After last week's tragic episode with the death of BB, episode seven of the second season continues to highlight the choices of young people, with further devastating results.
It becomes Will's and Burke's job to find Frankie, which Bennett seems to want to give Will more freedom to prove himself, more than Burke has, over the course of the season, but after tracking Frankie down to a Red Hand safe house, it becomes clear that Burke's methods are ruthless and equally as destructive as the Red Hands, making Will's loosened leash, not worth the experience. The young people are shot in the yard, as they leave Frankie to take for interrogation. Will however lets one boy left in the house escape, not being able to stomach Burke's methods.
The Interrogation was horribly brutal too. Will tries to intervene in attempts to save Frankie's life, but Frankie apparently believes in the cause she signed up for and doesn't give anything up about the Red Hands --whom either the leaders or handlers are, but instead is able to reach for substance on the bottom of her foot, stick it in her mouth, and commit suicide.
This is all contrasted with Bram and Maya at the labor camp. Like Frankie, Maya uses sex to try an coax Bram in going forward with their plan, asking Bram swipe Snyder's access card! And, as it turns out, they are apart of the Red Hands too, which becomes more evident by witnessing a drinking ritual! Bram is initially reluctant, but ultimately he follows through.
Viewers witness a series of events from some of these young people being killed as a distraction, as Maya and Bram get into the shipment room with the containers. Maya opens one up with a body inside. Bram, concerned for her welfare, gets a dismissal from Maya, siting she's dead already! Maya explains she needs to hide herself and bomb inside and begins to make preparations.
Bram goes to keep watch, but is confronted by the lethal Sgt. Jenkins, but another boy, a friend of Maya's, comes and kills Jenkins just in time for Bram to get out. Viewers witness the ship leaving with the cargo, only to explode midair. Maya had successfully detonated the bomb!
In the meantime, it's Katie's story that leads probably to most startling results. At the beginning of the episode, with Will's approval, she seeks out Broussard again for help with the flash drive. After combining the evidence of her two sources, it becomes clear the alien noise are actually count down clocks!! One was for the arrival and this other one is for the day the LA block is be emptied! The first bit of info on the flash drive also confirms this, as the data shows a de-escalation of the population as more and more people are to be sent to the factory!
Maddie then naturally goes to Katie, but Katie decides to let Maddie hang herself, as she admits to nothing, knowing she is being monitored on camera inside her house, leaving Maddie angry and confused.
This episode was stronger than last week's, especially with the mass extinction reveals, although I cation that we have not seen the aliens' perspective to know if things mean what the characters think they do, but despite that, the bombing at the shipyard seems like it might come with heavy consequences, and that the two-plus years some of the characters think they might have to escape, might be much less should "total rendition" be put into action! I was also struck and somewhat heartbroken with Will's ongoing story this season. He keeps on having to deal with so many young men and woman dying all around him for their causes! No matter what he does, he can't cut much of a break and there doesn't seem a lot of light for a bright future in almost any direction. This is a testament to Colony though, by being willing to explore such sad and harrowing subject matter week after week and asking the viewers, when does something defeat it's own purpose and/or the way in which any person can justify not caring about the collateral damage of other innocent life?
