Colony - 2.13 Ronin - Review

After early on in season two viewers mostly expected that "Total Rendition" would be a subject revisited sooner or later, but the timing of such an event is both uniquely puzzling by not knowing what exactly set this into motion, but yet very apt in saving the exploration of it for the season two finale.

First, let me just sincerely apologize for accidentally misleading some of you on my advanced preview of the episode. For some reason when I watched the screener, it started a few seconds into the episode, in which I missed the opening parts of the scene, including watching the Rasp's broken recorded images from the end of last season that included Will and Kate after Broussard's team retrieved it and also the delivery scene, which showed Global Authority vehicles transporting the Rasp to a triage tent, presumably in the San Fernando block. So I jumped to the conclusion that this was Noa's resistance cell given they were working on Rasps and one was missing it's gauntlet. I was wrong and again I apologize, but I hope you still found the scene and way the memory-sphere-tech can be interchanged from Rasp to Rasp still interesting, despite this doesn't give us much information about Noa's group and/or if it's possible she not resistance at all?

However, what I also find interesting about that introduction to this new tech, is the way this could be paired with Maddie's whole season two story. In the finale Maddie awakes on the street near her sister's former bar only to find out the Los Angeles Block is being mandatory evacuated, which viewers also learn is a way to hide "Total Rendition" from the majority of the people! Before Maddie finds herself on a bus being taken to a station, she attempts to seek shelter at her Temple, in which she is denied access. It's easy to imagine that the Alien's religion is either twisted or just a way to manipulate humanity into submission, but when one considers the cube Maddie used upon her initial induction into The Greatest Day and the way the drones have become "selective" in whom they are willing to kill or spare the lives of, and if one thinks about this new sphere, one may wonder if there is still something to it all, including Maddie's cube experience? I'm hoping we'll learn a little bit more about politics, tech, and beliefs of the Rasps (or factions of them) at some point.

The real meat of the episode centers around Snyder's double-dealing acts and the Bowmans escape. The episode doesn't waste a lot of time with Helen revealing that the evacuation is a political coup and telling Snyder he is on the exemption list, in which he has a place in Europe among the Global Authority. Snyder is not so assured by this and seeks to make another deal with new character, whom seems to be some kind of equal or adversarial figure to Helen and was also in the tent during the opening scene. His attire also suggest he could be the leader of the Black Jacks. He makes a deal that he can lead him to the gauntlet, but needs time.

With the fake evacuation underway the Black Jacks are also back in the block, as we learn a bit later in the episode, they're the only government military operatives that know what's happening. They seem to be sent to the block to search for the gauntlet and perhaps take out some targets. Katie and Will made a trip to Hennessy's one last time to try an reach out to her resistance group with almost no results, except for the reveal of a number station, --but more unfortunate, is that the Black Jacks followed them back to Broussard's bunker and major battle ensues, that kills Morgan!

Snyder shows up and explains that "Total Rendition" has been enacted and that no one who has not been exempted, is doomed to go to the Factory! Snyder offers his services and Bowmans take it. Morgan's death seems to prompt Broussard to yet pursue another suicide mission. He refuses to leave with the Bowmans after learning the truth from Snyder, siting his plans to take out as many of the agents out as he can.

One of the best and most intense scenes of the episode comes when Katie and Will disguise themselves as Red Hats to drive Snyder's Government Escort vehicle, as he sites he has orders to take "these children" to the San Fernando Block. His prestige and confidence works to get them into the tunnel, but a midway checkpoint almost goes terribly wrong, as the Red Hat commander in charge doesn't believe a word Snyder says and Will and Katie are told by Snyder to not physically react. They remove the case with the gauntlet and begin to force Snyder, Will, and Katie out of the vehicle, but eventually Snyder just simply tells them the truth---and realize it's the reason why they can't make contact with any higher government officials! Stunned and knowing that he too would of been shipped off to the factory with the rest of the Las Angeles Block, he lets them through!!!

The finale scenes of the episode leave viewers on lots of little cliffhangers. The Bowman's drive through San Fernando, as Snyder clicks on what one might presume is a tracking device, while Helen and and the new mystery character stand together from a bridge over-looking where the Bowmans happen to be driving. And back in the LA Block, a rather emotional scene like that out of WII films with allusions to the holocaust, viewers watch Maddie, realizing much too late that there's probably no escape, as nearly everyone panics, can not get out of the station, while ships overhead prepare to land.

Overall the season finale was a great climax and turn over from a greatly improved second season, minus a few little gripes in relation to not catching up to Beau, not establishing the ends of Betsy and Jennifer, no certainty on Noa's truth, a quick death for a Morgan,

and seemingly letting Bram go unscathed without any immediate consequences from his recant actions. It seems likely the third season will better explore the alien tech, the culture/state of San Fernando Block, and will dig deeper on the inner workings of The Global Authority. What isn't clear is if viewers will follow Maddie to the Factory and/or if the writers will continue to have any stories remaining in the LA Block---if Broussard survived and/or if he too has been shipped off somewhere?! But at least viewers can rest assured that there is another season!! What did you think or what do you hope the third season will bring??