Helix came back for a seventh episode Friday with sci-fi legend Jeri Ryan visiting the base as Ilaria COO Constance Sutton, which makes her the boss of Hatake and Ballesteros. Sutton is a layered character who speaks like she belongs in the boardroom but whips books at her employees, has sex with them while they’re in custody, and is a tough enforcer of the company plan, which in this case includes mass murder. And she’s not exactly human.
While such extreme behavior might encourage eye rolling on other shows, Helix keeps one foot in the absurd, so it works. And in case you forget, there’s cheesy music in each episode as a reminder. This week we were treated to Peggy Lee’s “You Give Me Fever.”
The tone of the show is starting to find itself. It seems to work best when it’s a combination of absurdity, suspense, and humor. Ryan made a terrific addition to the cast this week and succeeded in ramping up the action and bringing with her some new plot twists – namely that she is a silver-eyed being like Hatake, she apparently needs to file her teeth/fangs, and Hatake is considered off the rails by experimenting with Narvik B and creating the vectors. Sutton is absolutely sociopathic, and just wraps up one conversation with Hatake, making him repeat his vow that no one on the base survives, when she runs into Daniel and suggests he can't trust Hatake.We also learn that Hatake didn’t want Julia there (or at least he seemed sincere when he said it), and that the company plans to use the Narvik A strain (the one that turned the bodies into a puddle of goo) on some group, but doesn’t want to release it until they have a cure.
An interesting side note is that during a conference call interview with Jeri Ryan, she talked about filming the book scene with Hiroyuki Sanada, who plays Hatake, and called him a “ninja” because he never flinched or blinked during several takes of throwing books at him. “Every time he just batted it away like it was nothing,” Ryan said.
The show also moved the plot forward with Daniel discovering
his true identity and standing with his sister against Hatake. And Julia is back in the lab, silver eyes
and all.
Standout Quotes
Sutton: “Let’s square the circle here.”Sutton: “Virus and cure. One without the other is meaningless. We don’t want to kill everyone. Just thin the herd a little.”
Sutton: “Ilaria is about value added.”
Alan: “I don’t think our agenda is her agenda.”
What are your thoughts on this episode? Do you agree that the show is finally finding its footing?
