Extant – Wish You Were Here – Review

On this week’s “Extant,” we didn’t get to see Molly blow out the candles at her make-up birthday party. But given how crappy things have been going for her since her homecoming, I’d guess she’s got a number of wishes in mind.

“Wish You Were Here” does have a present for the audience, though, in the form of a flashback that divulges some interesting information. Now, my theory thus far had been that John built Ethan specifically as a solution to his and Molly’s fertility woes and desire to have a family. But here, we see that the Humanichs Project was well underway and that John was seeking a foster family for a slightly younger Ethan when he comes to the conclusion that they could be his parents. It’s, as John puts it, a concrete alternative in the face of abstract possibilities, though it’s understandable he has an easier time with the idea than Molly. Also, while I had suspected Molly taking the mission might have been due to Ethan-related tensions, instead we find out that she signed up for a rotation on the Seraphim after a disappointing doctor’s appointment.

We get more kernels of background about Molly and the deceased Marcus during a debrief between Director Sparks and his cohort, Deputy Director Gordon Kern (Maury Sterling, “Homeland”). It’s revealed that the couple was in a car accident that claimed Marcus’ life and cost Molly the baby she was carrying (and likely is the reason for her later problems getting pregnant). Is it possible that her past pregnancy with Marcus’ child is what allowed the entity Molly encountered in space to impregnate her? And given what we know about them, could ISEA have caused the crash, been running a long con on Molly?

Anyway, after getting their hands on proof of Molly’s pregnancy (and, given the covertness of the ultrasound, shouldn’t Sam have erased it somehow?), Sparks and Kern disagree on how to proceed. While Kern seems to prefer obviously and outright stalking Molly, what Sparks comes up with is rather smart. The situation is so unreal, he sums up succinctly, all they need to do is tell her “something more believable than the truth.” So Sparks throws a ton of excuses and explanations at Molly (Covert medical program! Off-the-book experiments! Time released nanotech!), hoping to regain her trust and get her under his thumb.

I think the part of Sparks’ pitch that sticks the most with Molly is that, if true, it would mean the baby is hers and John’s. It gives her the push to finally tell John about the pregnancy. I don’t think Berry and Visnjic have particularly combustible chemistry, but I thought this was a nice scene between them. But…is it weird that I’m getting a little suspicious of John? He’s just so supportive, so unwavering, he’s almost too good to be true. Maybe I’ve just watched too much TV, I’m on the lookout for a twist lol.

But it’s Tim, not Sparks or John, who convinces Molly to check into quarantine. Who’s Tim? He’s Marcus’ brother, who surprises Molly by showing up at the party. Except Tim is, in actuality, another hallucination. It’s a reveal I was shocked I didn’t see coming when I watched the episode a second time, but the sequence where Molly frantically tries to find him while her freaked out family and friends look on was a strong one. But why did she see Tim this time instead of Marcus? Is the actual Tim still alive?

It’s the final straw for Molly, but luckily, Sam stops her from making a major mistake. Still suspicious of Sparks, she decides to do a DNA test on the fetus for Molly (I dunno how blood from the arm can determine that, but okay…) and then spots ISEA operatives raiding her office at the medical center. Sam manages to warn her friend, so while she ends up getting detained, by episode’s end, the Woods family has successfully gone on the run.

Even though it was mentioned the last two weeks (and was in the logline for this week), Ethan’s first day of school is a rather minor part of the plot. Molly and John both get to speechify to some small-minded parents (whose concerns I didn’t think were that outrageous, actually), Ethan naturally befriends the main bigot’s daughter, and that’s about all. But Ethan’s behavior at home begins to worry John when he stumbles upon (in another “look how creeepy the robot child is!” scene I think doesn’t fit with the show’s tone) a bird Ethan captured in an elaborate trap earlier in the episode. Remember, Molly also caught him hovering over a dead bird in the pilot. What’s his fascination?

Ethan’s starting school does give us some more insight into Julie’s feelings for him. She seems stuck between a rock and a hard place. Even as she acts maternal – fretting about the other kids being mean to him, expositing that she used to read “The Velveteen Rabbit” (some nice if not subtle symbolism) to him late at night in the lab before he had a body – she’s not his mom. But on the other hand, her professional opinion that school might not be beneficial for his programming is dismissed by John because of his own personal investment in Ethan. Julie just strikes me as someone to keep an eye on as the story unfolds.

How did this week’s “Extant” sit with you? And humor-wise, will the show ever be able to top Charlie (Tyler Hilton, “One Tree Hill”) teaching Ethan the Robot and Ethan hilariously explaining to Julie that it’s the dance of his ancestors?