Thursday, September 22, 2016

Between, Season Two, Episode Six: Don't Look Back


 Okay, we've made it to the season finale. Thank goodness for short seasons.

Crane demands Liam's research and instead of handing it over, Adam gives him the finger. Mr. Brooks slaps him for his trouble. I know that Brooks is the supposed bad guy but really, haven't we all wanted to slap Adam for some time now? Adam responds by claiming the USB stick is in his sock. When Adam hands over the USB stick, Crane puts it in his computer which emails it to three major news outlets.  Crane gets a call and tells the person on the other end to deal with it.  Adam makes it clear that more will happen if they don't save Pretty Lake.

Wiley continues to protest that she didn't know that Mark was out there but Renee doesn't believe her. They are put in lockdown and Wiley is pissed because now she won't get the three vials.  Wiley brings up the extraction when who should come around the corner but Ronnie? Yep, Renee put them all in the same holding area together. Is it impossible to have just one character with a bit of common sense leading in this town? I know that they are all kids but come on.

Outside the compound, Chuck is waiting when Stacy pulls up.  Stacy brings up that Mark is missing. Their conversation is cut short when Renee's gang shows up and starts shooting.

Ronnie is shocked to hear about the extraction story and points out that Renee has the vials and her power back.  Wiley argues that Renee still wants to know who killed Eric.

Adam is in Crane's office and is continuing to issue threats, as Crane explains that they haven't been able to get through to Miller. Crane tells Adam that if he destroys Liam's research that it will put the world at risk. Adam counters saying that he will give it to every lab thus making it non proprietary. Way to take on big phrama Adam. Crane tells Adam that he doesn't know what he's doing because the cure might not be ready yet. Adam is adamant that he is trying to save people. Crane again says that saving Pretty Lake is not in his hands but he will promise to get his friends out.

Ronnie holds a knife to Mark's throat and calls for Renee, saying he found Eric's killer.  When Renee enters the room, Mark quickly confess and Renee orders him handed over. Ronnie begs to kill Mark to make things up to Renee. Ronnie tosses Mark at Renee and at the same time passes him his knife. Mark puts the knife to Renee's throat and they order everyone to back away.  They pick up the guns, take Renee hostage and head to the vials.  Ronnie hands over the vials and then tells Wiley that his truck is parked out back.  With a gun pointed at Renee, he orders everyone to leave.  Once they are alone, Ronnie lowers his gun and tells Renee that he still likes her. Renee takes the gun as Ronnie tells Renee that they have something.  Ronnie then brings up the extraction this afternoon and asks Renee if she is coming with him. Do we really have time for Ronnie/Renee angst in the middle of all of this? Also, given Ronnie's violent past, I'm not at all down with him getting close to any woman.

Wiley heads to the Mennonites and gets no answer when she knocks on the door.  Wiley lets herself in finds Jason alone in a crib.  Wiley starts to leave when she is confronted by John, who tells her that she cannot take her baby.

Chuck explains to Tracy about leaving Wiley behind when they were shot at. Tracy reveals that she is not going to the extraction points because she won't leave the kids behind. Tracy argues that the lives of the kids are just as important as theirs.  Chuck asks Tracy if she is going to take an injection and waste it but Tracy argues that she can survive and care for the kids.

John tells Wiley that she agreed not to come back for Jason but she argues that she had no choice when she made that promise and now she can give him everything he needs.  Wiley says she  did what was best for Jason at the time. Wiley makes it clear that John is going to have kill her.  John steps forward but is stopped by one of the women, who reminds John that Wiley is Jason's mother and they have no right to keep a mother away from her child.  With Jason securely in hand, Wiley puts him in the car and injects him.

Stacy meets up with Mark at the bar.  Mark explains that they got the vials and instructs her to take off her coat. Stacy asks Mark about where his shot is and he claims he already took it and then injects her.

Chuck, Harrison and Frannie are waiting at the extraction point when Mark and Stacy show up. When Mark and Stacy get out of the car, Mark says that he cannot leave because he didn't inject himself.  There were only two vials left, so Wiley took one for Jason and he gave her the other shot. Mark reveals that there's something between him and Stacey and he won't deny it.  Stacey is adamant that she's staying but Mark argues that would mean robbing someone else of the chance to get out.  The two of them kiss and Mark tells her to go and get help while he waits.


A van pulls up to the gate and the man gets out and shoots the guard before dragging him off the road. Of course, Adam is appalled by the violence. What the hell did he expect to happen? Crane snarks about it being part of keeping the bargain.

Chuck, and Frannie are starting to freak out about being out in the open.  Lemar, Renee and Ronnie show up. Frannie is not pleased that Renee is coming with them, so Renee asks for a moment alone with Frannie.  Renee says that nothing will bring back her brother and Frannie apologizes for her actions as well. Renee says that getting out here and living doesn't feel right and Frannie agrees.

The gate opens and a van starts to back in. Adam watches on the video and notices that Wiley is not there. Adam makes it clear that if the truck leaves without Wiley, there's no deal.  Crane points out that every minute they stay there, puts people's lives are at risk. The man checks to make sure that everyone is inoculated and closes the back door and drives off, closing the gate behind . Wiley starts to pull up as the van is driving away. Chuck calls out for the truck to stop as Wiley rushes towards the gate. Crane gives the order for the driver to turn back for Wiley and Jason. After checking to make sure they have been inoculated, Wiley and Jason are allowed in the van.

In the van Ronnie asks about Tracy and learns that she stayed behind.

Crane tells Adam that he did his part and his friends are safe now.  Adam reveals that the information is on the computer. Crane says that his team needs some time to verify the results of the inoculation and that no one is going anywhere.

Crane announces to the crew that they are at Horatio labs and are no longer contagious.  Crane however will not let them go until there's proof that they're not contagious. Crane promises that his staff will look after them and that they need to run some test to save the friends they left behind. Crane promises that they will be off to their new lives soon.

Doctor's enter the room and take Frannie, Harrison and Ronnie away for testing.  Harrison refuses to cooperate and so a doctor grabs him from behind and physically takes him out of the room, and straps him to a bed. The doctor takes a blood sample and learns that Harrison is no longer diabetic. Renee is taken for an MRI on her abdomen. She doesn't even have a scar anymore.

Adam pushes to see Wiley and Crane confirms that Liam's research is accurate. It seems that Crane convinced Miller that they should wait.  After six months they can reproduce the cure at the lab and then inject everyone at Pretty Lake.  Crane asks about Liam and is told that Liam is still inside the fence.  Adam asks if the death and destruction was worth it and Crane says that Adam has inflated their role.

Crane gets a report on the ways in which the cure has effected everyone. Crane suggests that they move on to stronger testing to see if the Pretty Lake people can survive it.

Chuck and Wiley are alone together and Wiley wonders if they should have stayed behind because nothing feels right. Chuck thinks things are fine because they are being fed.  The doctor comes in and says that they will be released this afternoon and hooks them up to IV's, claiming its the final antiviral course.  As happy as they are to be free, Wiley wonders where they are supposed to go now. They both start to feel the effects of what is in the IV and promptly pass out.

Adam walks into the room where all the Pretty Lake people are being kept and Wiley is clearly weak.  One by one they all sit up and pull out the IV's.  Crane appears on close circuit television and tells them that their ability to self heal is without question.  Crane says that they can reenter society without posing a risk.  Crane claims they are working on a production of a cure which will take six months and that the government will ship in food in the meantime.

Okay, that's it for this year.  It's clear the new plan now that the major characters are out of Pretty Lake is for them to be held captive and experimented on.  It looks like Adam got them out of the fire and into the frying pan. Since the premise of the show is to keep people in one location and then have them struggle for freedom I suppose I shouldn't be surprised but I am so very tired of this type of story line.  It's clear that Adam is going to have to work his magic again to get the crew out of the mess he got them into.

Not much about this show makes much sense.  They still haven't been able to explain in a way that makes sense why people die at a certain age.  The science is junk at best.  If that were not enough the shortage of food just feels like nonsense. As far as I can see, Jason is the only baby in town so how exactly did they run out of formula so damn fast?  Doesn't this town have a Walmart, a drug store or a Target? There should have been tons of food and diapers for the town's sole infant. In fact, there should have been tons of food for the surviving members given that all of the adults have died.

Far too much of this season was spent on romance.  I don't care about what happened between Mark and Stacey. Mark turning bad guy with a heart of gold just screamed that they are getting rid of the character.  This is what writers always do when they want to prepare an audience to lose someone. What this show absolutely doesn't need is more angst and that is all these relationship added up to is unnecessary angst.  The only one worth anytime at all is the budding relationship between Frannie and Harrison.  It's sweet and the only thing which feels real about the show.

In terms of people of colour, this season we lost Gord and gained Renee.  In some respects I think that it is a good trade given that Gord was simply too good to live.  He seemed to work on a moral code which makes no sense and me become team Frannie when she refused to give away all of her food. Renee on the other has shown moments of cunning even if she did stupidly but Ronnie in with the rest of the captives.  The fact that she was raised off grid makes her an interesting character and I look forward to learning more about her.

I cannot say that I am looking forward to season three if there is to be one. I think it's time to move away from a plot of people being trapped somehow in a geographic location.  It's tired and old at this point and Between hasn't added anything new to the scenario beyond junk science.  It's a sad thing that the highlight of this season was watching as Adam get slapped.  I don't think a new location is going to change how I feel about at this point so I hope that Between just wraps this up and we can all move on.