S02.E01: Eleven Thirteen

[thewhiteowl]

Quote

Will and Katie try to keep their family together in the changing city; Broussard returns home; Snyder receives a job offer from a mysterious organization.

[oakville]

It was an excellent premiere. It was filled with tension.It makes sense that there would be an EMP attack to knock out communications.

[jcin617]

That was a great premiere.   So the Arrival was planned for quite a while in advance, it would seem;  I'm still intrigued by the idea that "it was inevitable".    I presume they mean the invasion was happening regardless, so they decided best to go along with it?   Those walls really did go up overnight.

[Trace]

I love this show and was really glad to be watching it again.  However, I was extremely confused at first.  I saw no indication onscreen indicating it was being told in retrospect (wording indicating. "1 Year Earlier" for example).  When they indicated the boy sitting at the table was Charlie, I did a double take. Nodding in and out of sleep didn't help either but once I got into I really enjoyed it. I went back and re-watched the last episode (which according to my dvr was march of last year).  It's been too long!

[shrewd.buddha]

The commercials for this show were engaging enough that we decided to give it a shot, despite not having seen any of season one. It seemed like a pretty good set-up, which made me wonder why would so much of a season two episode be a flashback. That led to me looking at viewer posts from season one - which led to the impression that The Colony is 'one of those shows' built on the idea that 'not knowing is half the fun.'
  Unfortunately for me, I no longer have much patience for the long-con style of writing. 

Sometimes the "what's really going on?" element works, but it all depends on how well it is balanced with the elements of "what we do know" and "how will  this week's crisis be resolved?". Wayward Pines  was a hot mess of a show but it managed to spill enough of the beans along the way to keep me coming back until the bitter (really bitter) end. 

I just happen to get the feeling that the breadcrumb storytelling from The Colony is  going to be more annoying than fun.  But  those viewers who have not endured Lost or the X-Files might enjoy the ride (the ride to possibly nowhere). 

Edited January 13, 2017 by shrewd.buddha
grammer

[SimoneS]

This was very good and an improvement on last season. I liked seeing how everyone reacted to the initial invasion. I think that they should have gone with the arrival for the premiere last season. I am going to watch a couple more episodes, but they need to move it along and start revealing the invaders' secrets. 

[oakville]

18 minutes ago, SimoneS said:

This was very good and an improvement on last season. I liked seeing how everyone reacted to the initial invasion. I think that they should have gone with the arrival for the premiere last season. I am going to watch a couple more episodes, but they need to move it along and start revealing the invaders' secrets. 

Agreed. I think would have made an amazing series premiere. The aliens are omnipotent. 

I wonder if the rest of the planet was taken over as quickly

[Clanstarling]

3 hours ago, Trace said:

However, I was extremely confused at first.  I saw no indication onscreen indicating it was being told in retrospect

My two clues: nail polish on the hands cracking the egg (which turned out to be Katie) and Will in a "look at me I'm FBI" suit. But it didn't snap in place right away, I thought maybe it was some kind of a flash-forward instead and thought Charley seemed remarkably okay. I kind of like that they didn't explicitly say when it was taking place.

2 hours ago, shrewd.buddha said:

Sometimes the "what's really going on?" element works, but it all depends on how well it is balanced with the elements of "what we do know" and "how will  this week's crisis be resolved?". Wayward Pines  was a hot mess of a show but it managed to spill enough of the beans along the way to keep me coming back until the bitter (really bitter) end. 

It is interesting how different we all see things. I have been patient and enjoyed Colony's long con (if not some of the characters), whereas I couldn't stand Wayward Pines and only lasted to the end of Season 1 (and felt I should have stopped before).

As to whether this would have made a good season 1 premiere - I can see that in many ways it would be. On the other hand, now we're seeing characters we already know react to the big event and, for me personally, that's more interesting because I'm watching characters I already know, and know what's coming for them. So it works for me as a season 2 opener.

I did love the visuals of the wall coming down.

I might have misunderstood, but it seemed like Snyder didn't have the position he said he'd had before the invasion. Which, given the fact that he was an embezzler, isn't too surprising a lie.

Edited January 13, 2017 by Clanstarling

[Trace]

@Clanstarling, I made the mistake of expecting the Season 2 premiere to take up where Season 1 left off. I'm way too anal retentive about organization!

I also enjoyed watching the wall come down.  I wondered about that during Season 1.  The construction of those huge walls HAD to take a lot of time right?  Not when aliens are concerned I guess.....kind of reminded me of the dome coming down in The Dome.

Edited January 13, 2017 by Trace
had an additional thought

[Clanstarling]

@Trace, I expected that too. For some reason, I focused on the manicure and was "oh, something's different, this can't be immediately after the last episode."

Also, an odd little detail I noticed - both the Season 1 and Season 2 openers dealt with breakfast - and focused on eggs. If the show keeps getting renewed, I wonder if that's the way each season will open.

Edited January 13, 2017 by Clanstarling

[Kath94]

32 minutes ago, Clanstarling said:

My two clues: nail polish on the hands cracking the egg (which turned out to be Katie) and Will in a "look at me I'm FBI" suit. But it didn't snap in place right away, I thought maybe it was some kind of a flash-forward instead and thought Charley seemed remarkably okay. I kind of like that they didn't explicitly say when it was taking place.

It is interesting how different we all see things. I have been patient and enjoyed Colony's long con (if not some of the characters), whereas I couldn't stand Wayward Pines and only lasted to the end of Season 1 (and felt I should have stopped before).

As to whether this would have made a good season 1 premiere - I can see that in many ways it would be. On the other hand, now we're seeing characters we already know react to the big event and, for me personally, that's more interesting because I'm watching characters I already know, and know what's coming for them. So it works for me as a season 2 opener.

I did love the visuals of the wall coming down.

I might have misunderstood, but it seemed like Snyder didn't have the position he said he'd had before the invasion. Which, given the fact that he was an embezzler, isn't too surprising a lie.

Yes, Snyder claimed to have been a provost at Stanford, but in reality he had an administrative job at a community college.

[Clanstarling]

Just now, Kath94 said:

Yes, Snyder claimed to have been a provost at Stanford, but in reality he had an administrative job at a community college.

Thanks. I wasn't entirely sure what a provost does, so I wasn't sure if his little job could have been called that. The word's kind of like ombudsman, I heard it a lot in college, but never cared enough to figure out what it was.  I missed the community college point, which would have confirmed it for me.

[Trace]

39 minutes ago, Clanstarling said:

Thanks. I wasn't entirely sure what a provost does, so I wasn't sure if his little job could have been called that. The word's kind of like ombudsman, I heard it a lot in college, but never cared enough to figure out what it was.  I missed the community college point, which would have confirmed it for me.

I wonder what in the world made them pick him? Talk about lackluster. **I worked at a community college for years so this is no diss for those people :)**

[Arynm]

I also noticed the little lie that Snyder told to make him look better. He was also embezzling from the "second-rate institution" that he worked for. I think that if he really wanted his exwife to be saved along with his daughter that would have been allowed. He controlled all of the block of Hollywood, they would let him save more than one person.  He was being selfish and I am sure things are not working out with his daughter right now. I sort of liked Snyder before, now not so much

[oakville]

The two recruiters said that the algorithm suggested that he would be an excellent leader. I think the aliens hacked into all the databases to find out who was likeliest to want to work as a collaborator.

 

its weird that in the previous season, people who talk on pay phones. Why can't the aliens monitor pay phone calls

[Clanstarling]

1 hour ago, oakville said:

Why can't the aliens monitor pay phone calls

Perhaps it's too low tech for them?

[pgibson77]

5 hours ago, oakville said:

Agreed. I think would have made an amazing series premiere. The aliens are omnipotent. 

I wonder if the rest of the planet was taken over as quickly

 

 

Oakville, I don't know if we can say the Aliens are omnipotent at this time.

I imagine they must have come to Earth in what must have been viewed as an overwhelming force.  Since we don't see a ton of wholesale destruction to the BLOCK the Aliens must have a plan for 1) Earth 2) The Population 3) Both.  They needed to keep us at a functioning level to curb uprising and to prevent their spending resources to prop up the existing population.  Which is why the people who were designated as the potential requirements to jumpstart civilization (as far as the US is concerned) were targeted for capture/elimination.  Also, you can see those who were already in charge would sell out the population to maintain their Security and Way-of-Life.  They would easily give up the names of the potential troublemakers to cut off the resistance before it knew it was needed.  

I loved the way the first season just dropped you into the story.  A family trying to outwit the occupation using what talents they each had to reach a goal.  I especially was intrigued with characters who were working against our (humanity) best interests and how it affected them positively or negatively.

Now, however, this turn in Season 2 means they really do have to advance the story.  Too many questions are unanswered and without killing off characters and demoralizing those we have come to know, we need to find some answers.  The best question is, are they answers we can live with?

The introduction of Devon, although convenient, makes for an interesting wrinkle.  Also, how will Charlie react to seeing his Father again after this last year?

 Will he be happy to be home or will he have become something his Family can't recognize?

Also, with the capture of Bram, we have an introduction to the facility on the moon.  Because you know he is not long for this earth, pun intended.

[Dowel Jones]

6 hours ago, Clanstarling said:

My two clues

I was thinking along the same lines watching Katie drive through LA streets that were full of cars.  What?  Wait a minute!  That, and the satellite tv in the bar.

As is my wont, I did a quick Google Earth check and they filmed the alien scene at the Sepulveda Dam in LA.  Which would explain why the aliens are so combative against the earthlings, seeing as how they had to fight the 405 traffic everyday.

Interesting reveal on the wall construction.  Still, it leaves open the question of blocking off the harbor and how the population will be sustained.  We'll see.  Looking forward to this season.

[paulvdb]

Some other clues: one of the kids mentioned something about a baseball player being traded. There would probably have been no baseball after the invasion. Theoretically the aliens could have given MLB teams exemptions to the travel restrictions, but I don't think that we have seen any indications that there was any news about anything outside their block.

And when they were in the car the camera panned to show a larger part of the city where we could see that there was no giant wall. That last bit confirmed for me that it had to be a flashback.

[Haleth]

I'm surprised people were confused.  Everyone was too happy, everything was too clean and shiny for the scene to have been after the arrival.  It was all too normal.  The connection to breakfast and eggs, recalling last season's opening, was pretty well done.

I was mostly bored but did like how they showed the wall being placed so quickly.  Of course that made me think of... another wall.

[AngelKitty]

Bigger clue: Sawyer was clean shaven.

I binged the first season a couple of weeks ago and was disappointed at not actually getting to see an alien.  I thought for sure we were going to get to see one this episode but no, just the space suit again.

[ottoDbusdriver]

I'm interested to find out how long The Hosts had been on Earth and how they managed to fund their private security team -- and get so many humans to go along with what their plans so easily.  Because they would have had to have been on Earth for weeks if not months to be at that level before invasion day.

I'm even more curious about this group of 1200 who were in place to reboot civilization in case of invasion/pandemic/etc., and who was trying to kill them.  Was it The Host's forces -- or someone else ?

Though we did find out that the Hosts native environment is a cold climate, likely sub-freezing.

[oakville]

17 hours ago, pgibson77 said:

Oakville, I don't know if we can say the Aliens are omnipotent at this time.

I imagine they must have come to Earth in what must have been viewed as an overwhelming force.  Since we don't see a ton of wholesale destruction to the BLOCK the Aliens must have a plan for 1) Earth 2) The Population 3) Both.  They needed to keep us at a functioning level to curb uprising and to prevent their spending resources to prop up the existing population.  Which is why the people who were designated as the potential requirements to jumpstart civilization (as far as the US is concerned) were targeted for capture/elimination.  Also, you can see those who were already in charge would sell out the population to maintain their Security and Way-of-Life.  They would easily give up the names of the potential troublemakers to cut off the resistance before it knew it was needed.  

I loved the way the first season just dropped you into the story.  A family trying to outwit the occupation using what talents they each had to reach a goal.  I especially was intrigued with characters who were working against our (humanity) best interests and how it affected them positively or negatively.

Now, however, this turn in Season 2 means they really do have to advance the story.  Too many questions are unanswered and without killing off characters and demoralizing those we have come to know, we need to find some answers.  The best question is, are they answers we can live with?

The introduction of Devon, although convenient, makes for an interesting wrinkle.  Also, how will Charlie react to seeing his Father again after this last year?

 Will he be happy to be home or will he have become something his Family can't recognize?

Also, with the capture of Bram, we have an introduction to the facility on the moon.  Because you know he is not long for this earth, pun intended.

Last season there was a woman character that was Will's boss that was killed by Rousseau in her home. She had told will that there was no point fighting with the aliens since they seemed to know everything that was happening. Frankly, the resistance was making more mistakes than the Collaborators last year. 

I think this show can learn from V about how to have an effective resistance against evil aliens. What I would like to see is what is happening outside the LA Block. 

i also want to see if Wills mechanic friend is still alive on the moon base.

Where is Carl Weathers? Didn't he escape?

[oakville]

11 minutes ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

I'm interested to find out how long The Hosts had been on Earth and how they managed to fund their private security team -- and get so many humans to go along with what their plans so easily.  Because they would have had to have been on Earth for weeks if not months to be at that level before invasion day.

I'm even more curious about this group of 1200 who were in place to reboot civilization in case of invasion/pandemic/etc., and who was trying to kill them.  Was it The Host's forces -- or someone else ?

Though we did find out that the Hosts native environment is a cold climate, likely sub-freezing.

I would think that it would take a while to rebuild cars, restore power etc after the EMP attack. Do they grow food outside of the LA block? Thee aren't many farms in Los Angeles.

I think the aliens must have hacked into a civil  defence computers. They would have the names of key experts needed to rebuild the infrastructure

[riverheightsnancy]

On 1/13/2017 at 9:37 AM, Trace said:

I love this show and was really glad to be watching it again.  However, I was extremely confused at first.  I saw no indication onscreen indicating it was being told in retrospect (wording indicating. "1 Year Earlier" for example).  When they indicated the boy sitting at the table was Charlie, I did a double take. Nodding in and out of sleep didn't help either but once I got into I really enjoyed it. I went back and re-watched the last episode (which according to my dvr was march of last year).  It's been too long!

Yeah, while I caught it this AM, I had to think, is this a flashback. Is it? 

[Hanahope]

I wonder if the federal gov't made a deal with the aliens to forfeit Los Angeles or all of California to them.  You know, get rid of all those pesky democrats.  Maybe they ceded the whole west/left coast.  I could see some GOPers do that.

I knew we'd see Devon again after the build up.

good set up with other bits too, like how the wife and the resistance leader knew each other (I forget names).  Surprised only the one guy felt something off about herding all the vets together.

so why did Will always feel it was his fault about Charlie? He tried to get there as fast as he could.  He didn't even have a car earlier.  Heck, if he had ridden the bike any faster, he would have been stuck on the other side of the wall. That was a great visual.

the 'mayor' of Hollywood was selected because the aliens figured out he would be willing to lie and cheat for them, and would do what they wanted for reward, given his embezzlement.  I don't recall seeing his daughter before, I wonder what happened with her. 

[Dowel Jones]

1 hour ago, Hanahope said:

I wonder if the federal gov't made a deal with the aliens to forfeit Los Angeles or all of California to them.

I think in S1 there was a comment made about other cities being walled off also.  I can see an ongoing discussion back in AlienWorld about the walls:  "This is completely unworkable.  These things are going to bankrupt us.  (wait for it....) Who is going to pay for it all?"

[riverheightsnancy]

I answered my own question by watching farther in. When Lori (I can only remember her Walking Dead name) told Sawyer (I can only remember his Lost name) to go get Charlie, I went, oh yeah, flashback. The way the walls went up was cool. I thought there would be more freaking out by people though.  I think that I need to re-watch season one, because I was fuzzy on some of the finer details. But, the guy who ultimately becomes the Mayor was always a slimeball. Past and present. lol. 

[Netfoot]

On 1/13/2017 at 9:56 AM, jcin617 said:

Those walls really did go up overnight.

To be fair, he did try to persuade her to pack up and move elsewhere.  So it's not like he completely ignored her/left her to her fate.  But she was on her high-horse, and he had very limited time, so he cut to the chase and saved the daughter.   Maybe he could have done something for the wife if he'd pushed, but he'd only been "Proxy" Snyder for an hour, and probably didn't yet know the limits of his influence.  He put his daughter first, before the uncooperative ex-wife. And I can't blame him for that.

On 1/13/2017 at 3:30 PM, Arynm said:

I think that if he really wanted his exwife to be saved along with his daughter that would have been allowed. He controlled all of the block of Hollywood, they would let him save more than one person. 

Looks like it happened in about 5 minutes flat!

On 1/13/2017 at 3:32 PM, oakville said:

Why can't the aliens monitor pay phone calls

They can track who owns a cellphone.  They may monitor a pay-phone but can they determine who was using it?  Although, given the technological strength we've just seen, I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't just voice-print all calls and identify people that way.

On 1/13/2017 at 8:31 PM, Dowel Jones said:

Interesting reveal on the wall construction.  Still, it leaves open the question of blocking off the harbor and how the population will be sustained. 

And also opens up the possibility of the walls being removed just as easily.  Perhaps some smart-mouthed eleven year old will h4x0r it and make it fly off into the sun.   What?  There is always a smart-mouthed kid with more IT skills than the combined brains of the world's leading Computer Scientists!

6 hours ago, Hanahope said:

I knew we'd see Devon again after the build up.

But for how much longer?  I don't seem to remember her from Season #1, but I concede that my memory is far from perfect on this.

[oakville]

DEvon was not in season 1.

[Clanstarling]

She wasn't in season 1, which makes sense because they didn't have any flashbacks to Will's FBI days, and she's in the Santa Monica block which wasn't shown except for a scene (or two?) with Charlie toward the end of the season (I believe). Though she must have really boogied to get there before the walls came down, if my understanding of the timeline of that day is correct.

For some reason, I'm expecting Charlie to be the guy they said was in charge (I forget the name, Salamander comes to mind but I know it isn't that) - sort of a reverse Fagin.

[paulvdb]

I think it was Solomon.

[Clanstarling]

2 hours ago, paulvdb said:

I think it was Solomon.

I think you're right. Close, but no cigar on my part. Or maybe just close in my own mind.

Edited January 15, 2017 by Clanstarling

[Sake614]

As soon as I saw the whole happy family at the breakfast table, I knew it had to be pre-invasion. St the end of last season, will and Katie were on the outs. Also as others have mentioned, will was clean shaven and in a suit and tie.

i liked the episode and enjoyed seeing the lead up to the invasion. It might have made for a good series premier but I liked it well enough as a season premier too. Looking forward to this season.

[Lebanna]

I may have whooped a little bit when I saw the brother-in-law's vanished flight was from Oceanic Airlines.

I loved that we finally got to see the wall going up.

[Haleth]

1 hour ago, Lebanna said:

I may have whooped a little bit when I saw the brother-in-law's vanished flight was from Oceanic Airlines.

Was it?  I missed that. Was he going to Sydney?

[biakbiak]

5 hours ago, Lebanna said:

I may have whooped a little bit when I saw the brother-in-law's vanished flight was from Oceanic Airlines.

I loved that we finally got to see the wall going up.

I don't know how they stay in business.

[Lebanna]

4 hours ago, Haleth said:

Was it?  I missed that. Was he going to Sydney?

The sister is visiting Oceanic's website to track his flight and you can read it on her tablet.

[Dowel Jones]

2 hours ago, biakbiak said:

I don't know how they stay in business.

The multi-billion dollar settlement they received from the Dharma Initiative fixed their books for quite awhile.

[Raja]

On 1/14/2017 at 5:33 AM, Haleth said:

I'm surprised people were confused.  Everyone was too happy, everything was too clean and shiny for the scene to have been after the arrival.  It was all too normal.  The connection to breakfast and eggs, recalling last season's opening, was pretty well done.

I was mostly bored but did like how they showed the wall being placed so quickly.  Of course that made me think of... another wall.

I'm surprised because it seemed most of the people somehow managed to avoid all of USA's promos. I was wondering if it was going to be a entire flashback season or we are just going to get the origin story. Unlike you I really enjoyed the episode it seems unlike many shows they up'ed their game for season 2.

 

It doesn't seem to be the government involved with the aliens, just people who they thought would turn against the rest of humanity. And most of the potential resisters, like the armed veterans at VFW got taken out before they could really accept the concept of an alien attack or even a facist overthrow of democracy was coming

[Red Bridey]

How did Lori (sorry, can't remember her name) know Brousseau?  It seems like they knew each other when he went into the bar after he came "home," but then neither one used each other's name and their dialogue seems like exposition so then I thought they didn't know each other.  I'm confused.  Also, why was Charlie in Santa Monica?  Wasn't it a school day?  Field trip?

[Raja]

7 minutes ago, Red Bridey said:

How did Lori (sorry, can't remember her name) know Brousseau?  It seems like they knew each other when he went into the bar after he came "home," but then neither one used each other's name and their dialogue seems like exposition so then I thought they didn't know each other.  I'm confused.  Also, why was Charlie in Santa Monica?  Wasn't it a school day?  Field trip?

It was in the first season, as a Marine he worked for her father the Naval officer and was close to the family. Frankly I skipped over why Santa Monica but as a kid inside the LAUSD city basin boundaries many, if not most, white kids go to private schools and many of those are in Santa Monica. The aliens didn't have to drop the wall on the political map lines. But then the older son was close to home so a trip of some kind makes sense. but seeing as he had an app out checking driving conditions I guess it wasn't an everyday, like school five days a week, event

[Raja]

12 minutes ago, Raja said:

It was in the first season, as a Marine he worked for her father the Naval officer and was close to the family. Frankly I skipped over why Santa Monica but as a kid inside the LAUSD city basin boundaries many, if not most, white kids go to private schools and many of those are in Santa Monica. The aliens didn't have to drop the wall on the political map lines. But then the older son was close to home so a trip of some kind makes sense. but seeing as he had an app out checking driving conditions I guess it wasn't an everyday, like school five days a week, event

Let me amend that. I just remembered in the bar he was saying that he knew her father was an officer, just not Navy. Did her husband serve with him before he joined the FBI?

[Clanstarling]

16 minutes ago, Raja said:

But then the older son was close to home so a trip of some kind makes sense. but seeing as he had an app out checking driving conditions I guess it wasn't an everyday, like school five days a week, event

How soon we forget (meaning me) but I dimly recall it was some kind of sports match? Band event? Something like that.

[Dowel Jones]

4 hours ago, Raja said:

I'm surprised because it seemed most of the people somehow managed to avoid all of USA's promos

Well, that's me.  I ff through commercials so I rarely see promos, and never look at the previews, either.  And maybe this is the only show I watch on USA, I'm not sure.

[Raja]

So now we know why the Red Hats are such Nazis, many like the Proxies they were pre-selected for their moral character and already in place before the invasion. Not just collaborators or real cops who got caught by the invasion and were doing the best they could to protect when things got worse 

[Red Bridey]

Thanks, Raja!  I remember that they (Lori and Charlie) were talking about some event on their way to that event, but I really have a hard time with most TV dialogue, and my closed captioning options disappeared when I upgraded my DVR (grr) , so I know I missed that sentence.  I'll rewind twice, but after that, I move on and rely on recaps and you guys to figure out what I missed!

[Raja]

11 minutes ago, Red Bridey said:

Thanks, Raja!  I remember that they (Lori and Charlie) were talking about some event on their way to that event, but I really have a hard time with most TV dialogue, and my closed captioning options disappeared when I upgraded my DVR (grr) , so I know I missed that sentence.  I'll rewind twice, but after that, I move on and rely on recaps and you guys to figure out what I missed!

I am trying to figure out if I mis-remembered the first season or they retconned the Lori/Broussard relationship.

[haberdashersaurus]

On 1/13/2017 at 10:56 AM, Trace said:

I wonder what in the world made them pick him? Talk about lackluster. **I worked at a community college for years so this is no diss for those people :)**

It makes sense. 

The alien Hosts eliminated all the "movers-and-shakers" of society. The top tier of intelligence and capability and leadership. That's why all the highest-ranking politicians and engineers and military and so forth were killed. Because these people would have been the most able to rally the populace and fight the aliens.

The Host algorithm to find the "new leaders" post-Arrival clearly was looking for self-interested, ruthless, cutthroat people who were skilled in the arts of manipulation. While Snyder was "only" a low-level administrator at a community college, he was clever enough to embezzle a large sum of money and remain undetected. Not only did he have to skills to promote the Host agenda, but because they had dirt on him, he was little able to refuse their offer. Basically, the Hosts killed all the smartest "good guys" of society and raised up the cleverest sleaze-bags to run society. 

When Snyder was relieved of his post as Proxy, we saw Nolan having a personal crisis trying to decide which faction to follow to allow him to retain (or increase) his status. The humans at the highest level of post-Arrival society are only looking out for themselves. These kinds of people are least likely to band together to overthrow the aliens to promote the "greater good." Their selfishness is a huge asset to the Hosts, as they can dribble luxury and political power as rewards to these humans for doing their bidding.

To further the discussion, though...

The Resistance is doing a poor job of resisting. They kill their own members to prevent information dissemination, but are not actively recruiting members to further the cause (and replace their lost numbers). Geronimo was doing a good job in spreading the message and rallying hearts to the "cause" (of overthrowing the aliens), but there was no ground game. If you're going to be killing your own people, you've gotta have plenty more behind them ready to do the work. 

The Resistance, as depicted, makes no sense to me. Small acts of violence seem to do nothing against the Host's plans or their current societal organization. They were doing as much, or more, to kill innocent people as the Occupation was. 

As of now, I have no sympathy for the Resistance. I understand their motivation, but am disappointed with their actions and their outcomes. 

I'm looking forward to the direction they will take in Season 2.

[haberdashersaurus]

On 1/13/2017 at 1:47 PM, pgibson77 said:

The introduction of Devon, although convenient, makes for an interesting wrinkle. 

I was disappointed with Will's refusal to let Devon explain her circumstances.

For him to be her partner for 5 years and not let her explain whether or not she was dirty seems stubbornly self-righteous. How is it so hard to believe that she did have an uncle who helped her to buy a house?

 

When Devon said: "You're allowed to accuse me of being dirty, but I'm not allowed to defend myself..."

and Will said: "I'm not interested in hearing a defense, I'm requesting a transfer..." 

Would you think this was in-character or out-of-character for Will? I can't really tell.

He loves his wife to a fault (where he doesn't see that she is Resistance until after the blonde co-worker told him Phyllis's suspicious) and is loyal to Carlos's wife and kid (after Carlos is sent to the Factory); so it is hard to see him not giving his partner a chance to clear herself in his eyes.

I could also see him making a decision (in this case, deciding Devon is dirty) and not allowing anything to sway that. There hasn't been anything on the show yet to depict this kind of steadfastness, but I guess it's not entirely out of reach.

 

In any case, I can't imagine that Devon will be overly eager to lend Will her assistance.