Monday, March 14, 2011

The Event: Season 1 Episode 13 - Turnabout

Hello Eventers!  Much much more like it!  I love joking about this show as much as the next person, but they put together a really solid hour of television tonight.  And, as I suspected, much of it had to do with moving the pieces around in the last 2 episodes to give us some fresh perspective.  The chess match between Sophia and Thomas has reached violent new heights.  President Martinez is taking an "over the top" bold new approach to his Presidency.   Sean is off on his own and faced with a decision on how much he wants to be involved.  And of course, the weak link still remains in Michael Buchanan's daughter, Leila.  But, the reduced screen time helped the episode keep the momentum going. There were actually a couple "ANSWERS" hidden in the episode for anyone that still looks for those on shows like this!  So, no sense in delaying, let's dive into the recap.

So, after daddy Buchanan promised all of the answers if Leila would just leave Sean, he decided to take a long drive to Beverly Hills, California and drop off his 2 daughters at Andrea Zuckerman and her ex-husband Jesse's house.  Baby Hannah was nowhere to be found.   Oh my bad!  Wrong show.  But Happy belated 50th Birthday to Gabrielle Carteris.  Anyone out there feel old?  So for real, Leila was dropped off at some fellow sleeper aliens that just took the appearance of aged 90210'ians.  

Absolutely nothing about Leila is revealed in these scenes that we didn't already figure out on our own.  Sure, we find out that the sleepers are torn on who to support.  As are the couple that are hiding Leila and Samantha.  SHE supports Sophia, and HE supports Thomas.  They also drop some information on how Sophia is vulnerable by working with Michael.  Let the speculation begin on if they have a former relationship.   It would explain why she was so upset at Michael in last week's episode when they discussed him having children.  But it would ultimately explain why she was sympathetic and allowed him to find his daughters.   What wouldn't make sense though is why he profusely apologized to Sophia for taking part in the place incident.  He talked to her as if he had never met her in person.  Maybe, I misread the scene or there could be major rewrites going on.   There was also that scene where she thanked Michael for being here and they never could have gotten this far without him.  Should we be reading more into that?  Were they talking about 66 years ago?  Or more of how far they have gotten in this episode?  Eh, I'm off topic right now but I wanted to mention that. 

Anyway, what was the big reveal on Leila?  Well, she tried to fit into the discussion claiming she is one of them!  But noooooo, Man Alien said "no you're not, you're half of one thing and half of the other!"   WOAAAA REVELATION!!!  Okay, we get it.  Hybrid children are special and/or dangerous.  But man, they are milking the reveal for as long as they can.   Even Michael just ignored Leila when she kept asking him what she was.  Maybe Leila IS The Event!  (joking people, really!)   Anyway, there's not much more I can MILK out of this storyline, sooooo moving on!  

When we last saw Sean, he was walking off "Incredible Hulk style" onto the long and winding and lonely road.   Where would he go?   Who knows?  But we next catch him at some bar where a girl begins to hit on him.  He is staring at a picture of Leila but refuses to say they're together.  Maybe, he is a little put off by the fact that she is HALF ONE THING and HALF SOMETHING ELSE!   Anyway, OF COURSE, the girl has an abusive boyfriend.  Sean tries to take the high road, but this guy comically keeps coming after him.  Pushing him and pushing him, the music building, Sean shaking in a corner.  Seriously, with the way last episode left off and now him being beat up for no reason didn't anyone else expect him to say "You wouldn't like me when I'm angry!!!"???   Anyway, Sean finally gave in and the video game programmer went to town on this beef cake.  I guess being part of a Inter-galactic conspiracy made him SUPER STREET FIGHTER!  Or maybe he actually programmed Ryu or Ken or M. Bison in the actual Street Fighter video game so he was able to hold his own.  My favorite part was that the bartender that was going to call the cops on the boyfriend guy actually kicked SEAN out for defending himself!   Good times. 

We next see Sean breaking into someone's house to eat a chicken leg.  It turns out that she is a friend or relative of his.  He must be in his hometown or something.  And hey, maybe they did reveal that and I wasn't paying attention.  But Sean spills the beans on everything EXCEPT the alien part.  He didn't want to talk about what happened with Leila.  But he did say that there is an organization that is framing him, attempting Presidential assassinations and kidnapping children to experiment on them.  And while Sean wants to flee to Mexico, this woman ends up being the catalyst that motivates Sean to do the right thing and CATCH THE BAD GUYS!  Hey, let's not talk about how this woman would actually expect simple computer nerd Sean to take on an evil corporation that is part of a worldwide conspiracy.  Let's focus on the part where Sean is now motivated to expose this group and their plan.  Because really, it's about time we learn something about Hal Holbrook's character, don't you think?!

We next see our favorite kidnapper, Vicky Roberts, at a grocery store.  I guess we're back in Texas and she is back taking care of her child.  But she is paranoid and looking over her shoulder at every turn.  Case in point, cantaloupe man.  I guess if you're a good looking girl, you have guys spontaneously talking about how to tell if a cantaloupe is ripe!?  I don't think she asked or even looked like she cared!    Anyway, she left something in the store, and he came to give it to her.  Her paranoia got the best of her and she took him to the ground. Nice.

But, maybe she was right to be paranoid because someone with a gun was waiting in her house.  It's Sean Walker, world traveler!  Just happened to be in town!  And, he said it's time to expose Dempsey, and Vicky is going to help.  Sounds like a plan to me!  Hopefully, she actually has some information to provide next week and she doesn't have some cop out story.  We'll see! 

Fueling the Portal
So this was clearly the main and most intense storyline of the episode.  The Government was involved, Michael/Sophia were involved, and Thomas's crew was involved.   President Martinez was fueled by a creepy bad dream that he was a weak president to be more proactive and assertive than he has been for 12 episodes.  It's almost like he read reviews of this TV show or something!  I think this type of thing has happened on several TV shows recently.  When things are moving too slowly, they actually right lines into the show like "It's time to stop reacting and be more proactive!!"    It just happened on V, it happened tonight on The Event.   And yes, it even happened in the beginning of season 2 of Fringe.  (of course, Fringe has grown from a good show to a fantastic show, so maybe their plan worked!)   I just find it kind of funny.  Like, why don't these shows kick it up a notch from the start!?  I guess you have to see how slow a pace your audience is willing to accept so you can get more story for your buck.   

Anyway, the Prez is a little p.o.'d about the Inostranka incident and gives the secretary of defense (or whatever Mac from Friday Night Lights is supposed to be) an earful.  Blake Sterling has returned to work.  They sold it by saying he was annoying the hospital staff so he returned to work while still recovering.  Well, at least they did that!  

We get a glimpse of Thomas bringing the 50 something Inostrankans that sided with him to an empty suburban town.  It seems Thomas's money has been put to good use building an entire community for his people.  But, not everyone will get to rest.  There is work to be done, they need tons of fuel for their array and there is one man that can do it.   HANSON!!!   (no not the Mmm Bop Band trying to make a comeback. No seriously, they are!)   He is an alien, loyal to Thomas, with one messed up face.  We find out way soon enough.  

Meanwhile, Sophia and Michael are hot on the trail of their first lead.   Having just been informed by Simon that Thomas has killed the Inostrankans that sided with Sophia, they know that he must be stopped at all costs.   Sophia is willing to have her son killed if it means saving the rest of them.   So, they track down their lead.  And, no surprise, it's Hanson!   Sophia and Michael find a way to corner him and gruesomely torture him for information.  Little did they know but they were falling right into Thomas's trap.  Hanson claimed that Thomas was going to use a portal to move uranium out of a Nuclear Power Plant.  So, then Sophia called up Martinez to warn him.  Backed by Sterling's speech of being saved by an EBE supporting Sophia, they knew they had to listen to her.  

Simon was sent to the Nuke Plant to initiate the moving of the uranium rods.  Meanwhile, Hanson had a game piece from the board game sorry shoved in his messed up skin that worked as a communication device!  He told Thomas it was all according to plan.   Oh, let's pause for answers for a second. 
  • Sophia tells President Martinez that the portal that they want to use to move the uranium is the same technology that was used to move the plane.   Not a shocker, as we assume that is what this portal array is too.   Just on a much more massive scale. 
  • She also says that a large magnetic field can be used to stop a portal from being used, which surrounded Inostranka and is why they were never able to portal the inmates out.  Perhaps it's why their craft crashed in the first place? 
  • Apparently, the incident at Chernobyl was caused by the aliens too.  THE EVENT likes to skew our knowledge of history by letting us know that the aliens were involved.  i.e. Manhattan Project was helped massively by Thomas.   BTW, Hanson was involved at Chernobyl causing his facial issues. 
  • Leila is HALF ONE THING and HALF SOMETHING ELSE!!!!  (couldn't resist)
So, anyway, Thomas could not portal the uranium out, so he played Sophia for a fool and had her move everything in motion for him.   And, once this was done, he ordered her death by Hanson.  And so he plugged in some speakers and put "Mmm Bop" on eternal repeat.   Actually, he tried to pull a Ben Linus on John Locke strangle move but Sophia was able to fend him off.  But she was almost choked to death. It's a good thing that Michael got that shotgun out of the ground from the Alien Babysitter's house because he came out of nowhere and shot Hanson in the back!  

Meanwhile, it's shootout central in the middle of California somewhere.  Thomas's men ambush the Uranium Rod caravan.  Simon does take a few people out but in the end he is no match for this squad.  They were set up to fail.   Simon does do a sweet disappearing act.  Not sure how he fled to behind that bridge but he sure pulled it off!  

The President feels duped once again by Sophia and really does not want to trust her anymore.  Sophia says that she will prove her intentions to him but needs to take care of Thomas first.  Sophia's call was traced to put here somewhere in San Francisco.  The next call she makes and they'll be able to find her.  The bold new forceful President is willing to take Sophia by lethal force.  Hmm, that's not going to get you your answers Mr. President!  

And that's that.  Not the greatest cliffhanger but I feel there will be some solid episodes to come.  Big questions that I skirted over in the recap.  Sophia is withholding information for OUR protection.  She has probably said that before, but what does it mean?  Male Babysitter guy mentions that when Thomas brings their people over, "Do you know what's going to happen to the native population?  Do you want to be here when that happens?"  So what IS going to happen to the native population?  Good question Leila.  Are they just going to wipe them out??   Is that THE EVENT?   Well, in any case, if Michael is ever in the same place as Leila again, it would seem he needs to tell her.  The babysitters wouldn't reveal as it is his place to tell.   I guess we'll see what happens! 

Very solid episode.  I'm not sure that the ratings will have improved for more people to see it but I enjoyed it.  I have a very FlashForward vibe about all of this.  The show has improved since the hiatus, but the hiatus killed the audience.  Catch 22.  I guess all we can do is watch and hope for a good conclusion of it is not going to be renewed!  Anyway, that's all I have for now.  Be sure to tune in to Fringe on Friday and for the recap over the weekend.  And look for additional discussions for The Event over at The TV EVENT (my recap is posted there as well)  Hope you enjoyed my ramblings and I'll see you next week! 

End Credits

  • Upcoming shows I'm looking forward to:
    Game of Thrones (HBO) - Starts in April
    Breaking Bad (AMC)
    Alcatraz - with Jorge Garcia in lead role


Anonymous said...

Good job Mike.

I liked the episode overall, but as almost all Event eps do, it lost credibility to the point of making me laugh.
1. Sterling, shot 2 or 3 times, and his back wound opened up even more--made it to the first review the Pres had on the subject--which would be like the next day in the real world. In the real world, he'd still be in AK the day after being shot up.
2. The convoy and it's ambush. Come on, a major national defense issue and no air cover. No police escort and one of the vehicles a 15 year old Ford PU? No satellite tracking(think Jack Bauer-lol) or police forces to call via radio or cell phone to set up road blocks. Those rods on the truck were exposed more than I've ever seen them when transported--how about radiation sensing equipment. The truck would have redundant tracking mechanisms on it. All of those trucks are tracked with GPS at a minimum. Anyway I'm goiong on too much. But as I said, it made me laugh and that's OK for entertainment's sake.

On a totally other level, the story line of stealing the fuel rods made me think of what is going on in Japan. Which must have been on the minds of those at NBC. We collectively know more about fuel rods now than we probably ever wanted to know. Like how much heat and radiation they emit and so that in itself doesn't seem fair to the show. For example, shutting down a nuke facility and transporting the fuel rods in a day, really seems comic book at this point.

Your comments on Sean being the Hulk from the last ep really came to mind during the bar scene when he acted all humble just wanting to leave. And yes, when the big guy had Sean pinned against the bar and Sean was starring at him, I was waiting for--you won't like me when I'm angry.

Now we know how Dempsey's plan of meeting Sean will begin coming into place. Interesting that he's bringing Sean to him. At least that's what it looks like to me.

I'm looking for Leila and her sister to have to escape from their sanctuary. Also I thought she probably did her best acting job last night??

I bet Sophia wishes she had killed her son when she had the chance.


AUStarwars said...

I actually really like the is picking up steam and i think cancelling it would be a major mistake..what are they going to put instead? More episodes of The Cape? I mean..come on..

I do think Michael is Sophia's ex husband (as well as the Archangel Michael)

Simon seems to survive the worst things quite well..shouldnt SOMEONE connect the dots at some mater how you look at it, isnt Simon the connetion to all these govt problems? Hes the EBE that knew about it and told Sophia, who in turn accidentily told Thomas, but the "secret info" still came from Simon right? I mean they have to know there is a mole at this point...right?

If you want my interpretaton as to why they are worried about these "half humans"..see this adds credence that this hybrid is not good for any involved..and helps the "angel" theory:

Mike V. said...

@Richard - Thanks! Yeah, the laughability of the show is a given and I'm sure to mention the things that crack me up on a weekly basis. But if I'm entertained for a solid hour, then they have done their job.

1.) Yep, hysterical. Totally agree he wouldn't be fit for the job yet... so, as i mentioned, I was at least happy that they discussed it in the episode. That he would have been a nuscance to the hospital staff until they let him have his way. Plus, at least he acted weak all episode. lol

2.) I actually DID think Jack Bauer during this episode...wasn't the final season all about uranium rods? lol Anyway, yeah it was all kind of ridiculous but at least it was an impressive action sequence! Didn't look very fake or CGI'y either. We have to pick our battles lol. As far as Japan goes...yeah it definitely crossed my mind as watching and I was kind of surprised that NBC made no attempt at throwing up a warning for sensitive viewers or something. But yes, agreed that it was very bad timing for multiple reasons. The world's sensitivity to the plotline AND our increased understanding of how it all REALLY works. Good point!

As for the Hulk....yeah, it's almost like it was all done intentionally at this point. I mean, what OTHER reason could there possibly be for that bar fight where he resisted for so long? And the look Sean gave was totally the Banner look right before he changed. How could we not picture that infamous quote in our heads!? lol

Funny how I didn't even think about Dempsey's cliffhanger moment last week when Sean has now decided he's going to expose that plot! So, you don't think it was free will for Sean to decide to get back in the mix? You think Dempsey altered his path to bring him that way? Of course, now having seen The Adjustment Bureau, I can see why you might think that lol

I wouldn't be surprised at all if Leila plans an escape. Unless she thinks she can finally convince Andrea Zuckerman to spill the beans on what's going to happen. That would be awesome if a 90210 alum reveals what THE EVENT is. Ahhh good times. As for Leila's didn't seem much different than normal last night...but with the bar so low, maybe it WAS her best! :-)

Agreed on Sophia.

Mike V. said...

@AUSW - Not sure if you noticed, but NBC is planning a lot of high risk/reward shows for the fall. I just read that it's a move that ABC took in 2004 when LOST, DH and Grey's all premiered. there is a possibility that NBC will have a resurgance next season. If that happens, there may not be a place for THE EVENT (or The Cape, which already aired its finale online). I forgot what channel picked up Alcatraz but I'm pretty psyched for that one!

So, as I mentioned, I agree that Michael may have a romantic past with Sophia. Ex-Husband? even we'll see! So you go on these rants of how they're angels but not REALLY angels...only things that we PERCEIVE as angels. But then you go ahead and call Michael the archangel Michael? I guess I need to read up on this whole history of false perceptions of angels to see where you're going with all of this!

Didn't the governemnt already think they found their mole in that other guy that Simon framed? yeah, you'd think they start suspecting they have it wrong. But I think that episode made it clear that they think Simon is "in the clear".

I'll check out your link and get back to you. Maybe it will clear up my earlier question too!

Anonymous said...

I can buy "angel like"(maybe even what many suspect about ancient stories of super beings during the early Egyptian times--that even built the pyramids,landing strips in Peru, etc). But true angels don't need portal arrays. Atleast as I understand them.

These aliens seem more based in technology, admitting that the magnetism of the North polar region blocked their portal capabilities.

But there has to be some physical things going on--like when Michael looked at Sophia and appeared to be given permission to use something like a Vulcan grab to get the guy to talk.

It would be interesting to know if the aliens naturally look human or something else (like reptilian, ala V). That way we would know more about them wiping out the humans. Which could make Leila and her sister somewhat special.


Mike V. said...

Agreed - Angel-like I can accept. But flat out calling them angels just doesn't seem like the right terminology. But I punt to AUSW to defend his comments. And I'm sure he will!

I think he's saying that this technically advanced and biologically advanced civilization can be PERCEIVED as Angels and may even be the actual source of our faith in higher beings. But really, they're just an advanced alien species and not actually from a spiritual realm. But, I could be wrong there.

Yeah, I'm going with them naturally having the human appearance. Even the DNA testing they did indicated that they were practically human except for that 1% difference or whatever ....the whole aging thing. Who knows!?

The big question now is...will we find out before the show gets canned? It will be interesting to see if the ratings increase or decrease from last week. Because I know there were many people that didn't even know it was coming back. I'll be sure to report that if I see it.

Mike V. said...

Not looking good at ALL for The Event. Dropped to 4 million:

Anonymous said...

Chuck was about the same as was Harry's Law on a share basis. Overall NBC is getting killed--atleast on Mon. Maybe it's more than 1 or 2 shows that are the problem? Most shows were down too.

I have said it many times, LOST was very well produced and that in itself was an attraction. Fringe is well produced for a TV show made in today's environment with having almost too many TV networks diluting the audience. In thinking about Chuck from last night, it seemed better produced than The Event. To some extent The Event's scripts require big productions.


Mike V. said...

It could be College Basketball, I guess. Tournament starts Thursday but I think there was a game last night. I can only imagine that Fringe will take a hit on Friday. NBC is definitely getting killed. So either, they're gonna stick with their shows for the most part or they're going to try and dramatically change their lineup. If it was between Chuck and The Event that had to be saved...I think Chuck's dedicated audience gives it the win. And I wouldn't complain too much. I'm more excited about the Fall's lineup than any of this new crop that premiered this year.

Totally agree on production levels of LOST and Fringe. They're far and above anything else on network TV. Chuck is a fun show and if they ever do have any goofy looking things, it can be overlooked because it isn't meant to be taken as seriously as The Event is. But, I think Chuck does a solid job. I think we've discussed this before. LOST was filmed on actual film which added to its movie-like feel every week. And their team was off the chart good at creating locations from around the world right in Hawaii. And the beautiful scenery of Hawaii made for the main set piece (the island) an attraction all in itself. A show that I wish could be duplicated but not sure ever will.

The Walking Dead production is pretty fantastic too. Of course, you put Frank Darabount in charge of a TV show, and you're gonna get something pretty magical!

AUStarwars said...


Yes, this is it

My point is that when Man wrote the Bible he was what they saw as Michael the Archangel

You need to see The Adjustment Bureau..its a lot like that

Mike V. said...

FYI - I did see the Adjustment Bureau (as I mentioned above), loved the movie, understand what you're saying.

SPOILER ALERT on Adjustment Bureau:

Of course, I'd say that Adjustment Bureau left things quite open to interpretation to who/what was running the show.

MJ said...

What was ridiculous was Sophia talking so that Hanson could even hear them at all. UGH!

Very eery all the talk of rods and Chernobyl with what is going on right now in Japan.

Funny, I didn't pick up any past romantic link between Michael and Sophia yet all you guys think you did ! LOL To me it was as stated - she was in charge and they had rules against fraternization and Michael broke them big-time. And let's face it, Sophia doesn't take rule breaking very well! We'll see I guess.

Mike V. said...

Yeah the Hanson stuff was pretty ridonk!

Definitely pretty crazy with the Japan stuff.

It just seemed like there was more to the Michael stuff. She was thanking him for all of his involvement. It felt deeper there. And then the Alien Couple babysitting Leila made a comment about Sophia working with Michael. And then some of the looks they gave each other. I dunno...I don't necessarily think they had a previous relationship, but enough happened in this episode to question the possibility! We definitely will see lol

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