Review Guide:
Episode 2.01 San Jose - Advanced Preview & Review
Episode 2.02 Reunion - Review
Episode 2.03 Scion - Review
Episode 2.04 Densho - Review
Episode 2.05 Oubliette - Review
Episode 2.06 M. Domestica - Review
Episode 2.07 Cross Pollination - Review
Episode 2.08 Vade In Pace - Advance Preview & Review
Episode 2.09 Ectogenesis - Review
Episode 2.10 Mother - Review
Episode 2.11 Plan B - Review
Episode 2.12 The Ascendant - Review
Episode 2.13 O Brave New World (Season Finale) - Review
Helix - San Jose - Review/Recap
As soon as the première episode kicked off it became clear very quickly that the show had changed a bit from its sophomore season. Sure the aspect of Horror is still intact, and presents itself nicely during the première, but everything else has been changed slightly. There is a new team formed of Peter Farragut, Sarah Jordan, and a newcomer, Kyle Sommer, who I did like a lot. He added many comedic lines to some scenes that didn't require any, but made the scenes feel less dire, and grim. Kyle also shared a few scenes with Sarah, where they bonded, and I felt that they connected with each other on a personal level. He is definitely someone who I can see being a potential love interest for her now that Alan is out of the picture. There is also a new case, non-related to the Narvik virus. This virus unlike the Narvik is fast and aggressive, and instead of that black goo that would turn them into a different "species" this virus comes out of the person’s orifices, which chokes them to death.
The first episode introduced us to the new Hiroshi, Brother Michael played by the wonderful Steven Webber. We don't learn too much about him, but we do know that he is the leader of this new cult the team come across. His intentions sound honourable wanting to help, and protect people, but he most surely has a dark agenda. We do actually get a little glimpse at an event happening in a basement where a woman is tied up being injected with something, this leads me onto believe that the virus was man made by the cult or at least some members. Since the virus isn't airborne it would have to have been consumed or physically injected into someone so the cult has to have something to do with it. More shockingly though Alan is there with them. We don't know if he is there against his own will or if he chose to be there and knows what's going on around him. The most likely scenario is that he went there to continue his search for the Ilaria corporation, as at the end of season 1 that's all he had his mind set on.
The show has also moved forward into more syfy related areas, this episode we saw multiple timelines throughout the episode with the CDC team in the present and Julia in the future. This is a bold move for the show to take, but I did like it a lot throughout the opening episode. It allows the writers the creative freedom they need to tell a compelling story that can hold the viewer’s interest levels. Seeing so early on what happened to the Abbey where the CDC team headed will, like myself, leave you all in a state of mind that has you wondering what happened there which will make us more keen to continue watching the show. Some episodes in season 1 failed to keep me interested all the way through, but I think this new creative look for the show will be able to consistently do that.
Elsewhere in the première we saw Julia meet with a strange man named Caleb, whom by the looks of it knew all about her, and her immortality, which has me wondering if he knew Alan or has some involvement with Ilaria. Also worthy of noting is that the Ilaria storyline that was the main focus for the most of the first season doesn't seem to be a central focus for the show anymore as of yet. I have a feeling though that this new cult has something to do with Ilaria some way or another, or at least the new cult leader brother Michael. Once Julia and her new friend Caleb have a talk, and settle things out he agrees to her request to be taken to Alan, which was her reason for going to the island. He takes her to Alan's grave. The show does a good job this episode playing with your emotions, we see Alan in the present, but only a tombstone to represent him in the future. This was another thing I found interesting about the première episode, as it is a strange thing for the show to do. I have to wonder now if the show has set itself up that way to mess with us, and if dead doesn't necessarily mean dead. From now on I have to go into each episode with the knowledge that Alan could die at any moment. Showing the tombstone also removes the shock value most deaths come with, so perhaps it will turn out that Alan isn't really dead after all, but if he is Helix just killed off their main character which could end up failing or working.
This episode whilst very good didn't shed any light on who actually survived last season's deadly explosion. We know the CDC team survived, but we still are unaware of the fates of characters such as Hiroshi, Balleseros, Tulok or Anana. In a recent interview that was conducted with one of the show's producers, they claim that just because some characters haven't been seen in promos or talked about doesn't mean they wont show up at some point. I don't want to ruin it for anyone, incase some don't watch the promos, but one of the four characters mentioned above was seen in the latest trailer for the show. Even if they do show up I have to wonder how any of them will fit into this new storyline since none of them are scientists, and they only really fitted into the previous seasons storyline, I am sure that the writers though have something up their sleeves and will surprise us.
Other notes
- We hear that the new virus spread across the world, and if it's not airborne can people get it upon contact with an infected?
- Who hanged Leila? Was it to try to prevent the virus from spreading?
- I loved the narrative twists, especially the one where it led you to believe Peter was about to open the barn door to find Julia.
- The decaying rabbit was the highlight of the episode, it was extremely well done,and it looked stunning. I loved the way it showed us how long it takes for a rat to become nothing more than bones, but also the difference in years between the two timelines.
Summary
It was a really good première episode. The new direction the show is taking with implementing multiple timelines is the much needed boost this show needed. It needs more viewers, and adding a little more syfy, and creativity to the storytelling should certainly help them do that. It was a solid episode that dished out a dozen puzzling mysteries, and offered us many questions already regarding the island, and Julia. So far though I am impressed with the new season.
As always , thank you for reading! Be sure to let me know in the comments what you thought of the episode!
Apologies if this Review/Recap is all over the place, need to get back in the swing of things. (Haven't done a review for a while).
ReplyDeleteThe writing really impressed me alot with this ep. From start to finish, it didn't disappoint at all. I loved how they wove the present and future stories together. The island was scary, the cult was really creepy. And the new disease is a weird one. I can't wait to see what happens next.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review Robert. I was also wondering if Caleb might be Sarah's child. Or if not Sarah's baby, then he might be Alan's child from another relationship we haven't seen yet. I also agree with what you said about Sarah's and Kyle's chemistry. I found they worked really well together - better than Sarah and Alan last season.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious to hear other thoughts on the time jump and how this may impact the potential for any future seasons of this show. By getting a glimpse into the future, the next 40 years are somewhat set as far setting parameters on what can and can not happen. Even though we don't know when Alan dies, it looks like he might choose to stay on the island - precluding him from being the center of future seasons that take place elsewhere. Of course it's possible he leaves and then goes back later in life, but we know now how his fate ultimately ends. We also know that Ilaria doesn't set off any worldwide pandemic that wipes out the population within the next 40 years. Do you think this means they're setting this up to be the final season?
I'm sure they can do many seasons off this show. They're working with a pretty long timeline. I like how different that is. They could have just skipped ahead a year or so like most shows do, but instead they went for decades.
ReplyDeleteThe writing impressed me a lot too, I thought this premiere was much better than the first seasons (in terms of writing). I liked there new idea of having two different timelines, we effectively have two storylines going on which is a really good idea, as the first season had many episodes that were extremely boring, but the way the first episode went I think this season will be a lot better than that.
ReplyDeleteI am confident the cult have some connection to Ilaria, it is the only explanation for Alan being there.
I don't think they will focus on this new disease for more than a season, I think they will wrap it up by episode 13. Season 3 will most likely have a new diseases, new location etc.
ReplyDeleteCaleb has to be connected with one of either Alan or Sarah. If he isn't related to Sarah, I hope we can find out what happened to her baby. She most likely gave it away at birth, as I can't imagine too much time has past since last season so the kid would still be young when she went to the island.
ReplyDeleteIt does look that way, but the show can continue without Alan, maybe Billy wants to leave the show? The show wasn't a breakout hit getting 0.4's, and to be honest I was shocked when it got a second season, so perhaps they are writing it as if it was the last season.
The show can run for multiple seasons, but now they have implemented different timelines the show will have to stick to Julia being in the present, the rest in the past. There is still a lot they can do with a 40 year time gap, but anything they do after this season will have to have some relation to the island or Ilaria.
You are forgetting that Sarah was in close proximity when the bomb went off in the arctic base last season which i believe Sara survived but lost the baby and killing Hiroshi and Balleseros in the process
ReplyDeleteThat could be possible, I never actually thought of that. I only say Caleb because of the way a he responded when Julia said Alan's name, it was if he knew him very well.
ReplyDeleteHave you seen the promo for next week? They show a character in it, whos fate was left uncertain.
i saw the promo for the upcoming season and looks like Julia might be in the same timeline bc she screams saying you cant do this me similar to what they did to the women in the end.
ReplyDeleteShe could have gone there the same time as the others did I suppose, and then went back there again 40 years on. That is possible.
ReplyDeleteHiroshi actually grabs Julia in the upcoming season promo, and he is presumably on the same island, but I think he is in the present timeline, not the past.
There is not a "past" timeline. There is a "present" timeline, and the "future" timeline, which is 30 years into the future, not 40.
ReplyDeleteYep, your right the during my version it didn't mention how many years had past so I took to twitter to find out, guess the information I got was wrong.
ReplyDeleteI looked at it as Julia's timeline was the present, and CDC one was the past.
Thanks for your GREAT review! I'm very glad Helix is back, but I think what I love most is that I think one of our producer's former works, LOST, seems rather present within this season (Alan = Bearded Jack Shepphard possibly undercover or in on cult, Island with either multiple time periods or time travel, "Otters!! Otters!!"--where is Dogan, errr I mean Hiroshi?! , Labrador-Wolves---So Vincent crossed with some Direwolves or is there just a pissed off Giraffe running around? Kyle = Sawyer, Purge?, Rousseau traps??? Hallucinations???---So Much to explore!!!!)
ReplyDeleteI wonder if we will have flashbacks too? Still a lot of unanswered questions from last season too! I like Kyle, but I have a bad feeling about him...
Looking forward to see if there is time travel or a portal/gate between time periods, or if it actually took Julia 40yrs to come to this place, or if Julia is hallucinating a false-fear based future as apart of the new virus????????
I'm not sure, because I have a feeling given the lOST vibe, that this Island may provide an origin story for the immortals and war they have been fighting. I have a feeling everything will tie into other things....
ReplyDeleteThanks! I absolutely love your connections to LOST, Hiroshi by the way will be back this season. I take it by the LOST references you were a huge fan of the show?
ReplyDeleteI think that we might see Julia go to the island in the same time period as the CDC team, then she might return there again in the future to find Alan (after leaving), as perhaps he remained behind? I think Caleb could be Sarah's son as he looks old enough to be, but maybe she could be hallucinating, I never actually thought of that. She is infected with something so its possible.
That's a fair point. The immortals definitely have some relation to the island, and I am pretty certain that the people the cult are afraid of are them. They never did wrap last seasons Ilaria storyline up so even though it's not that obvious it's all connected you are probably right, and it is.
ReplyDeleteI think she said something about Alan blowing up the Ilaria building in Paris or something like that.
ReplyDeleteLOST is my favorite show all of time, no shows on currently can recreate how good LOST was. I can't even put it into words how much I loved the show. I still go back and watch the odd episode here and there. Ever since LOST ended if a TV show/ Film has JJ Abraham/Carlton Cuse / Damien Lindelof name attached I always check it out.
ReplyDeleteAs for Helix I am hoping Balleseros shows up at one point as well, for some reason I grew to really like the character despite him never doing anything to help anyone but himself.
Helix is the best show to binge-watch.
ReplyDeleteI have never binged watched it, never needed too. I was a regular viewer for the first season, well for the most part of it anyway.
ReplyDeleteYou're not crazy Robert. The VFX notes on the screener version during the rat scene said they were starting with Day one, and forwarded up to Day 14601. It then says "Forty Years Later" as it flips back to Julia. I also saw 40 on some promotional material (a synopsis maybe) before the episode before it aired, which I can't find now. I remember thinking that telling that Julia was in the future was a bit spoilerly because that was such a good reveal - when we learn that Julia is in the cabin at a different time. They must have decided to change the time gap. I may be reading too much into it, but I think the change strengthens the theory that the Caleb is Sarah's son, since he looks more like 30 than 40.
ReplyDeleteTBH, I wouldn't mind if they wrapped up Alan's fate this season. I don't think the character is working very well as a lead.
ReplyDeleteOn the ratings, that was what I was thinking too. I was expecting it to get cancelled too, so I'm wondering if this whole season is being planned as a wrap-up season. Julia I would think could be in the present too, but any future season would need to be either in the future with just Julia (as far as the current human cast members go), or it would have to tell the story of some event that don't have world-ending consequences, since we know the world doesn't end quite yet.
Thanks for letting me know! I thought I was going mad, as when I looked at the final copy it said 30 years, and I just couldn't figure out why I said 40, now I know.
ReplyDeleteI am still going to believe that Caleb is Sarah's son, he doesn't look 40+ so it's probably best that they changed it. Someone said to me on twitter if Caleb could be an immortal since Sarah became one last season which I think is quite interesting.
It's the new guy that said that.
ReplyDeleteThe synopsis on my TV says 40 years and I was pretty confused when the show said 30 years. I guess they decided to changed it.
ReplyDeleteAh, thanks. I wonder why they decided to change it.
ReplyDeleteAh thanks. I thought it was Sarah.
ReplyDeleteMy question is what special meaning does San Jose have?
ReplyDelete