Asha hands some files to Logan, the S1W has uncovered
some evidence of police corruption that Logan will spread using Eyes Only. She’s
nervous though, both of the cops spreading their own version – and she’s sure
someone is onto them
We move to a man watching 6 televisions at once with
several more around him, all set to different channels. He points at them a
second before they switch to the Eyes Only broadcast. He stands up, zips up his
hoodie and leaves.
He goes to a video game arcade and plays a game, impressing a kid by his effortless high score despite having never played it before. He tells the kid to move a second before the police rush in, running through the place the kid was stood; he never stops playing. He then ducks over the game and forces the kid’s head down as well – gun shots then hit the game behind them, passing through where their heads were. The police take out Asha and several members of the S1W and put them in a police van. The man follows with his hands on his head but the police don’t notice him and ignore him.
At Jampony normal is loving the S1W being arrested and
speaks up in favour of more anonymous tips and Max says the S1W is just
exposing corruption. Normal asks her how she knows – she ignores him, then Alec
asks the same question and she ignores him too (which, it being Alec, is
probably wise anyway). Normal starts his conspiracy theory wondering about Max
and the S1W, heightened when Max choses to take a deliver a package headed to
where the S1W were arrested.
Max sneaks into the crime scene – joined by Alec who has
turned up to find Asha’s address book since he gave her his number (and is then
quite perturbed to find she didn’t bother to write it down). They do find a
poetry book and a hand written poem that Alec assumes are Asha’s and written
for Logan. Max says she’s covering for Logan and Alec taunts her for being a
chump, that Asha has a crush on Logan and she’s being taken advantage of. Max
starts to lecture him on the bigger picture, people being arrested etc (oh what
a turnaround from season 1) when Alec points to the nearby computer game – with
the Highscore first place with name of Max with a loveheart, and the score
begins with 452. Max’s barcode. On top of the game is the man’s hoodie.
We cut to the man trying to get his neighbour to take in
his post while he’s away for a few days but she doesn’t hear him when he speaks
and only belatedly notices him.
Back at the arcade, Alec asks the kid about the man who says
he can’t describe him because he didn’t really notice him. Alec shows him the
very large hoodie in surprise that he wasn’t noticed since the man is fat. The kid
describes his odd ability to see the future. In the Hoody is a name, Brain and
his address. The kid also says that Brain said the hottest girl he’d ever seen
would come asking after him.
Brain, at his flat, is clearly primping as if for a date
and when Max and Alec arrive, bickering, he opens the door angry that Max didn’t
come alone.
Cut to Brain being tied to a chair and blind folded while
Alec and Max tell Logan that he seems to be the man who tipped off the police
about Asha and the S1W. Apparently he told them that he knew the raid was going
to happen but only to a 73% certainty (only 73% he knew it was happening but
knew exactly how it was going to happen up to and including where the bullets
would fly – turn off your expectations of narrative consistency folks, it’s Dark
Angel Season 2). Though they’re a little disturbed that Brain knows Max’s name.
Logan starts to discuss his plan to free Asha & Co and Brain, from his chair,
criticises it, saying it has a 92% chance of failure and all the ways it can go
wrong referring to the area layout and other factors. Logan gets irritated and
removes Brain’s blindfold, after a glance around the abandoned warehouse he
tells them the address they’re holding him and begins to criticise why it fails
as a secret meeting place before Logan gags him. Looking at Logan he then
realises he’s Eyes Only.
As Max and Alec leave to free Asha Brain shouts after
them that the only way the plan will work is if she “breaks an egg” (something
he saw on a TV advert earlier).
They raid the prison transport and take down the 2 guards
quickly – but not before they press the silent alarm. Alec begins to run
through the huge bunch of keys but police sirens start up almost instantly. Max
drives off and police cars come from all directions, surrounding them. She
drives towards a train crossing with police cars behind her and ahead – and a
train on the way. She remembers what Brain said about breaking an egg and sees
an old billboard with the same advertising slogan on it by the train tracks,
she turns the transport and rams through it, crossing the rails behind it mere
inches ahead of the train. The police cars following grind to a halt.
Back at the warehouse, they ask Brain how he knew and he
tells them he’s an X series, just like them. Alec confirms that he has a
barcode on his neck but doesn’t think he can be a soldier given how fat he is.
Brain is an IT processor: basically a general, his staff, 2 database groups and
5 logistical support teams into one stealth package. Alec mocks the “stealth”
claim but Brain says people look away from him, don’t notice him, don’t
remember him. And he’s not psychic, he uses vast amounts of data and statistic
to analyse probabilities. Yeah, psychic. He claims to know his and Max’s future
so Alec mocks him for having a crush on her. Brain also tells them that one of
the S1W betrayed the raid, not him.
Max takes Brain away and she begins to follow the logic
of the S1W having a mole. She smacks Brain for not paying attention and he says
he is – and tells her she’s wondering if anything is going on between Asha and
Logan. Max shows him pictures of the S1W and asks which one did it but, other
than the fact Asha is going to be heavier than him by the time she’s 30 (*eye
roll*). He doesn’t have enough data to know which one betrayed the S1W (The
Camera cuts to far too damn obvious Red Herring. Does anyone fall for that?) He’s
upset because he’s letting her down. He talks about Manticore – she doesn’t remember
him but he’s designed to be forgettable – but he remembers her and envied their
physical capabilities. He also obsessed with her, studying all the data there
was to know about her. This goes on to further establish the crush Brain has on
Max
Brain and Max return to the S1W and Logan with the Red Herring
questioning who Brain is and who he’s working for. Max vouches for him and
Brain has a psychic vision of sector police approaching, he quickly tells them
where to go to escape and everyone runs.
Except Brain who stays behind with his hands up. The police ignore him
so he elbows one in the face, twisting his ankle in the process. The policeman
gets up and points a gun at Brain – finally noticing him.
The rest of the S1W escape and Asha calls Logan who is
arranging to have her and her group escape across the border into Canada,
though she’s not happy at the idea. He warns her to be careful of the informant
and she dodges around confessing her crush to him (ugh let it end). Alec asks
what women see in Logan (contrived love triangles Alec, it’s all about the love
triangle).
Max goes to rescue Brain who is sawing at the bars on the
window. She tells him he must have known she was coming for him because there’s
no way he could fit through those bars (and he finally calls out a comment as
hurtful). He limps to the door – but his ankle is twisted and Max has to carry
him (yes, more fat jokes). He muses that people don’t see him because there’s
nothing to see – he never does anything with all the data he is and he
confesses he turned himself in, which doesn’t amuse Max who is having to carry
him (and we get a crack about her being strong but not “super woman”). They hide in an office and Brain has another
psychic vision of Max going to rescue the S1W being held captive by their
traitor wherein she ignores a “Danger” sign, kicks the door in – and is shot.
But he doesn’t tell her the last part. She doesn’t buy it, how can he happen to
know all this (you and me both Max). Brian notices a poetry book and poem that
matches Asha’s on the table and tells Max it’s a CIA trick – to use writing to
pick out certain passages in a book to pass on secret messages, it must be the
traitor’s. Max doesn’t believe Asha is the traitor because betraying the S1W
would hurt Logan (really? She’s seen her do so much for the S1W, it’s her
dominant cause but the reason Asha wouldn’t betray it is because it would hurt
a guy? The S1W is Asha’s baby, not Logan’s!) So it must be someone else’s poetry
book
Cut to the S1W and the traitor asking for his poetry book
back. Max and Brain speed towards them on a motorcycle and Brain translates the
coded message to reveal the traitor’s identity. They arrives and Brain’s
clearly troubled, also considering how much Max was willing to help Asha
despite believing she and Logan were together. When they stop he asks her what
she sees when she looks at him and she says, after some thought, that he’s “magnificent.”
He smiles, happy.
As the S1W begin to emerge, police cars drive up. Max quickly knocks down –and out – the 5 cops while the S1W run through the old mill guided by the traitor, leads them through the factory and locks them in a side room – before closing the outer door with the word “Danger” written on it. Max follows them as a whole truck load of police arrive and Brain breaks in through one of the windows.
Max runs through the factory, repeating Brain’s vision
while Brain himself tries to hurry to her. She kicks open the danger door but
just as the traitor fires, Brain throws himself on top of Max, knocking her
over and taking the bullet. Max leaps to her feet and disarms and knocks out
the traitor.
The S1W escape from the locked room and find Max knelt
over the badly wounded Brain. He tells them the way out to escape the police
and the S1W leave. Max stays with Brain while he says he only ever wanted to be
seen by Max. The police arrive and Brain pulls her to him, hiding her in his
stealth field. When the police are gone, Brain is dead.
Back at Logan’s, Logan tells Asha that all the police
files from the arrest are gone (thanks to Brain) so Asha and the S1W don’t have
to flee to Canada and we can have many more episodes of pointless love
triangleness. Yay. This is my happy face. Really.
At Brain’s flat, Max and Alec watch the Eyes Only
broadcast on Brain’s televisions, the broadcast is commemorating Brain’s dead.
Max just wants everyone to see him (Alec’s there to steal his TV and move into
the empty flat). Alec comments that Brain was “kind of magnificent”. (Subtle
hint of Manticore conditioning I guess, after all you’d want your soldiers to
obey and respect the generals).
It’s perfectly reasonable to have a transgenic whose
abilities are primarily mental to be overweight – but not if you’re going to
base an entire episode around fat jokes. It’s juvenile and really scraping the
barrel, especially when we throw in the whole “fat guy has a crush on a hot
woman” joke.
As for the rest – stealth systems and magic maths that
lets you see the future. Yep, it’s Dark Angel season 2, it doesn’t have to make
sense any more. Which is kind of sad because a brilliant transgenic computer
would be an excellent and reasonable transgenic. It’s actually kind of sad that they didn’t
work on that angle rather than make him a psychic and then integrated him into
Eyes Only – that would have been several times more interesting and sensible.
Hey and Manticore had this kind of stealth ability and didn’t make an army of
ninjas with it?
And yes I am tired of the Asha/Max/Logan love triangle
and the idea that Asha wouldn’t betray her organisation, the organisation we’ve
seen her work for and passionately defend for the entire season, just because
it might hurt Logan is insultingly ridiculous
