This episode was chock full of fascinating and exciting twists and turns, from Kiera's future past to Liber8's agenda and that of the Freelancers. And while Kiera finally chose an Alec to take out of the equation, she struggled with the ramifications of following through.
Kiera has certainly had numerous traumatic experiences in her life of which we knew nothing prior to season 3. The flashbacks to her life in the future this season have been illuminating. Add the reveal of her almost dying from an excruciatingly painful ailment that afflicted countless others to the list. While Kiera was saved by a vaccine created by a company, Sonmanto, she would thereafter assume to be heroic, the events of this episode back in 2014 showed a different story. Travis and Sonya cleverly unmasked the company's true nefariousness in a way that caused even Carlos - Carlos! - to proclaim that Liber8 was in the right this time. While amusingly seeking help from both Alecs even as the duo struggled with their own continued dispute, Keira pieced together the realization that Sonmanto created the disease that nearly killed her...and the cure. Again, the truth that Kiera believed in, one built around the Corporate Congress and all of its outgrowths, has been shown to be disturbingly corrupt, while Liber8's ruthless methods have tended to obscure the good they might do based on their beliefs and goals.
Since Future/Scar Alec has declared he has no desire to fulfill his destiny and would much prefer to run off somewhere, anywhere, with Emily, Catherine easily identified him as the Alec who needs to be exed out to secure the correct future. Kiera, while conflicted, did stun Scar Alec and take him into custody...but she was deeply bothered by this decision and its consequences. Though Catherine criticizes Scar Alec for betraying Kiera, this only makes Kiera herself realize that she forgives him for following his heart...something she wishes she could do more often. This was such a compelling and character-building experience for Kiera. As much as she's trying to do the right thing for the greater good, is she seriously ready to let Scar Alec either rot in a glass cell or be killed in order to expedite that?
Making matters even worse, Kiera learns right there, right then, while meeting with Curtis and Catherine, that it was Curtis who murdered her past self. Since Catherine seems shocked by this, especially when it is proven by the footage from the lab, there is clearly a divide between her intentions and those of Curtis. But why did he kill past Kiera if not to follow through on a Freelancer plan, such as taking that version of her out to have her replaced by the future one? Weird. One thing is for sure: already thrown off by her moral quandary about Scar Alec and the devastating reveal about Sonmanto, Kiera was in no mood to be betrayed right then, as Curtis quickly learned.
Emily made to skip town once she realized Scar Alec was gone, which seemed a bit cowardly...I hope she changes her mind and tries to save her boyfriend, who certainly went above and beyond on her behalf. Kellog was absent from this episode, and I missed him; all he got was a quick name-check by Emily warning Scar Alec not to trust him. Sonya and Travis continued to seem significantly less evil than ever as they made moves to develop a cure for Sonmanto's disease way back in 2014 due to Travis still having the antivirus in his blood. Betty continued to complain about how nobody trusts her, despite the way she's not only completely untrustworthy, but also now she's just whiny. I appreciated Kiera giving her a hint about her attitude. Carlos had the integrity to call a spade a spade after Liber8 exposed Sonmanto, but Dillon was angry that he did so on the public stage. Yeah, I still find Dillon quite unlikable.
The showdown between the Alecs was excellent, as always. I love seeing these two interact. Scar Alec noted that Past Alec is still in love with Emily, and it only escalated the tension, leading to a violent outburst that was interrupted by Kiera. While she saw, here, firsthand the dangers of having two Alecs, what a combustable mixture it truly is (what if Scar Alec had killed Past Alec and destroyed the future that needs to occur to prevent catastrophe?), and made her move, it's never going to be easy for her to simply dismiss one Alec. This episode also peeled back more layers on Past Alec and showed him to be more than just a newly-entitled and embittered brat. He's still been helping Kiera; he balked at Scar Alec's violence; and if he still has feelings for Emily, he's not wholly the judgmental and haughty person he's trying so hard to become. While Scar Alec became volatile, desperation on his part is understandable, especially with him existing as a problematic spare in this timeline. I think we can sympathize with both of the Alecs. Imagine if the two Sadlers could ever unite for the same cause and fight together! Now that would be fun to see. I really look forward to seeing how all of these matters continue to build this season.
What did you think of this episode? Share your thoughts in the comments!
About the Author - Virginia Mae Fontana
Virginia is happy to be reviewing The Vampire Diaries, Hart of Dixie, Nashville, Beauty and the Beast, Witches of East End, Covert Affairs, and Continuum for Spoiler TV. She is a college English instructor and enjoys obsessing over films and pop music - in addition to tv shows, of course! You can find her blog, SugarRushed, at http://virginiamaeblog.blogspot.com/ and her Twitter handle is @SugarRushedBlog
I'm surprised that the reference to big chemical companies wasn't a little more subtle. Sonmanto/Monsanto?
ReplyDeleteRight. The show is awfully brave and timely in its references. :)
ReplyDelete