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Eureka: Up in the Air

... in which Carter investigates an unconventional bank robbery, and Allison begins to experience blackouts. Meanwhile, the reduced field of Astraeus mission candidates begins physical conditioning.

Well, the main disaster plot this week was a relatively inconsequential romp, but the side plots continued to progress the new arcs and character dynamics. The floating town disaster didn’t do a whole lot for me, but I did enjoy the way it played off the opening credits and finally created the moment we’ve seen Carter witnessing for years, music and all. (In some respects, that moment struck me as a bit goofy, but I still found myself chuckling.) And I always get a huge kick out of Colin Ferguson throwing himself into some serious physical comedy. He rocked, as usual.

But, for me, all the floating objects were just a sideshow attraction. What I really wanted to focus on was Allison’s increasingly terrifying blackouts, and her fear that she’s losing herself. The sequence in which she walks to the door to get something she left in the car, but suddenly finds herself in the middle of the road about to get run over was heart stopping. And it only got worse when she returned home and discovered she’d inexplicably abandoned her frightened children for several hours. Great work by Salli Richardson-Whitfield conveying Allison’s fear, guilt, confusion, and distress. Unfortunately, Allison’s discovery of the neural implants came too late, because now Beverly has taken over her body and is plotting to gain control of GD while everyone is distracted by the Astraeus mission.

So, I guess getting the keys to the castle is the Consortium’s end game. I wonder if they just want to control GD’s scientific research, or if this has something to do with the Artifact. Given that Kevin is completely normal in this reality, I’m guessing things with the Artifact didn’t go down the way we experienced them, if at all. I don’t really want to revisit that thing again, but since controlling the Artifact and access to it was always presented as the Consortium’s primary interest in the past, I can’t help wondering if their latest nefarious scheme is somehow linked to it.

In other developments, Jo and Zane have agreed to partner up in an attempt to qualify for the Astraeus Team, while Henry and Grace face the possibility of not being able to go on the mission together. Given that Jo initially rejected Other Zane because he inadvertently made her feel like she wasn’t smart enough to be with him, I found New Zane telling her she’s plenty smart and encouraging her to learn the science she’d need to go to Titan particularly sweet. Plus, I like the idea of their relationship developing a stronger friendship aspect to it. It brings a different shading to their dynamic, and keeps their reunion from feeling too repetitive.

The Henry and Grace issue felt more like set up for future storytelling. Neither really seemed to believe that they were going to find a way to resolve Henry’s heart defect issue, so I’m guessing at some point they’ll have to face exploring this new horizon separately. This actually seems like a bigger deal for Grace, than for Henry. She has a long history of partnership with him, but he’s only recently started doing everything with her. I can see how he wouldn’t want to be separated for six months after just getting into a happy groove with her in his life, but going it alone ultimately shouldn’t be that big of a challenge for him. Or perhaps not, given that he’s already lost his great love --- three times. Maybe the prospect of Grace going on deep space mission, and all the risks inherent to that, scares the crap out of him. I hope this isn’t some kind of prelude to Henry losing the latest love of his life.

Other Thoughts

Jo in drill sergeant mode was amusing at first, but then it started to feel like this episode had entirely too much yelling. Between Jo and “Trapped in a Floating/Falling Bank” Carter, it seemed like every other segment included lots of screaming. It got rather irritating after awhile. (Although, I was highly amused by Carter’s initial shriek of joy at the thought of a simple bank robbery case, and his later scream of terror when seeing how high up he was.)

I didn’t care for the Fargo-Parrish-Holly triangle. I’m not surprised, mind you, I just didn’t find it entertaining. I’d prefer to see Holly’s concerns that she might present a security risk as the fly in the ointment when it comes to a potential pairing with Fargo. From a character standpoint, it just seems like it would be much more interesting to see Holly struggle to balance the appeal of Fargo’s goofy charm and her fears of messing up the mission. It would certainly be more entertaining than watching her play the prize to be won in the Parrish-Fargo pissing contest.

So did Jo just admit to Zane that her childhood dream was to be an astronaut? I thought she wanted to be a dancer. Maybe she only briefly flirted with the idea of going into space.

It is starting to feel like a big chunk of the cast is headed for Titan. I hope that’s not what happens. I’m not sure I really want to watch the whole town going to space. Plus, it strains credulity a bit that the 20-person team would include all of our regulars.

Poor Carter’s Jeep. Just when you thought Henry had permanently protected it from the endless stream of damage it’s subjected to, it floats off into space. Sigh.

Final Analysis: I’m glad we got some good movement on Allison’s part of the arc, and liked some of the smaller character beats, but the main plot didn’t do much for me.

(Note: I’m a little pressed for time this week, so I wasn’t able to watch the episode a second time and pull quotes and such. At some point, I hope to rewatch and expand the review.)

Jess Lynde is a highly engaged television viewer. Probably a bit too engaged.

7 comments:

  1. Programming note: I'll be away next week, so the review for the next episode will be about a week late. And it will likely be another single-viewing review.

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  2. Sorry, not buying it. A mom like Allison completely and utterly puts her children and herself in danger, and doesn't immediately (and I mean IMMEDIATELY) inform the crack team of friends she has until they find out whatever is wrong and fix it?. I don't believe it for a fracking second. And I hate that the writers are taking us for utter morons.

    And why the hell is Carter treating blackouts that span HOURS as if they were a headache?. "hey, you scanned yourself?", "yeah", "what did you find?", "nothing, but I feel better now", "oh, OK". Yeah, sure. Carter and Allison are now 5 year-olds.

    Damn it, I knew the moment Beverly appeared that quality was going to go down the toilet. I just didn't new it would be this soon and this much.

    A 2. And that's for the bank subplot, and Wil and Felicia.

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  3. You sound like me at the end of Season 2, Anon!

    I suppose after championing "she loves her children and wants to be with them" after last week's decision to remain Earthbound, I can't really argue with your point that Allison likely would have gone to someone immediately after the terrifying blackout that put herself and her children in danger. Most likely Carter. She probably wouldn't have even left the house without calling him, and he'd be right there by her side until they figured it out. Andy could handle the floating bank situation.

    Maybe they were thinking her "I don't like doctors --- yes, I appreciate the irony" remarks from last week covered it. Or maybe this was bizarro secret-keeping Allison from Season 2. Can we comfort ourselves that the absurdity of this behavior is at least consistent with past cuckoo bananas behavior? :)

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  4. For some reason, this episode really struck me funny. The sequence in the bank with Carter had me laughing out loud over and over. I thought Jo as drill sergeant was fun, too. And I thought Allison was believable. When something goes wrong, most of us don't immediately run to a doctor.

    Darn that Beverly.

    A trip to Titan would be fascinating. But it doesn't feel like it would fit into the show. Maybe it'll happen in between seasons.

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  5. Billie - Me too, I laughed out loud several times -

    Jo - "You want to go into space - ON PURPOSE" ha!

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  6. I am enjoying the new reality. I am not happy with how conveniently Allison is allowed to shrug off her health. Why havent Henry and Jack acted on the future predictor that said Allison presented a 99% security risk (at least combined with her blackouts, etc.).

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  7. Programming update: Reviews for the 8/8 and 8/15 episodes should be posted sometime later this week. Sorry for the delay!

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