Terra Nova: Without Power

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

A few things about this episode confused me. And not just the big questions, like "can one working chip re-create everything so quickly that we'll have power back in less than a day?" Rather, I was dumbfounded that nobody even thought about Maddy. It wasn't clear, but it didn't look like Elisabeth or Jim knew much about Josh's whereabouts during the disaster, either. Maybe there's so much of a "small town" feel that people don't worry? I think that seems unlikely, however. And what did Boylan do before he ran the bar? He was some sort of small-device repairman? He seems to have quite the understanding of how gadgets work... perhaps that's how he can communicate with the Sixers and how they, in turn, can communicate with 2149? I guess we'll find out more as time goes on, but they're really layering on the complications at this point, don't you think?!?

Terra Nova "Nightfall" (S01E07): Jim takes Zoe on a surprise trip (nobody in the family can keep a secret), Josh and Elisabeth go to their respective workplaces, and Maddy sneaks out to spend a Saturday with Reynolds. [haha on the secrets. Interesting that Maddy is sneaking out...] Skye has a friend, Hunter, who is hungover from a root her consumed the week before, and she takes him to the medical center for Elisabeth to treat. Turns out, Hunter has thirty-foot parasite growing in him, so he has to have surgery. Taylor and Malcolm find out that the box that Mira's after can only be opened by one person, and they assume that it's Mira. Jim take Zoe to a building that can let you see all of history... stored in a liquid memory core. [well that sounds AWESOME!] Zoe wants to see when and where she was born, so Jim shows her the house - they had to have her there because it had to be a secret birth. Then, she wants to see a roller coaster, which they ride virtually, though the chair doesn't flip or turn or anything. Reynolds takes Maddy to a field, where there are flowers that have a 24-hour lifecycle. [um, I guess I'm happy for her?] He packed a picnic and tells Maddy that she's perfect... they go to kiss but stop when they see a meteor. ["perfect" ?? isn't that a rather awkward thing to say?]

The electro-magnetic pulse (EMP) from the meteor knocks out everything, from Taylor's binoculars to Elisabeth's surgical tools to the room where Jim and Zoe are. Taylor tells the security team (minus Jim) about how, back in Somalia in '37, an EMP knocked out everything in 50 klicks, (or square kilometers, I believe. so, 1km x 50 = 50km, or ~32 miles). Everything is wiped, regardless of whether the item was powered up at the time, so they're pretty much back to basics - knives and candles! [omg. this is crazy scary. can you imagine if that happened today? that Cold War was a big deal guys!] In the hospital, they're going to have to cut open Hunter and use a local anesthetic to remove the parasite. Jim and Zoe are still locked in the room, and Jim deduces what happened because the walkie-talkie and the doorlocks don't work. [wow, I'm impressed he figured it out, honestly.] Reynolds and Maddy can't call for help or use the rover, and Reynolds regrets not telling anyone where he was going.

Cr: Brook Rushton/FOX

They're 6 klicks out, so they're going to head back on foot. [what time does it get dark? or are there mountains to cross or something? it's like noon. oh, and electronic firing pin did he mean trigger?] When they're 4 klicks out, Maddy doesn't think they'll make it by nightfall, so Reynolds puts mud on Maddy as camouflage, ruining her new (20-terro) outfit. [awww... super gross! and sad.] Then she slathers him up as well. They continue moving, but hearing dinosaurs causes Maddy to freak, and they climb a tree, deciding to stay up there until the sun comes up.

The bar owner, Boylan, can fix transducers, and he's apparently the only one who might be able to do so. He's also the only person who can fix watches. [really?] He, of course, wants to know what's in it for him, because the "welfare of the colony" isn't enough. Taylor uses the threat of violence to make the guy work. [Taylor's excessive use of brutal force bothers me. anyone else?] Meanwhile, Elisabeth performs surgery and finds the tail of the parasite, as Skye looks on. Hunter starts to freak, and Elisabeth speaks calmly, rolling the thing onto a spool. [ahhhh! reminds me of a tapeworm film strip we watched in seventh grade!] Elisabeth is needed elsewhere in the medical center, so she explains to Skye how to keep pulling out the parasite. [She doesn't tell her what to do when she gets to the head, so I assume that she thought she's return shortly.] We learn that Hunter and Skye are quite close, and that he is in love with her. [whoa. really? Is Skye really that attractive to these guys?] It kills him that she's "in love with Josh," which she denies. They're interrupted when the parasite breaks off and part goes back into the body. [ahhhh! I KNEW something creepy was going to happen!] Elisabeth sends Skye to get the chip from Boylan. Boylan fixes the chip just as Skye gets to the bar, so Josh runs it to the hospital.

Well, although he's working on the chip, Boylan has also somehow let the Sixers know about the power being down, and Mira plans to infiltrate. They even herd a dinosaur along! Meanwhile, out in the jungle, Maddy worries about dying, and Reynolds tells her that he's not going to let anything happen to her, ever. [super cute, guys. and cheesy. oh, and are they outside the gates or not?] In a cheesier teenage moment, they decide to kiss. Back at "The Eye," Jim finds an access hatch, but can't fit through the shaft. So he asks Zoe if she could crawl through and open the door manually. She's afraid of spiders, and Jim makes up a "go away spiders" song, saying he used to use it all the time as a child. [oh the things we do for children! I remember the first time I was leading a hike and we encountered a snake across the path... couldn't show fear and had to get the girls out of there ASAP!] Zoe makes it through and opens the door, believing the song to have kept away the spiders. A bunch of the kids are staying at the school until the power comes back, and Jim sends Zoe with a commander to go there, too.

Taylor and Jim launch fire-tipped arrows 70 yards to block the dinos. But, one of the dinosaurs has clearly been hurt, and they realize it's a diversion. Jim and Taylor go looking for the infiltrating Sixers, who are in the lab. There's a lot of fighting, and Boylan shows up, shooting one of the Sixers with a revolver that only had one bullet. [trying to keep everyone thinking he's a good guy, I reckon?] Still, the Sixers got the box, and Taylor thinks that someone tipped off Mira as to where it was, so he orders Jim to hunt down the spy. [again. I feel like they do this every episode...]

Maddy and Mark set out at daybreak for Terra Nova. [Mark and Reynolds are the same guy... I apparently write about him using both his first and last name though, haha.] Elisabeth asks Josh if he wants to have Skye over for dinner sometime, and he says yes, though he questions his mother's motives. [I would, too.] Just then, the power comes on and everyone realizes that they haven't seen Maddy in forever. [whoa. nobody has seen her in like 24 hours and they've never questioned where she is or if she's okay? during a power outage??] Maddy gets in and washes up without them ever knowing she was elsewhere, though they do smell the stench from the camouflage mud. [haha.]

The end scene has Mira and a Sixer meeting with Lucas, Taylor's "missing" son. The Sixers were sent to Terra Nova to deliver this box to him - that was their whole purpose. [what? if they only have a pilgrimage like twice a year, and they're from the sixth pilgrimage, they sure took their time delivering that item! right?] He opens it and it's electronic, with screens and data and whatnot. Mira tells him that Taylor's getting close, and Lucas responds that Taylor will have to choose between his precious Terra Nova and his own flesh and blood. [projects season finale cliffhanger, anyone?]