Extant – Extinct – Review

At one point during the second episode of “Extant,” Ethan tells Molly that he thinks secrets are mean. Well, if that’s true, then this show is packed full of meanies since everyone seems to be keeping something from someone.

The biggest secret, of course, continues to be Molly being pregnant, which she starts “Extinct” still concealing from John and Ethan as well as her potentially untrustworthy bosses at the International Space Exploration Agency. Even to herself, Molly seems eager to duck the truth about her situation (during a scene with her friend Sam, she frantically latches onto the idea that it’s a hysterical pregnancy). But a bout of alien baby morning sickness (a strange thumping sound only she can hear, extreme stomach pains, another vision of Marcus that causes her to pass out) pushes her to dig deeper into this medical mystery.

After Sam reveals that abnormalities in Molly’s brain scans match those Harmon Kryger had, Molly heads back to the ISEA to investigate. I found this sequence a little silly. Berry plays Molly’s paranoia way too broadly as she slinks around the building. Anyone with eyes could see she was up to something. Also, if you were involved in a shadowy conspiracy, would you block access to some of the files that could expose you, or all of them? In any case, Molly’s snooping is quickly uncovered and she flees the building, with a little help from Harmon himself.

As Molly demands answers from Harmon, we see flashbacks to his time in space. A seemingly similar mission aboard the Seraphim, a similar systems disturbance caused by a solar flare, and a similar visit from a ghostly spirit. But the difference is, while Molly saw a romantic love and was blissful to be in his presence, Harmon is horrified to see his mother (who I mistook as a spouse or something for a moment, they went a little young casting her) and freaks out when she touches him. I’m wondering if the entity was unable to finish doing to Harmon what it did to Molly and that’s why his behavior is more erratic than hers.

Molly seems to finally accept that she’s pregnant after Sam is able to give her an ultrasound (for the record, the baby at this time appears to be human, in good health, and is in the second trimester). Armed with that knowledge, she…immediately confronts Director Sparks with it. This, I didn’t understand. After the events of the day, why would she suddenly decide she could trust him? Both Molly and Sparks make mention of a close friendship between them (and there was a slight warmth to their interactions in the pilot), but it hasn’t been given enough weight on-screen that this move of Molly’s makes any sense.

Anyway, we the audience already know that Sparks is in on the conspiracy so it’s no surprise when he immediately betrays her and spills the beans about the bun in her oven to Yasumoto. It’s important to note in this scene, while Molly and Harmon seem certain that the ISEA conducted some kind of scientific experiment on them, Sparks and Yasumoto speak of “them,” that “they are already here,” so something extraterrestrial is surely at work. Also, Yasumoto makes mention of Sparks’ daughter Katie and a sacrifice she made, which might give Sparks’ actions shading in the weeks ahead.

As was loudly hinted at in the premiere, Yasumoto is indeed dying as some kind of fancy scanner announces that he only has a life expectancy of 102 days (which puts a bit of a ticking clock on things). But more interesting to me was the reveal that he’s romantically entangled with Femi Dodd (Annie Wersching, “24”), the board member who’s been giving John such a hard time about the Humanichs Project. Does she know Yasumoto is sick? Is he the father of the daughter she keeps mentioning? And are her objections to John’s work less personal and more that they conflict with her vision for the corporation’s future, a future she might control? As is, her private ties to Yasumoto make her that much more of an adversary for John.

A character who could be doing a better job of keeping her secret is John’s assistant Julie (Grace Gummer, “Zero Hour”). Given the way she spastically flutters around the lab on John’s heels, the frowny faces she makes every time his wife comes up, and the jealous disdain wafting off of her during Molly’s visit, her crush on John couldn’t be more clear (although – and this idea intrigues me – it additionally would make sense that, since she helped design and program Ethan, she also sees Molly as a rival for the role of mother). So which way will this go? Will we find out she and John had an affair while Molly was in space? Will she get her chance if Molly’s inevitable confession about the baby and the visions of Marcus lead to marital discord? Or will her longings leave her open to being manipulated by Yasumoto or Sparks or Dodd?

Finally, my favorite scene of the episode was actually a smaller one of the family front. Ethan’s interaction with the robot (the first we’ve seen in this futuristic world) at the science museum was an interesting moment. And not just the foreshadowing in the dialogue about extinction, evolution, and the survival of the fittest. Pierce Gagnon played Ethan’s confusion that he couldn’t name what species he was really well. Plus, I thought Molly’s amused bewilderment at Ethan’s hand gestures when they made their pact was cute.

So what do you think of “Extinct?” Share what you thought in the comments section!