Best tech theft scene ever. And another interesting refugee from the future arrives.
So who is John Doe (Ryan Robbins from Sanctuary, I like him), and why was Kiera's name the only thing he could remember? I don't think he's faking the amnesia, and it doesn't feel like he's Liber8 or a skeezy Freelancer like the deadly and unpredictable Curtis. By the end of the episode, all we knew for sure was that John Doe was from the future, he had martial arts training, and he carried a hologram of his family with him. Which makes him much like Kiera. She connected with him pretty quickly, too, and not just because he was from the future.
The first thing that occurred to me (especially after yet another fun Alec/Jason scene) was that John Doe was Kiera's son, obviously from later than 2077. He looks like he could be her son. Am I just projecting a little Marty McFly there? It's also interesting that John Doe had been in that hotel room for three months. How long has it been since the second season finale? Was it three months ago that Kiera and Alec jumped the timeline?
At any rate, the fact that John Doe was "invisible" to current day databases aligned nicely with this week's fun parkour tech theft, which I really enjoyed because I watch American Ninja Warrior. The thief stole an "active camouflage system" (a.k.a. an invisibility cloak) from the hilariously named HyperStealth company. He also stole the Halo prototype from Piron, although fortunately, it doesn't work yet.
The stolen tech stuff and Greypoint Security bugging the precinct computers again related well to the Kiera flashforward about her undercover assignment with the "citizen chips." I actually hoped for a moment that Kiera was there to get her own chip (very painfully) extracted, although so far, we've been told that she was a good and obedient public servant until the timeshift, so no.
When is Kiera going to bolt, to start actively working against the upcoming corporate enslavement? I keep expecting Carlos to bolt, too, and I'm disappointed that he's just not ready yet. Clearly, though, he is extremely unhappy, so much so that he was actually listening when Lucas made a transparent attempt to start roping him in. I was also thinking that Carlos was reconnecting to Kiera, but showing Alec the body in the freezer made me think, hey, maybe not. Carlos even lied to Kiera about telling Alec. And now Alec is also angry at Kiera, and I honestly don't think she deserves it.
As much as I enjoy Kellog, it sort of bugs me that after three seasons, we're still not clear about his motivations. This time, he used a lawsuit against Alec for breach of contract to finagle a seat on the board. And now SadTech has finally entered the picture.
CEO Alec is starting to feel ruthless and sort of evil, isn't he? What sort of man is capable of drilling into the head of a dead friend? What was he going for? Since the "citizen chip" was in people's arms, was it Kiera's CMR? Is he planning to do some reverse engineering of his own future tech so that he can get Halo up and running in sixty days instead of nine or ten years? And what will that do to the timeline?
Bits:
— The "Minute of Silence" was a reference to Betty, I suppose. VPD isn't going to be allowed to investigate her murder. That's pretty cold. Although I bet Nealon's days are numbered, anyway.
— John Doe had GPS coordinates tattooed on his wrist. That has to be important, but I'm not sure why. Anyone have a guess?
— Loved Kiera's white eyelashes in the flashforward. I assume that was an undercover look.
— Rachel Nichols had to get made up like a corpse and lie in a body bag. She's had to do that several times already. I bet it's not fun.
— What's happening with Week Ahead Alec? I'm worried about him.
Quotes:
Alec: "Two of me? Two of her?"
Carlos: "Yup."
Alec: "What's this?"
Kellog: "Karma. By way of sharks in suits."
Kiera: "Do you read a lot of science fiction?"
Alec: "They're listening all the time. Think about that next time you leave your computer on."
I do, actually.
Three out of four white eyelashes,
Billie
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Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.
I knew it was coming the minute Jason said the tech they needed didn't exist yet, but that still stop squirming when Yuppie Alec started drilling into dead Kiera's head.
ReplyDeleteI also thought that John Doe might be Kiera's son, but now I'm not so sure. That might be what they want us to think before they pull the rung from under us. He must have some connection to Curtis because he was surprised to see Kiera at the hotel so he clearly didn't follow her there.
A Continuum philosophical comment: when we look back from the future, I’m pretty sure we will see this series as prophetic. Yesterday I went to the bank and they have now a finger print verification on the machine, I don’t need to type my password anymore. I thought about this episode and how to be a citizen one has to be registered and verified... It sure looks like we’re heading to something similar, and, in some ways, are already there.
ReplyDeleteRecently, the Secretariat of the Federal Revenue of Brazil announced they are working on a project that’s a Big Brother for international travelers: information such as where they work, places they visited and how many times they visited them will be available to the controllers (those people that check your passport/ID when you return to the country, not sure how you call them in English), so they can easily check if you haven’t exceeded the US$ 500 tax-free limit for goodies.
There’s also Facebook and Google learning everything there’s to know about people. And I’ve read an article on how Facebook is able to change your mood depending on what they show on your linefeed. That’s seriously scary.
The more I see of Kiera's past (or her future??), the more puzzled I am that she's not more critical of her society. Initially, I thought maybe she had been relatively sheltered from the excesses of law enforcement, the way many white middle class people are in our time. But it seems she's seen plenty, so her conditioning (maybe augmented by her unit) must be awfully strong.
ReplyDeleteOur John Doe sure looks to be in good shape for a guy who's been lying on his back for a few months.
I'm so sad to lose Betty. I found her very relatable, much more so than Kiera.