Review Guide:
Episode 2.01 San Jose -
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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 -
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Review
Episode 2.09 Ectogenesis -
Review
Episode 2.10 Mother -
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Episode 2.11 Plan B -
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Episode 2.12 The Ascendant -
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Episode 2.13 O Brave New World (Season Finale) -
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Helix - Densho - Review
After last episode "Scion" saw Peter acting very agitated when someone would mention Alan, and then we saw him hit Alan over the head in the closing minutes. This episode we finally learnt what Peter has been hiding. In what was the show’s most revealing episode yet, this was one not to be missed.
"Leave this Island, and don't come back" - Alan
Alan repeated the same words to Peter which he said to Sarah previously, he continues to not want them on the island, but it can't just be to protect them from the threat that the cult cause, it must be to protect himself so his cover doesn't get blown. Whilst Alan is heavily suspicious of the cult he is also rather concerned about his brother Peter, and could easily see through Peter's lies this episode. We find out, which was probably the biggest reveal to date for the show, that Peter is still continuing to work for Ilaria. I had my suspicions in my last review, and I am glad to see that I was right about something.
What was perhaps even more shocking though was how we finally saw Balleseros, except he is as well working for Ilaria. I have to now consider the fact that Ballerseros could have been working for Ilaria ever since the beginning of Season 1, and purposely went to the arctic so they could have eyes on what was going on there. That is probably why he was always so on edge whenever someone, such as the dearly departed Doreen would ask him a question. Going by the few seconds of him we saw it looks like he is in a position of great power, especially since he is the one giving Peter the orders. I am also now confident Peter purposely got the CDC team leader job, and Ilaria somehow managed to get him the job, as I would have always thought Sarah would have become team leader if Alan were to step down. Peter seemed to be sent to the island by Ilaria, so perhaps Ilaria don't have anything to do with the cult after all. Maybe they are aware that the cult is engineering a fungus of sorts that could harm them, and sent Peter to try to stop it from spreading. Obviously he would have failed in doing that, since the fungus as we know is slowly killing Julia 30 years into the future.
I feel let down by Peter a lot, just when you thought you could trust him it turns out he is still working for the people who tried to kill his brother, and the woman he loves. Will he ever be free of Ilaria?
Speaking of Julia, she had her own problems this episode to deal with, her insane father. She gets strapped down to an operating table. She does eventually get free which leads onto one of the best fight scenes the show has ever produced. Hiroshi had a sword, Julia an axe.
Neither of them wanted to kill one another, but none of them had a choice, it was literally a fight to the death. When Julia managed to stab him with the axe I noticed the blank expression on her face, she showed no remorse; considering he put his weapon down she didn't need to stab him. I'm certain still though that she was sent there to kill him, as there seemed a bit more to the fight than just her wanting to escape. Hiroshi does make it back to the table at his cabin where he joins the dinner party of the dead. All they need now is Julia, and then the family is complete... I'm actually thoroughly disappointed in the show, Hiroshi was such a good character (My favorite as well) and to have him die within only 2 episodes wasn't what I was hoping for. I expected to see him in at least 3 or 4 episodes since he played such a huge part in season 1. I am secretly hoping he shows up in the past, as I still would like to know how he came to be on the island.
Julia didn't get away scratch free from the fight, she got hit a couple of times, but since she is immortal she should heal quickly. Then again, since she is slowly dying from the fungus so I wonder what effects that might have on her healing. The last we see of her she is bleeding out in the jungle. I am hoping Caleb will come to her aid, and help her. I'd like to think that Caleb has remained close to Julia, if he has he should be able to help her.(Going by 2.05 Photos) Going forward for Julia I have no idea what they plan to do with her as there is only so much they can do without any real story for her character.
Someone else who got hurt during the episode was Sarah.
After the CDC are trying to find out how Soren healed so fast, they determine that he might have eaten something with sugar in, which could have contained the pathogen. They believe Honey could be the key, and are even considering that it could well have started from the insects,after performing an autopsy on Thomas's body. I am still holding onto my original thought which was that the cult engineered the fungus. Sarah later on gets stabbed by Soren's mum after she tells her how they have lied to her about Soren. I am wondering if this will affect the baby in any way since she stabbed her in the womb. Even if she is immortal, I don't think the baby could survive that.
"Don't allow yourself to be consumed by the doubts and fears of a world we left" - Michael
Steven Webber this episode was excellent, especially when Michael gave that speech. Michael gathered his cult into the hall, and answered a few of their questions, as some have doubts about him, and what's going on. He then gives a hugely encouraging speech which was powerful, and full of emotion.
Michael truly cares for everyone in his cult, and I also think he honestly does want to help the CDC team, but then again this episode we saw a much darker side of him when he put his hands around the sister’s throats. He mentioned something about the picture wall, which led me to assume that he could be an immortal just because he acted as if he knew all the people on the wall.The sisters on the other hand continue to plot against the CDC team. They remain secretive, and I honestly have no idea what they are planning, but it can't be anything good. I already think they created the fungus, so what else could they possibly do. We do actually find out that Agnes is Anne's mother, which wasn't that surprising as she had to be somebody of importance.
Other Notes:
- Will we learn of what happened to Tulok and Anana now that we know Balleseros survived?
- What does the sisters have planned? What does Michael have planned?
- If The fungus started from the insects then what was the sisters doing in the basement in episode 1?
- Anne and Michael seem to have some weird connection, could they previously have been romantically involved?
- After consideration, is everything that's happening to Julia actually real? Could she be imagining it, and still be tied up somewhere? (She was in an imaginary state in Season 1).
- Why did Peter knock Alan out only to leave him outside, what does he plan to accomplish?
- Will Peter switch sides again like he did in Season 1?
Summary
It was a very revealing episode, we learnt a lot about Ilaria, and more importantly Peter. He is still working for them which was my initial assumption. We also got to see a few more returning characters, and continued to see the effect of living alone is having on Hatake. We also saw Hatake die later on in the episode after an absolute killer of a fight. This was easily this season’s best episode.
As always, thank you for reading! Let me know in the comments what you thought of "Densho"
About the Author - Robert Fruin
Robert is a sixth form student from the United Kingdom, who is currently studying IT, Media and Business Studies. Robert is a huge fan of the ended ABC series LOST, he has seen it many times over and has even visited some of the filming locations for it. Robert mainly watches drama series such as Game Of Thrones and Person of Interest, but has a soft spot for the comedy The Middle. Some other shows he watches are The Walking Dead, Arrow and The 100. Some other interests include cycling, photography and kayaking. Robert will be reviewing Z Nation,The Librarians, Sons Of Anarchy, Intruders, The Fosters and Aquarius. Feel free to connect with him on any of these social media sites.
Apologies in advance: I will away most of the weekend, and like to post this on Saturday, so had to rush to get this posted. I haven't had a chance to proofread it, but will do when I wake up.
ReplyDeleteso happy that Sergio is back. I was wondering if he would return :)
ReplyDeleteI was as well, although having his name Mark's name in credits made it a bit obvious he would be back at some point.
ReplyDeleteHatake is immortal so why did he die? His head was not cut off.
ReplyDeleteNow can we go down to the fishin' hole Pa?
ReplyDeleteIt was indeed the best episode so far this season. It revealed a lot. Is Sergio an immortal now? Its not possible that 30 years later, he looks the same. I felt sad about Hatake. I liked him as well. His daughter turned out to be a devil child. Alan found out Julia was the head of Ilaria, interesting. I would like to see how this happened and whether he confronted her about it.
ReplyDeleteThat's something I have been wondering, but perhaps the thing Julia injected him with somehow made him mortal again. Then once he got stabbed with the axe he obviously died like a normal person would.
ReplyDeleteI don't think he is immortal, I think he is someone like Peter who just works for them, but I could be wrong. If it turns out he is an immortal I hope they show us how he became one or at least let him it explain it. Since we haven't seen him 30 years later (Yet) we wont know if he is immortal until they tell us.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why, but I never liked Julia much even during Season 1. There is just something about her that makes her unlikable (for me anyway). I am sure we will learn how she became head of Ilaria, as that's a question from the finale they still haven't answered yet.
Insane Hiroshi fishing with his imaginary son, probably not his sanest idea.
ReplyDeleteYou are right about Sergio. That phone call is 30 years earlier not 30 years later. its not the same timeline with Julia. I got confused.
ReplyDeleteThat makes sense. I kept feeling like I was missing something! :-)
ReplyDeleteI know Sergio was an exlover of Constance Sutton. That kind of made me wonder in Season 1 if he was an immortal.
ReplyDeleteI know this has nothing to with this episode but what is the significance of San Jose?
ReplyDeleteNo worries, I get confused all the time with this show.
ReplyDeleteI really hope Hatake isn't really dead & that nothing will happen to Julia, they are my two favorite characters. That fight scene was really spectacular.
ReplyDeleteI'm not enjoying S2 as much as S1 but I'm sticking with the show, if only for the quirky music, but I'm hoping it will improve as well :)
You know I can't recall what San Jose actually is, I would imagine San Jose is an island. Did they actually tell us? Maybe someone in the comments can help.
ReplyDeleteI am hoping though that he isn't actually dead as he is one of my favorite characters on the show. I guess we will have to wait and see.
ReplyDeleteI hope he isn't dead too, especially since he was barely in it. The fight scene was probably the best fight we have seen on this show, and come to thing of it I can't recall if there has even been another fight on the show using weapons etc.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry your not enjoying the season much, I personally have found this season to be slightly better. It's more creative, and faster paced than Season 1, although the acting has slightly declined from Season 1.
"What was perhaps even more shocking though was how we finally saw Balleseros, except he is as well working for Ilaria. I have to now consider the fact that Ballerseros could have been working for Ilaria ever since the beginning of Season 1, and purposely went to the arctic so they could have eyes on what was going on there. That is probably why he was always so on edge whenever someone, such as the dearly departed Doreen would ask him a question. Going by the few seconds of him we saw it looks like he is in a position of great power, especially since he is the one giving Peter the orders. I am also now confident Peter purposely got the CDC team leader job, and Ilaria somehow managed to get him the job, as I would have always thought Sarah would have become team leader if Alan were to step down. Peter seemed to be sent to the island by Ilaria,..."
ReplyDeleteDefinitely my favorite reveal of the episode, but I also think everything is still murkier than we think. I learned that Helix's website has tie-in material and I don't want to be too spoilerish, but we do get introduced to a character we will meet at some point this season, and the character makes it appear that Ilaria doesn't exactly know themselves what's happening on the Island, but do want to keep an eye on it...I kind of felt like Alan's suspicions of Peter seemingly knowing exactly where he was are also too coincidental...so if that would be true, then Peter either is able to track Alan or for some reason, he knows the Island well and knows what Peter wants so maybe Peter is playing more than one side??? I also keep wondering if Alan was framed?
"Michael truly cares for everyone in his cult, and I also think he honestly does want to help the CDC team, but then again this episode we saw a much darker side of him when he put his hands around the sister’s throats. He mentioned something about the picture wall, which led me to assume that he could be an immortal just because he acted as if he knew all the people on the wall..."
Good point about the wall. I wanted to see if I can find a screencap in case there are any clues there, such as characters we know, as I was trying to figure out if it was the deceased or not and/or if they are traitors to 'their paths'?? I agree though, that Webber is doing a great job and he's likable, despite his dark side, which I think makes him dubious and dangerous...a character with a lot of self control...
I still think Jules is having mass hallucination. I could never buy that they would kill Hatake off without giving us a bit more his character's secrets/past, but the Ax and Sword fight I thought was very well filmed and a surprisingly enjoyable fight scene! --But I could not believe that happened to Sarah!!! I do like how they juxtaposed our two females laying down both in seemingly near death agony! Rather artistic for Helix! (But how is the baby going to live? Can they growth accelerate the baby premature after an emergency C-section? Something tells me, they can!! XD)
"Will we learn of what happened to Tulok and Anana now that we know Balleseros survived?"
Oh, please say YES! I hope they turn up at the most random time!!!
My only other thoughts are, what the heck is going on with the honey and bees?! Why does that matter to this pathogen fungus?? And I'm wondering if the 3 sisters are all actually 3 generations of related woman and if Michael is not Anne's biological father and the other two woman her mother and Grandmother (which the elder one scares me, because she's been too quiet)???? I could see Anne being like Constance's son, a total nightmare!!!
Thanks again for another great review, Robert!! :D
I think that perhaps it's code...in lost there is this one in form of a joke: what's did one snow man say to the other? So it could be a way of figuring out who's an outsider. San Jose itself is a city's in California. So another possibility is that's there is something important in that city. I am going to go look at wiki though to find out why San jose is named as such and if there is anything significant about the city's resources or Spanish American past. I will come back and edit
ReplyDeleteI think you are right about it being code. I went back and watched the San Jose episode again and he seemed okay after he pulled out her contacts and realized she was immortal. He says I knew you would come. I must have been half asleep the first time I watched it!
ReplyDeleteSo I went and found a sceencap of The Wall. Very strange. They seem to be famous paintings and photographs of "poor" or not very glamorous looking woman. For instance, I think I see Vermeer's The Girl with the Pearl Earring third from the right's (our right) top corner???.... Now I'm really puzzled :p
ReplyDeleteIn episode 2.03 Peter did seem to know where Alan would be at that exact time, it's a huge Abbey so the chances of him finding him on first attempt at looking is unlikely. Peter is wary of Alan, and I think he sees him as a threat so you could be right. I wonder now if Alan does actually end up dying, and by Peter's hands.
ReplyDeleteMichael treated all three sisters as if had known them for years and years. So I'm wondering if they are related to him in someway. "My three favorite girls" or something like that he said. I was pondering on the idea that he is an immortal and has been with each of the woman on the wall. Which is why he keeps pictures of just woman up there.
I didn't think the idea of her hallucinating could be that strong of a possibility, but after they killed of Hatake within 2 episodes I started to seriously consider it. Her time with Hatake didn't feel natural, it felt like we were seeing a dream or something. As for the fight scene that was probably the best one to date for the show, excellently choreographed.
I think Sarah being stabbed will indeed kickstart her baby's growth somehow, like you said they will probably do a C-section on her. If they do then it's all but confirmed Caleb is her son.
I'm going with the idea that Michael has been romantically involved with each of them, and that he is an immortal.
ReplyDeleteThank you! That is awesome. I can see how a lot of it fits together!
ReplyDeleteSure. I was curious myself! Like I said some of it could be coincidence and not necessarily intentional or will be apart of where the series goes, but just in case, I thought, why not?! Would be cool if somehow it did tie into South America, Costa Rica, and/or California with Ilaria's/immortals former pursuits somehow!! I just can't imagine that this won't unlock some kind of immortal origin story or war saga...
ReplyDeleteI would have to go look it up, but I am trying to remember where Alan's CDC group was located in season one. I can't remember if they said, and if it was, by any chance, California? Because maybe if it is a code, it's a way to identify certain team members the CDC?
Ha! That could be, but didn't the scene play out like it would be a threat to be on his wall? Maybe he kills everyone he gets involved with? :p
ReplyDeleteSome of these women are wearing the same sort of black jumper with a white blouse underneath. I think they were previous "best girls" of Bro. M.
ReplyDeleteIt did seem like that, although would he really kill that many woman.
ReplyDeleteThe woman's pictures have purposely been put on the wall, and I don't think its for decoration so I suppose there is a high chance that he killed them all when he had enough of each of them.
Yep, I think we can safely assume they all probably had some involvement with Michael at some point in his life.
ReplyDeleteHe's hard character to read, because he is come, understanding, and pleasantly likable, but so far we haven't seen anyone within the Cult other than Amy really challenge his authority. So I assume they have to be afraid of him for some reason. And is it just me, or does it seem like there are more woman than men in the Cult?
ReplyDeleteSpot On! Nice analogy! I'm sure you're right!
ReplyDeleteTrue. I just thought it was weird that a Vermeer-like painting is there, but maybe some of them are just "filler" to convey longevity of Micheal in relation to this humbly-looking female nurturers, which may not be how they behave (Killer Queens). Maybe the idea is to get them to fight each other off for the strongest to survive or something? XD
ReplyDeleteI haven't really paid too much attention to how many Woman/Men there are, but after quickly looking at the episode I have download it does seem that way.
ReplyDeleteI also just went to helix's site for the day 4 tie at n material...there is something there that could prove a real wammy should it relate to Michael.
ReplyDeleteI saw that, I agree that it does eek to point to what we have been thinking!
I'm going to have a look in a minute, it's the access granted part of the website?
ReplyDeleteya....It's the last piece of information (a document) of Day 4!
ReplyDeleteIt has already been revealed that Balleseros have been working for Ilaria during Season 1 when Sutton came. Ilaria was the one who have been sending those messages to him.
ReplyDeleteI think Soren is Michael's son and they are both immortal.
ReplyDeleteand I think some of the kids and the people on the island (maybe including Anne) are Michael's offsprings and the three ladies are trying to generate a fungus to finally kill Michael. Micheal could have called Ilaria and that would explain why he is very welcoming to the CDC.
ReplyDeleteWhat if Micheal is the father of all the girls?
ReplyDeleteDid he say "you don't want to end up like those girls" or something?
ReplyDeleteThe bees are vectors, meaning they are carriers of the fungus and could infect people by biting them like we saw at the beginning of the episode.
ReplyDeleteYep that could be too, should he be immortal.
ReplyDeleteYa. It was something like that. :)
ReplyDeleteI figured that, but does that mean people can't be vectors this time? Why show us '50 ways' to infected by the fungus? I guess for confusion value and variation?
ReplyDeleteYa, but not in a executive or board member-like position. He seemed more like 'a guy for hire', not someone who makes bigger decisions.
ReplyDelete