Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Continuum, Season Two, Episode Four: Second Skin

The episode starts with a typical flashforward. Kiera is entering a building armed in full protector mode with another agent named Tammy. When she sees two heat signatures, she demands both people surrender. Kiera shoots through a wall and takes a detonator from a prone body. Suddenly, she hears her son's voice and when Kiera looks up, she finds that Travis is holding her son hostage because he wants to the detonator she just picked up. Tammy shoots Travis in the neck and we learn that this has just been a simulation. Kiera is asked why she hesitated and Tammy declares that they got the target but she is told that this isn't good enough.  Later, Tammy and Kiera are walking and Tammy is not impressed with Kiera's pause and points out that CPS knows their weaknesses and uses them against the protectors.  Kiera says that Tammy did not give her a chance to act and CPS only thinks they know her weaknesses. Tammy tells Kiera that she saved her but Kiera believes that Tammy was reckless.

In present time, Jasmine stops a transport truck and asks the driver if he has ever heard of Liber8, and when he says yes, she pulls out a gun and orders him out of the truck. Jasmine tells him that this isn't about him and that this is about big oil. Jasmine orders the man to tell the company he works for to stop ripping off the people and then she sends him on his way.  Jasmine then attaches a device to the truck and runs to her get away car, as seconds later, the truck explodes.

At the police station, Carlos tells Kiera that they have had seven transport trucks blown up in the last four hours and that each of the drivers was handed propaganda material. Kiera believes that this is a smart move because Liber8 can gain favour with the public by going after companies they already hate. Carlos adds that social media is actually rooting for Liber8.

Alec contacts Kiera and she notices that the connection is rough.  Alec tells her that this is why he is calling.  He adds that the night she arrived he knew something was wrong even before she called for backup and he has had another data spike, which means that someone else's future tech just tried to access his network. Alec tells her that she has company and that another time traveler is here.

Kiera has driven to the coordinates that Alec gave her for the originating signal.  Alex is sitting in the coffee shop and the girl he was making eyes at in the last episode walks in and takes a seat next to him.  When Kiera arrives at the location, the people are having a garage sale.  She asks them if they have seen anyone in the neighbourhood who looks very odd and would have been wearing a reflective suit. The man tells her that most of the stuff he is selling belongs to his mother and that he does remember something like that but he sold it earlier.  Kiera asks to speak to his mother and he tells her that if Kiera gives him her number he will see.  Kiera gets back into her car and leaves.  Kiera contacts Alec and tells him that he may be right and that the data spike may have come from another suit and asks that he track the signal.  Alec tells Kiera that her timing is bad and that his mobile unit is a joke, so she suggests that he return home. Alec tells her that he built a time travel app and says that he has to go and if it happens again that he will let her know. The girl in the coffee shop introduces herself as Emily.

Sonya and Curtis read the news about the explosions of the tankers and suggests that people are going to get mad at Liber8 once they have to start lining up for fuel. Sonya believes that Travis is using the attacks to spread Kagame's message. Curtis believes that this plan is too smart for Travis but Sonya says that Curtis has always underestimated Travis.

Kiera is back at the police station and Carlos informs her that Liber8 hit fuel trucks on the mainland with the message that big oil is enslaving the people, price gouging etc and Kiera says that they are tapping into the public's interest in conspiracy. Carlo asks Kiera if she believes that Sonya is behind this and she says violence is more Travis's domain and adds that Sonya and Travis are probably still on the outs. Kiera gets a phone call and Carlos jokes about it being section 6.  Kiera leaves saying that she is going to see a guy.

Rex is trying on the future suits and it's clear that he is getting ready for cosplay.  He is uncomfortable in the suit and calls it tight, but is encouraged to continue to play the role. Kiera has gone to meet the man from the garage sale and together they have gone to see his mother, who is suffering from Alzheimer's.  Kiera realises that they are in palliative care and Dan tells her that his mother has liver failure now and that she really perked up when she learned someone was interested in the suit.   When Kiera enters the room, Mrs. Danton grabs her hand and calls her partner, as Dan shakes his head. Mrs. Danton tells Kiera that she looks just the same and Kiera calls her Elena.  Elena asks Kiera what took her so long.

As they begin to talk, Elena says that for the first few months, she wondered if anyone else from the execution chamber had come through with her.  Kiera asks when she arrived and Elena says that she arrived in 1975 and adds that she wanted to be normal.  Elena asks about  Kiera's husband and Sam and Kiera asks if she was wearing her CPS uniform when she came through.  Elena's mind slips and starts to talk about kayaking. 


We get a flash to a same sex wedding and Rex is attendance wearing the suit.  They are all dressed as characters from a television show.  Rex is insecure about his love interest and expresses surprise that she still wants to be with him.  Rex stumbles and his suit catches fire but when he pulls the sleeve back, his arm is unhurt.

Curtis picks up a signal on his network.  Back at the hospital, Dan says that his mother was always mysterious about where she came from and asks Kiera how she knows her.  Kiera replies that their mothers were friends and that Elena helped out her mother continually.  Dan points out that Elena recognized her and Kiera says that they probably kept in touch.  Elena wakes and says that she is old and cranky and wants chocolate.  When Dan leaves the room, Elena asks if Kiera is wearing her suit, and Kiera rolls up her sleeve to show the shirt.  Kiera tells Elena that Alec Sadler is there and is a teenaged boy.  She adds that they connected the night she came through and that suddenly he was just there and in her head.  Kiera asks if she ever heard anything and Elena reveals that she turned her tech off years ago because she was always looking for voices that weren't there. Kiera asks about her suit and Elena says that she put it away in a box somewhere and apologizes.

Rex pulls up at a gas station and when he enters the store, he finds a robbery in progress.  Travis is watching the store through CCTV.  One of the robbers moves to attack Rex but he fends him off easily. Rex is shot point blank in the chest but of course is not injured due to the suit.

Curtis is looking at his system and realises that there is another suit.  Sonya asks if maybe it is tracking someone else and Curtis points out that Kagame came through weeks after them. Curtis suggests that it is someone else from the execution chamber.  Curtis traces the signal to the gas station and Sonya comments that though Travis is choosing his targets well that she doesn't believe in the violence.

Elena is sleeping and Kiera tells Dan that he is really good to his mother. Marco tells her that she deserves it.  Alec interrupts and tells Kiera that the suit is active again and that he as coordinates. Kiera arrives at the gas station and hears about the man who was shot and walked away uninjured. When the cashier asks if the man was the hero taking down Liber8, from behind, Agent Gardiner asks if it was someone wearing a super suit. Agent Gardiner asks if Kiera has ever heard of anything like that before walking away.

Kiera is watching the video from the store at the station.  When Gardiner appears, Kiera excuses herself to talk to Alec and tells him that he has to get his head in the game because there has been more than one event. Kiera reminds him that the suits are powerful and Alec tells her that she doesn't have to tell him about something he invented.  Kiera apologises and asks if there is any way to track the suit if no one is wearing it. Alec tells her to find the traveler and get them to turn on their CMR so that he can link it to the actual suit.  Kiera hangs up and announces that she has to go visit a sick friend.

Rex is looking at his chest, which is only bruised and he says that the man from the garage didn't know what he was selling. His girlfriend is worried that he will believe he is invulnerable because of the suit.  Rex points out that when he put the suit on, something bigger than him happened.  She asks about his life and Rex promises to get rid of the suit.

Kiera hops into her car and Gardiner opens the passenger side and gets in with her.  Kiera asks him what he wants and Gardiner says that they have mutual interests and should help each other. Kiera replies that their methods are not compatible and suggests she talk to Esher and let ze know that he is one of the good guys. Gardiner suggests they head to Piloncorp and talk about section 6 but Kiera says that she is going to visit her sick friend first.  Gardiner does not back down and suggests that she is connected to the terrorists and then warns Kiera that they are going to be spending a lot of time together.  Kiera starts the car and drives off.

When they arrive at the hospital Elena is confused and calls Kiera Beth.  Gardiner steps forward and pretends to be Kiera's husband and then leaves saying he is going to wait outside.  Kiera tells Elena that she is sharp as a tack and Elena asks who the asshole is.  Kiera tells her that Gardiner is a federal agent and that she believes Liber8 knows about the suit and asks Elena to help her find it.  Elena says that she does not know what she can do and Kiera asks her to turn on her CMR so that Alex can track the suit.  Elena says that it has been too long and Kiera tells her that she was always the strong one.  Elena says that she is scared and Kiera tells her that she is right there with her.  Elena's CMR is turned on and in his car, Travis feels the shock.  Kiera promises to switch off the suit when she finds it and Alec tells Kiera that he found the address.  Elena asks if Kiera has a partner and so she tells her about Carlos.

Rex is in his dry cleaners and on the closed circuit television he sees Jasmin. Agent Gardiner walks back into Elena's room and Elena asks him if he is looking for Eshcher the mystery man. Gardiner starts to walk away saying that Elena does not know anything but she stop him by replying, "I'm here, she's not. Do you want to roll the dice."

Jasmine has found Rex who is wearing the suit, so she orders him to strip down. Instead of complying they start to fight.  Travis sneaks in behind Rex and shoots him.  Rex hides deeper in the dry cleaner and Travis says, "that suit won't protect you forever."  Sonya sneaks up on Travis and points a gun at him and calls out for Rex to take off the suit.  A fight breaks out and Sonya and Jasmine end up pointing guns at each other. Jasmine and Travis start to drag Rex away when they hear police sirens.  Kiera engages, and shoots her weapon and Jasmine and Travis are forced to leave Rex behind.  When Rex wakes, he realises that Kiera has a suit as well and tells her that he thought the suit would make him a hero.

When Rex arrives at the hospital his distraught girlfriend is waiting for him.  Gardiner arrives and pulls back Rex's blankets to learn that he is not wearing the suit.  Kiera is busy delivering the suit to Alec, who accuses her of wanting to kill him, but Kiera assures him that she deactivated the suit. Kiera tells him that he should move anyway but he tells her that this is only temporary.  Alec then tells her that he has stuff to do and Kiera asks him like what.  When Alec shoots her a look, Kiera concedes that he has a life.  Alec returns to the coffee shop and of course Emily is waiting there for him.  He apologizes for being late and he asks if she lost a bet because she is dating below her level.  They sit down together.

Kiera takes Carlos to see Elena but when they open the door, the bed is empty.  Kiera introduces Dan to Carlos and he tells her that Elena was surrounded by family and that she remembered everyone.  Dan tells Kiera that he had a beautiful goodbye with his mother and then hands a book to Kiera that Elena wanted her to have.  Elena's final message was to tell Kiera that she loved her life and that she can too.  Kiera watches Elena's family and calls them beautiful.  Carlos asks if he is ever going to meet her family and Kiera says that she would love that.  When Carlos asks if she has seen her son lately, Kiera replies yes and that she sees him all of the time. Carlos hugs her as she cries on his shoulder.

Okay, I really don't know what to say about this episode. We officially have a separation in Liber8, but I don't see Travis's methods as bad because no humans got hurt in his endeavors.  Call me liberal but corporations are destructive and sending this message in a way in which human lives are not lost doesn't bother me.

I like that Alec is starting to call Kiera out on her assumptions and demands.  She treats him like a servant and not a partner.  I do however think that the girl who is interested in him is suspicious.  Clearly something is going on with Emily.  It will be interesting to see where these leads.

Also who is this Escher person?  Did I miss something along the way?