There was so much I liked about this episode, which took place mostly in the far-flung future during Kiera's days as a CPS officer. Bookended by sequences highlighting what a problematic predicament Kiera is presently in back in 2014, this was a glimpse into what really happened the day Kiera's flyer went down and she met a group of people living off the grid and out of the Corporate Congress' control. With the episode's brooding, contemplative, slow-burning nature leading to some shocking reveals about Kagame, Sonya, Older Alec Sadler, and the Corporate Congress, the hour continued Season 3's agenda of asking probing questions about everyone's motives and accountability.
Somehow, Curtis' cutting accusation at the beginning of the episode, as Kiera introduced him to a typically cozy glass cell at the Freelancer headquarters, that she was essentially sleepwalking through life, not acting like a protector of anyone or anything, really stuck with her. While pondering the extent to which she has allowed preconceived ideas about the world around her to make her complacent, Kiera noticed a familiar face among the Freelancers' prisoners: Jaworski, a terrorist fugitive who was in her care on the day her flyer crashed. Of course, we also know him from Season 1 when he was quickly killed off after traveling back in time with the rest of the Liber8 gang and Kiera. But in this episode, we saw another, more sympathetic side to Jaworski and it was cool to get some new layers to his character.
So instead of giving Kiera answers about why he killed the past version of her, which might have been really useful, Curtis laid down some harsh criticisms that, combined with seeing Jaworski, caused her to go into full flashback mode. Luckily, the revelations that came with the trip down memory lane were enlightening in their own ways. I very much enjoyed the tense, bitter repartee between Kiera and the intelligent, blunt Jaworski. The community of people they encountered out in the middle of nowhere were as hesitant to trust their visitors as they were compelled to take advantage of the value of a much-hunted criminal like Jaworski. Sonya, who wore a mask while interacting with Kiera, was serving as doctor to the community and helping Kagame, who was mysteriously convalescing in the sick bay. As Jaworski verbally tore into of all of Kiera's ideals by questioning her allegiances to the Corporate Congress and the ease with which she labeled him a dangerous insurgent and nothing more, Kagame tried to convince Sonya to abandon her doubts and join his cause. Over the course of their adventures, Kiera and Jaworski came to share a begrudging respect for one another, and his words to her that he is freer even in a cage than she will ever be were both haunting and prophetic.
"The meaning is all around you. SadTech and the other members of the Corporate Congress. Their sole purpose is to enrich the lives of all the citizens. To preserve the promise of a civil society, to never again slip into the chaos of the past. You tell your son his mother's life, her sacrifice to the corporation, has enabled all of us left behind to prosper." -Older Alec
The time we spent with past/future Sonya showed a much more passive, indecisive woman who just wanted to help the people in the compound and wasn't sure she was capable of making so bold a move as to join Kagame. But near the end of the episode, the Corporate Congress blew up the entire fringe community, horrifying Sonya and crystallizing her mindset as to the need to stop this powerful and destructive societal structure. She agreed to go undercover in the super soldier program, which is where we have previously seen her meet Travis and further set her destiny in motion. I found Sonya's transition in "Waning Minutes" believable and easy to sympathize with.
Kagame: "Take what you're feeling and put it toward something right. This is your place and your time. Follow your instincts to take a moral stand."
Sonya: "I'm not a revolutionary, Edouard."
Kagame: "No, you're a healer, and that's something far more useful."
Back in "the chaos of the past," Kiera's remembrance of these events is complicated by the fact that she still believes it was Kagame, not the Corporate Congress, who destroyed the compound. Despite Curtis' accusations, she doesn't have all of the facts that she needs to fully comprehend the steps that need to be taken. While Kiera has been slowed down by an inability to gauge what the right move is to protect those who need her help most, she is growing more aware of her "sleepwalking" state and the need to snap out of it. Deeply disturbed still by the fact that Scar Alec is locked away after she chose to take him out of the equation in favor of Past Alec last week, Kiera seems like she's not going to let this situation stand much longer. Curtis effected a brutal escape method and completely terrified poor Scar Alec, who I really want to see released as soon as possible. What will Curtis do now that he's loose, and what will Kiera do with the confusing maelstrom of dilemmas that surrounds her?
What did you think of this episode? Share your opinions in the comments!
