know the kiddo ain't going to be running for any Gerber baby competitions any time soon. The doctor notes the look of "yechh" on Val's face and takes the baby away. Anna arrives just then and looks at the babe. She tells the doctor that she is happy the baby survived, but is sad that the mother didn't. She then walks over and injects Val with something toxic that was just helpfully sitting there you know just in case Val got mouthy or something. Anna stares into Val's eyes as she dies. So long Val. I will really miss...oh Christ, nevermind.
After attending to her little situation of murder, Anna walks back to join her dinner guests. No word as to whether she washed her hands between. Anna gushes over Erica balancing a busy career as an FBI agent and head of the Fifth Column task force and being a single mom to a teenage son. Erica smiles that she and Anna have so much in common and should definitely form an intergalactic single working mothers support group. Just then Erica's phone rings and she wanders into Anna's private chamber to answer the fake call and look for the egg hatchery. As she looks for the correct door, Lisa finds her. Erica claims she was just looking for her purse, but Lisa scoffs. She knows why Erica is there. She takes a deep breath and points out the correct door. Then she hands Erica the salt shaker (I am loathe to think of where she was hiding that since her skin tight dress does not have pockets) and explains that it is a blue energy grenade. She tells Erica how to use it, but tells her she has to wait. She can't be gone from the table that long. Erica explains that there was supposed to be a diversion, but something went wrong. Lisa says she will figure something out. Erica heads back out to eat with the enemy. Lisa walks to Joshua's lab and finds him caught in his blue Habitrail prison looking glum. When Lisa sees him she asks what happened and he quickly tells her that, "Bitch set me up!" Everyone has been rounded up, but if Lisa sets him free he can still cause a diversion. Lisa has chosen sides and quickly releases him from the tube. Before he runs off to create a diversion so Erica can blow up the babies, she pauses, looks him in the eye and tells him he is very brave. He bows his head and thanks "his queen". Lisa looks touched and stunned, but runs back to dinner before things go kablooie.
Chad Decker's inner journalist has forced him to track down the secret corridor that Joshua mentioned. He hears the screams as soon as he enters. He sees the Machine of a Thousand Needles with a human woman strapped inside screaming in terror. He does not look pleased. Jackass.
Anna's intimate dinner party is interrupted by a security guard announcing that she has to be moved to a secure location because they are under attack by the Fifth Column. Erica offers to help, but she will need her gun. Anna agrees, because Erica is an ally. I think "frenemy" is more apt. As Anna is scuttled away, Erica has free run of the ship. With her weapon drawn, she heads straight for the hatchery. She enters the room and makes a serious Mr. Yuck face. She fights her heebie jeebies long enough to toast to Anna's future, chuck the grenade, and make a run for it. Erica jumps out the doors on a wave of blue energy. She rushes into the hallway and finds Joshua holed up shooting. She quickly tells him that it's done, so all that's left is to get him off the ship. Joshua knows it is impossible. There can be no suspicion that Erica is Fifth Column. She has to shoot him. Erica tries to think of another option, but Joshua is right. He trains his gun on her and she gulps and fires two rounds into his heart. He goes down. I hope she got the right side of the body this time! Later, Anna thanks Erica for taking out the terrorist and saving Visitors' lives. Erica smiles blandly. Anna asks if Erica was able to see the shooter, but Erica claims all she saw was a V uniform. Anna quickly claims that the shooter was a human who snuck aboard and stole a V uniform. It was definitely an evil human, not a Visitor. Erica blinks twice and then apologizes to Anna for the inconvenience her species has caused her. Anna spots Chad Decker and excuses herself. She wants to thank Chad for delivering that message and exposing the Fifth Column members. Chad looks a little paler than he did before and wanly says that he hopes nothing drives the Visitors away. Anna smiles broadly that they are here to stay. She then thanks Chad for all his loyalty. He has trusted them with his career AND his health. Without them he would have nothing. Now, this may just be me, but THAT was a really crap thank you. It kind of sounded more like a threat, really. Chad blanches even more and wanders off to the shuttle. Anna returns to Erica and Tyler and Lisa. Erica thanks her for the eventful evening and Anna promises they will do it again soon. Erica and Tyler head back to earth as Anna stares after them.
Oh yeah, Val is dead. Ryan is crouched over her body stroking her dead face and looking sad when Anna finds him. Ryan stands to glare at Anna and asks, "You killed her, didn't you?" He wraps his hand around her throat, because THAT WAS RHETORICAL, BITCH! Anna pulls his hand off of her reminding him that she had *air quotes* use for Val and didn't want her dead. She swears they did everything in their power to try and save Val's life, but, really, it's Ryan's fault for not bringing Val to the ship sooner. Nice blaming the victim, Anna! And, Ryan, THIS is why you don't leave your girlfriend alone in the delivery room. Chucklehead. Anna swears again that she didn't do it and is really sorry that Ryan is having all these Feelings making him feel like shit. She was trying to protect him from human emotions. So clearly this is his fault, too. Does he want a hug?
Despite their busy evening, Erica and Kyle make it to Father Jack's church in time to hear his homily. Is this a regular occurrence or did they both just need a little religion in their lives after their big nights? Personally I would be doing shots in the parking lot, but I also don't tend to pal around with priests. Kyle congratulates Erica on getting out alive and she thanks him for following through on his task and getting No. 2 off the ship. She totally thought he would fuck it up, so mazel tov! Oh, is that okay to say in a Catholic church? Probably in New York it is. Father Jack starts in with his anti-Visitor sermon. He was a man who was lost, but now is found. He has found his calling in his decision to denounce the Vs. He warns his parishioners that they cannot serve two masters and they must choose between god and the Visitors. Alternatively, god and Justin Bieber or god and pie. You just can't serve two masters! A bunch of people get up to go and the Senior Padre is glaring furiously at Jack. Jack keeps on keeping on as Erica and Kyle watch, impressed, even though, honestly, it's kind of a stupid move, because clearly this will put Father Jack on the Visitors' radar. As Jack warns about a war for the souls of humanity, up on the ship, Ryan is still sadly stroking Val's dead arm when Anna grabs him and forces him to Bliss. He struggles at first, but then gives in to Anna's words of peace and wholeness and no pain and no heartache. Jack's congregation has emptied out, save for a few brave souls who are ready to fight the Visitors. As Jack declares that V should no longer stand for Visitor, but for Victory (but not for vendetta because they would have to be paying some royalties and: No), he asks who will stand with him? Erica and Kyle stand up, and so do the remaining members of the congregation although a few look like they really want to leave, but the baby is asleep or someone stole their walker and they can't move. Then Father Travis comes up to holler at Jack. He wa
rned him not to speak his mind on the subject, but Jack knows his mission now and he must speak from his heart, or not at all. If Father Travis won't let him speak at his church, he will do it on a street corner or on the interwebs or on cable access or on the back of a tea bag. He will make his message known. Father Travis warns him that this will end badly, but Father Jack sees Chad Decker lurking in the corner and he has hope.
Up on the ship, Ryan is Blissed out and no longer sad. Happy at her seeming success, Anna introduces Ryan to his little newt. Ryan stares at his tadpole as it coos and chirps. Actually it kind of sounds like it was auto-tuned like a little baby T-Pain. Out of the little tail hole in the receiving blanket (those Vs think of everything!) the little tail pops out and wraps around Ryan's finger. Awwww?
Later, No. 2 has the joyless task of reporting to Anna that her entire soldier brood has been destroyed. Lisa joins them as they stand in the middle of the hatchery and survey the destruction that the blue energy grenade rained down. No.2 says that they believe it was Joshua, but Anna says there is no way he could have acted alone. She demands that No.2 find out who helped him AT ANY COST. No.2 bows his head in silent assent as Lisa tries not to smile. Anna looks completely torn up and tearful as she asks, "Are they all dead??" No. 2 reports that only 12 survived but their core temperatures were severely affected and they aren't sure if they will make it. Anna then lets out a howl and opens her mouth soooooo wide that I kind of wonder if Morena Baccarin can eat a foot-long sub horizontally. Anna gasps, "What is happening to me??" and No. 2 calmly replies that he believes she is experiencing her first human emotion. Anna shrieks some more and Lisa looks a bit uncomfortable at her mother's suffering. Anna marches to the bridge with No. 2 trotting along dutifully beside her begging her not to act rashly. Anna is still crying as she angrily starts tapping at a computer screen. No. 2 grabs her arm, which is a pretty bold act for him, and reminds her that it is not time yet. She can't do this yet. Anna growls and pulls her arm away and types in the last command. The sequence is initiated and No.2 asks her if she knows what she has done? Anna coldly replies, "Vengeance." Up in space, the armada of ships from the home planet start doing... something. Anna watches with a look of peace as the sky starts roiling red. It's not just New York that is getting the red sky warning, Florence, Tokyo, even seemingly places where it is the middle of the night, the skies have gone cloudy and red. Erica sees it, Kyle sees it, Jack sees it, even Chad sees it once he stops looking at himself in the mirror. As the skies go red, we cut to the ship, where a medical crew is zapping Joshua back to life. He opens his eyes with a start and sees No. 2 staring at him and welcoming him back with a smile. Not exactly the first face I would want to see and I'm kind of guessing that Joshua wishes Erica was better at killing Vs, like, ACTUALLY DEAD. I mean, good lord, Erica, you really need to improve on that. Anna is still smiling at the reddening sky as the episode ends.
I had a lot of doubts about this show, and I still do, but this was a great episode. I am actually excited to see what happens season. If this show had ended after the first four episodes, I wouldn't have minded, but now I'm intrigued especially about Joshua and Lil T-Pain and, maybe, Chad Decker. Let's hope the writers and producers can keep it up.
Melissa Locker a.k.a. Lulu Bates will be recapping The Real Housewives of New Jersey and The Bachelorette this summer. Pray for her. Or follow her on Twitter @woolyknickers.
Watch scenes from the episode here, discuss it in our forums, then read our exclusive interview with Morena Baccarin.
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