Terra Nova: Maddy a Future Detective?

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

It was nice to have two big stories going on in a single episode, as this show tends to focus on just one all too often. However, neither was very strong. The Josh storyline started strong, with Josh pondering over whether he should help Mira by stealing, but ended very weak with a half-confession for no good reason. Unless maybe Josh just really was upset that there would be no more of that medication available for a long time? The Maddy storyline was dramatic throughout, though it made no sense that she kept talking to Zoe about her suspicions... why not Reynolds? The show continues to be just above average in my opinion, and that seems to be higher than the general consensus. So, as we move into the final block of episodes for the season, let's see what happens...

Terra Nova "Proof" (S01E08): Taylor and Jim go fishing. They have a close call on a cliff, but otherwise are fine. Taylor and Jim find a fire that's a few days old, and Taylor tells Jim to head back, he'll take one more day. Taylor does some tracking and finds the guy whom they banished for murder, who now has an injured leg. Taylor asks him to find the Sixers and try to ingratiate himself with Mira to find out who the spy in Terra Nova is. [how many different people are working on this "find the spy" thing? We're certainly not seeing much progress...]

©2011 Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Brook Rushton/FOX

Ken Horton, a famous geologist, is returning from a six-month trip into the jungle. Maddy is thrilled and Elisabeth takes her to meet him at re-entry. Upon meeting Horton, Maddy volunteers to take on an internship with him. She learns about new species of plants and will also be cataloging rocks. The apples in Terra Nova haven't been edible, but now that they have bees, they're hoping for delicious fruit soon. [...I hadn't realized that the don't have fruit...] Horton doesn't remember things he wrote in book ans letters or Malcolm's name. Maddy mentions that she has a letter from him from years ago, and she says she'll bring it the following day. Maddy starts to tell Elisabeth about the conflicting information, and then realizes that the signatures don't match. Elisabeth says that the man had a stroke, so things might have changed. [I guess that makes sense...] Horton takes Maddy's letter, and she trips him up some more with questions to which he says he can't remember the answers. The next day, Maddy asks for her letter back and Horton tells her he'll have to look for it. Maddy talks to Zoe about the situation, and Zoe is convinced that the guy is a vampire. [hahahahaha] Maddy goes to look through the guy's trash and finds the letter burned. He comes back for his card and she sees that he fakes the limp. [well that pretty much seals the deal...] He also takes the trash out with him.

The Sixers need a tightly-controlled medicine, so Mira calls in a favor from Josh, hoping he'll swipe his mother's medical access card to get the meds. Skye tells Josh he shouldn't steal from his mother to give to the Sixers. [good advice, Skye.] Josh tells Boylan that he wants more than "an assurance that Kara will get a pilgrimage" in exchange for the meds. So, Boylan and Josh go to the Sixers, and Josh talks to Mira, who shows him a hologram of Kara, and they talk for a moment. Josh takes Elisabeth's access card and heads out, saying he's going to work. Boylan makes a copy but strips the identification part so it won't be traceable. He also gives him a weapon to wipe memories if he gets caught. [devices that can erase memories seem both cool and terrifying.] He breaks into the building, but the access card doesn't work, so he shoots the door open, and is hurt by the sonic blast. He steals all of the vials of that medication.

Jim investigates the break-in, and we see Josh is quite bruised. Elisabeth tells Josh that they won't have any more of that medication for a while - they can't even requisition it until the next pilgrimage. He gets really upset by this and says that there needs to be a way to communicate more regularly with 2149. [they really do. and I'm fascinated by the idea that we're not seeing anyone actively working on this...] Josh takes a single vial out of the pack, and Boylan is going to deliver the goods that night. Boylan throws the blame off Josh by blasting another guy who owes him money. The guy goes into the clinic, high on the drug that was stolen, and claims he fell down some stairs. Elisabeth introduces the patient to Jim, who interrogates the felon. Only one empty vial was found at the guy's place. First he says that he took all of it, then he says he sold some, but cannot remember to whom. The guy seems to want to be arrested. After a few pokes with a sharp stick, the guy says it was all Boylan. [hahahaha.]

Maddy assumes that the envelope she still has was licked by the original Horton, so she just needs a sample from this Horton for comparison, which she gets from his mug. Malcolm catches Maddy using a DNA machine, and when she admits what she was doing, he helps her. [hahahahaha!] The DNA matches, but Horton overhears. Maddy thinks that "Horton" is really an old assistant of the real Horton. She heads to the "Eye" and asks about Horton's research assistant. She realizes that Horton's assistant likely killed the professor to take his spot in Terra Nova. [wouldn't an assistant know the signature to fake, though?] The guy catches her but a third person walks in so Maddy gets away. Maddy goes to pick up Zoe and is told that Horton picked her up already. [why doesn't Maddy get some help with this Horton thing??!?] She finds them in the orchard. Horton tells Maddy to get rid of Zoe, so she sends her to find Jim and tell him that she'll be home in plenty of time to make the asparagus. [clearly a code. geez.] Zoe does so. Maddy tries to get away from Horton, but he ties her up and goes to put a venomous spider on her when Jim shows up. Back at home, Jim and Elisabeth ask Maddy why she didn't tell anyone, and it's pointed out that she did try to talk to Elisabeth. She's then told to make someone listen to her, or find someone else who will. [yeah, that kind of lecture is difficult...]

That night, when Josh comes home, he places a vial of the drug on the table. He admits that he broke into the clinic and stole the medication. He tells his parents what he did and why, and sells out Boylan in the process, keeping the hologram and the communication to himself. [why? to make sure that Kara will still be able to come? I don't see why he told his parents at all.] Jim goes to Boylan, who says that Mira can talk to the future. Jim tells Taylor, who tells him that Lucas is a genius, who was selected because he could develop a communication method between Terra Nova and 2149, so perhaps he is still out there, though helping the Sixers.

Other thoughts? It seems that Zoe and Jim are now bonding. She was even upset that he missed reading her a bedtime story. "Facers" change the appearances of people... apparently this is common in 2149? I thought that the final scene with Maddy picking a ripe apple was too cliche.