WRITERS: Scott Rosenbaum & Gregg Hurwitz[SPOILERS] For all its problems this season, at least V's finale capped a generally flat and disappointing year on a decent high. Some of the events in "Red Sky" were predicted weeks before, but enough was fresh and unexpected to keep you watching through to its fun climax; one that apparently signals the moment the V's drop their mask of benevolence.
DIRECTOR: Robert Duncan McNeill
GUEST CAST: Charles Mesure, Mark Hildreth, Christopher Shyer & Lucas Wolf
I've complained that the V's themselves don't feel frightening, just unsettling, and even then it's only Morena Baccarin who excels, so it was great to see this episode began by introducing a Soldier with a mouthful of dagger-like teeth and lizard-y pupils devouring a deer he's assumedly killed with his bare hands, moments before kidnapping the pregnant Val (Lourdes Benedicto) from her woodland hideout and taking her back to the New York mothership. That burly Soldier was just the right type of brutish silliness this show needs, with his turnip-shaped head and Schwarzenegger physique.Everyone had a worthwhile storyline this week: Erica (Elizabeth Mitchell) accepted an invitation to accompany her dopey son Tyler (Logan Huffman) aboard the mothership for a dinner with Anna (Baccarin) and Lisa (Laura Vandervoort), intending to destroy Anna's gestating soldier eggs (shades of Ripley in Aliens, no?); dimwit Chad (Scott Wolf) exposed Joshua (Mark Hildreth) as a member of The Fifth Column, only to realize he's been duped by Anna after discovering a secret area where humans are being experimented on; Father Jack (Joel Gretsch) followed his heart by finally speaking out about the V's to his church congregation; Hobbes (Charles Mesure) is being blackmailed into working for the V's by Marcus (Christopher Shyer), who reveals he's already been working as an unwitting instrument of the aliens for many years; Lisa decided to join the resistance and help Erica in her secret mission; and Val gave birth to her hybrid baby, only to be given a lethal injection by Anna, who then offered Ryan (Morris Chestnut) an escape from his grief by accepting her "Bliss".
Some of this had been predicted for weeks (the destruction of the eggs and Lisa's defection, notably), but there were quite a few interesting developments, and overdue confirmation about where Chad loyalties lie. I can't help thinking the weeks of ambiguity over Chad's character wasn't always intentional, as it often felt like the actor and a few writers weren't sure how to treat his character. Ruthless collaborator or misguided narcissist? He was often both within the same episode. At least now he's setup to be the Fifth Column's mole who stands by Anna's side as her trusted human liaison.
One surprise was seeing the beginning of Ryan's return to the fold, with Anna using his acquired emotions against him. I can't quite believe it's going to be as simple as that, because surely the V's plan for mankind is something Ryan will still be morally against, no matter how comforting Anna's "Bliss" state is compared to dealing with Val's death. Maybe Ryan will be back as a brainwashed villain for season 2, at least until he rediscovers his humanity... but however brief his repatriation is, won't he quickly reveal to Anna who his human accomplices were?
Having Joshua insist Erica kill him to maintain her own cover was also a nice touch (given how sympathetic and honourable Joshua is as a character), but made even more interesting when his "fatal" gunshot injuries were later healed by Marcus. Could it be that Marcus is a deeper level of Fifth Column and was helping a fallen comrade, or does Marcus just realize Joshua's a valuable source of intel that needs to be tapped?
But the most intriguing moments came at the end, with Anna overwhelmed by her first human emotion after seeing her thousands of destroyed eggs. Baccarin's been the epitome of a detached villainess all year, so seeing her break into a guttural, toothy scream before falling to her knees was a very shocking moment. It seems the longer V's spend around humans the more they sympathize and mirror their emotional qualities. Anna's distress then inspired a strong cliffhanger ending, as she "de-cloaked" an armada of V ships hovering above Earth and had them contaminate the planet's atmosphere with crimson dust, quickly turning the skies blood red.
It's difficult to imagine that being a good thing (an artificial change in planetary climate that's more acceptable to V-kind?), so it would seem likely that Ana's acted rashly and started whatever plan they have to takeover the world prematurely. It'll be interesting to see if that's proven to be the case next season, which could now be about humanity realizing the Visitors want to be their lizard overlords. Or will things go back to the status quo? It does feel a bit early in V's lifespan to have unmasked the villains so blatantly.Overall, "Red Sky" was a very decent finale all things considered. The show still has many issues it needs to iron out (mainly character-related), but this episode simply required a steady stream of inciting moments and big developments -- and it certainly pulled those off. I'm not hugely excited about season 2 in principle, but given the fact the writers have months to prepare and hone their scripts (because ABC have pushed V back as a mid-season replacement), there can't be any more excuses for failure.
Asides
- I was convinced the show would reveal what a V looks like once Val gave birth to her crossbred baby, but instead they continue to tease us and only revealed it has a green tail. I wonder if the adults have tails? If so, where are those tucked away when they're "skinned" to look human? And wasn't it Anna's plan to have the hybrid baby killed because it offers hope that the Fifth Column could amass an army of their own using the human populace? Does she still intend to go through with that?
- It was a nice moment when Joshua bowed to Lisa as "my queen", subtly setting up what I assume is V's long-term goal to have Anna ousted and replaced by her benevolent daughter.
- This episode is the second one written (well, co-written) by V's new showrunner Scott Rosenbaum, formerly of The Shield and Chuck. Here, Rosenbaum enlisted the services of director Robert Duncan McNeill, who has worked extensively on Chuck.
- Must.... not moan... about.... the greenscreen.... gah!
