Uprising (402)

[Chelle DB]

Though I havent seen the ep yet, I'm not too happy about the departure of Kate. I hope it's only temporary. I love Kate.

[Chelle DB]

Thing's I've enjoyed thus far:
Kate to Garis: "Looks like someone grew some"

Will to Henry: "Have fun storming the castle"

[Chelle DB]

Amanda sure does love her crane shots.

[selene0789]

Is Agam Darshi pregnant? That's the only reason I can think of that it'd be okay for her to be written into Hollow Earth... Unless she had another project she was working on or something while S4 was being filmed???

Anywho... Good ep. Not great, but then again, how did they expect this one to measure up to Tempus, I dunno.

I gotta say, the Helen-reveal was not so great as I imagined (I guess I'll be doing an episode rewrite/tag fanfic soon *sigh*), because after something like 113 years, being so freaking nonchalant about being home seems like such a major copout. With tensions running high, emotions all over the place, and the fate of the world on her shoulders STILL, I think she (and by she, I mean *WE*) deserve a little bit of a heavier reveal than "what does it take to get a decent cup of tea around here?".

Now, at the time, when I was watching it, I was thinking, oh, she's not going to tell Will what happened, that she needed to play it casual because she's going to pretend she's only been gone for hours, but then she just came right out and said it, and I felt so horribly CHEATED. There's no tender moment, no sign of relief other than a brief "so good to be home" that was cheapened by Abby being there...

Not to say that I didn't like Abby this time around. I *loved* Abby in this episode. She came in as the vehicle for reaffirming the layman's view of "oh my god! Hollow Earth?!", reminding us that the rest of the world is going to be going crazy when they find out about Abnormals, and thereby setting up the ENTIRE SEASON.

And she didn't take any crap from Will about her male friends, which I found incredibly refreshing, and that shtick wasn't even played to death (which I was so glad to see). And then at the very end of the episode where she's meeting Dr. Leigh from the UN and says "well, now you do", I was inexplicably proud of her! My exact thoughts were "Aww, our little Abby grew a spine!", and between that moment and the fact that she had deviated from her private-school uniform of a dark pantsuit over a pale blouse in favor of a crisper suit and a richer color blouse, I was thinking that she would indeed make a very good ace-in-the-hole for Will.

So, my desire to see Abby as a stronger force of character seems to be granted, which I hope isn't rescinded as the season continues.

Will also did a remarkable job, all things considered. He kept his head, even when he kept smashing it into brick walls when the government closed up its doors.

I noticed that he very quickly started making some of those hard decisions that he's criticized Magnus for in the past (I mean, he resorted to illegal hacking-- jeopardizing his girlfriend's career in the process, I might add-- in a matter of hours, and played dirty with the government as best he could to stall for time. Pretty ballsy, and easily regrettable once the danger is passed).

But plotwise, there are some questions that need to be resolved for me:

--Why did Magnus not reveal herself from the get-go? Why not open the doors that were automatically closed to Will when the world started going to heck in a handbasket?

--Why is no one at the Sanctuary getting pissed that the reciprocal agreements have been tossed aside so easily? The government tried to shut the Sanctuary out of Carentan, and then the Sanctuary was casually dismissed when the surface was being invaded, when at the very least the Sanctuary would know best how to kill the Abnormals if need be. Why isn't the Sanctuary calling out the government on the BS?

--Since when has the newbie UN Security Advisor become the stern disciplinarian teacher to the Sanctuary's naughty schoolchildren? "And then we're going to have a very long talk." WTF? Magnus now has 200+ years on this woman, and the good Doctor Hottie has the nerve to scold her? Nevermind the fact that the Sanctuary saved the day again, despite being kept out of the loop...

--How did the Sanctuary not know about the secret "Abnormal Final Solution" testing out of the Wyoming server farm? You'd think that Magnus would know better than to blindly trust ANY government by this point, so don't you think she'd have people looking for files like that? And if it's on a server that any old FBI agent can access, then it wouldn't have been too hard for Henry to find.

--And for the love of God, don't you think by now that these people would know better than to trust Colonel FREAKING Maybourne?! Oh, wait, I mean, General Villanova.... Though, I'm holding out hope for him yet. He's seems like he might have been a patsy, obeying orders he was given without fully seeing the whole picture. I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up being a powerful ally in the future, when the government gets more devious and skeevy. He's an independent contractor, after all... Mercenaries switch sides all the time, right?

And that is my episode review for the week. Long-winded, but long story short, the show has some 'splaining to do... And I can't wait to see where they run with it!

P.S. And I recognized AT's style of filming... Long crane shots-- I love it! Ever since the Stargate episode she did... PheNOMenal! It's very few directors where I can watch a piece of their work and go "oh, yeah, this is so-and-so's". So a definite kudos for this one!

[Feast of the Muse]

Agam has already stated categorically that she is NOT pregnant.

ETA: Just saw the midnight airing. Love Helen batting her eyelashes after the tea line.

Selene, why do you think she needed to make a bigger deal of being back? You could almost feel her just soaking it all in after telling Will and Abs good job. I mean, the woman was practically beaming at being back in her Sanctuary.

Also, remember that Dr. Lee has had some first-hand experience with Magnus and crew trying to slip one past her (Hangover), so she knows they are capable. She isn't just going to scold them - she needs to know more from them so she can make better decisions in a crisis. She just found out she got played BIG time. She's pissed.

You said something about why aren't they all pissed at all the agreements with the government being sliced. As to that, anger doesn't get anything done, and I'm tired of hearing Will complain anyway. When you run into a brick wall you don't just keep pounding, you look for another way. They found a back door - illegal or not - and still did their job. If they get busted later, so what? They did save the day and no one can argue that. I hope they can even use that as a bargaining chip later on.

[Rocky89]

Very good episode. It had very good effects, good story, and Amanda's directing was spot on. I liked how Will handled things, he was a good leader, and he never stopped trying protect the abnormals. I'm also going to miss Kate, but I think she'll be back, and if there's a S5, I think we'll see more of her, and we will as the season goes on. *Hugs Chelle*

I like how the abnormal thing was resolved, and and I liked the fight with the team and the baddies in this episode, Henry HAPing out on that lizard dude was wicked. Abby... she's not bad. That's all I'm going to say. As for Helen coming back, I grinned when she showed up, and how she did it was so I kinda see her a little differently now, I guess because she's older, but right now she seems the same, and it's good to see her back where she belongs.

I kinda knew she'd tell Will about her being away for 113 years from her POV, because I saw a promo of her telling Will she's had over a century to years to think about something. Anyway, overall it was a really good episode, and I look forward to next week.

[Chelle DB]

I'm ok with Abby but she did go on a little too much with the Hollow Earth thing...kinda like one of my kids rather than an FBI agent. But otherwsie she seems ok.

Helen's retirn wasn't that gobsmacking as I would have hoped...oh well, the main thing is she's back!

Gonna watch the rest later when I can...but I think I enjoyed last weeks ep somewhat more. I'm gonna miss Kate...so not fair.

[Feast of the Muse]

Hey Rocky, I agree about seeing Helen differently. She seems much more settled and happy than we have seen her in a while. Most likely she hasn't seen Druitt at all in that time, and she's had time to get over losing Ashley. I seriously wondered how on earth she was able to function the past few years. She looked... fulfilled. I approve.

[selene0789]

Hey Rocky, I agree about seeing Helen differently. She seems much more settled and happy than we have seen her in a while. Most likely she hasn't seen Druitt at all in that time, and she's had time to get over losing Ashley. I seriously wondered how on earth she was able to function the past few years. She looked... fulfilled. I approve.

Oooh... I never even considered that. Wow. Gosh, now that is some serious food for thought. Now I'll have to watch it again... Maybe it'll ease the blow of her anticlimactic return. ::scampers off::

[majorsal]

Hey Rocky, I agree about seeing Helen differently. She seems much more settled and happy than we have seen her in a while. Most likely she hasn't seen Druitt at all in that time, and she's had time to get over losing Ashley. I seriously wondered how on earth she was able to function the past few years. She looked... fulfilled. I approve.

i have a feeling she's not so refreshed and laid-back as we think...

[EvenstarSRV]

I gotta say, i did call the helen reveal. 30 seconds before it happened, but I did call it
'what's it take to get a cup of tea around here?'

and abby was actually tolerable, tolerable enough that the whole 'who all did you date' wasn't that annoying

I think my biggest issue, beyond garris' stiff acting, was just the frustration of the pig headed military mindset

ah, and kate's storyline
she goes to hollow earth.

and we get some nice new images of the sanctuary

and i was wrong, she did tell him. cool

Heh, I guessed the Magnus reveal as well as soon as Henry realized he was being monitored.

I liked Abby is this episode as well. Her shock over Hollow Earth felt realistic for someone still new to the Sanctuary craziness, and it was nicely balanced with her utilizing her contacts and getting Will the info he needed. Though now I'm a little suspicious of her having these channels into so many intelligence agencies, Interpol, CIA, etc, and now the Sanctuary via Will.

The wrapping up of the Hollow Earth abnormals and the conflict with the Lotus guys felt a bit tiresome to me, which wasn't helped by the rather repetitive dialog. I though Garrus did a pretty good job of being strong for his people but not harsh with the hostages, though I didn't expect him to to be in league with Fallon. I'm guessing Helen's sending Kate to Hollow Earth with the rest of the abnormals for a particular reason, perhaps something she set up during her 'vacation'.

I liked that Helen told Will that she'd gone back in time, but I'm guessing there's quite a bit she's going to keep secret about what she's been up to the last 113 years. Though I do wish we'd gotten a bit of a reunion scene with all the characters, esp since Kate's going off to Hollow Earth.

So it looks like Damian et al have just dropped the location ambiguity and pretty much set Old City in the US. I guess it`s impossible to have a Canadian-set show broadcast internationally.

Well, the Old City Sanctuary has always been ambiguously set somewhere in the Pacific Northwest of North America, near the Canadian border. It's never been definitively set in either the US or Canada.

[Mackandal]

Well, the Old City Sanctuary has always been ambiguously set somewhere in the Pacific Northwest of North America, near the Canadian border. It's never been definitively set in either the US or Canada.

But now that doesn`t work anymore. When they`re dealing with the FBI, Homeland Security and the Secretary of Defense, bye bye ambiguity.

[Mackandal]

Though I do wish we'd gotten a bit of a reunion scene with all the characters, esp since Kate's going off to Hollow Earth.

Likely it`ll take a few days for the abnormals to return underground; no way Kate would just leave without saying goodbye. And I`m sure that next episode we`ll get some "Holy sht, Magnus where were you" scenes from Henry/Kate/Biggie.

[majorsal]

the ep was alright for me. amanda did a good job (the ep looked beautiful and such!) but one must first have good actors to work with, and that doesn't always seem to be the case.

i had low expectation (b/c i knew that amanda/helen wouldn't be in it much), so i went into it with lower whatever, but i guess i'm still disappointed some. (i'm also going to miss kate.)

weak actors... and i don't like seeing this happen in the first few eps that are going to determine a season 5 or not.

[Abnormal]

I'm surprised that some of you are disappointed by the actors. Who are we talking about exactly? I didn't notice anything....

To me that was a really good episode even though Amanda was hardly present.

Abby was much less annoying, which I did not expect, considering how much she got on my nerves last season.

I did like the scene with Kate and Garris when she touches his heart. That was funny. I also like the storyline about her following Garris to Hollow Earth, and to me this was not a sign that she would no longer be a regular character. I'm sure we will get to see her quite often (except, of course, if it has been officially stated that she would be less present this season, but I don't think so).

I agree with the person who said that Helen is probably much less serene than she pretends to be. I felt a mixture of calm and restraint. I think she's had a hell of a time, and that does intrigue me. I hope we'll get to know more about what happened to her in the next episodes.

So far the season's been great to me! I did expect less than that, and I hope it announces a better season than season 4 (I mean with less useless episodes)!