Sunday, June 21, 2015

The Messengers, Season One, Episode Ten: Why We Fight


With Joshua dead, the devil dangles his ability to resurrect Joshua in front of the Messengers.  The devil starts a count down when Vera argues that the devil needs Joshua alive as much as they do.  Raul is the lone holdout and it's Vera who reveals that Joshua saw a sign for Plowman Family farms. The devil calls farming and famine a perfect match.  The devil lets his wings fly, his eyes go red and then he resurrects Joshua.  Yeah, the special effects here are kind of cheesy but does anyone really expect anything good from this show at this point? 

Joshua sits up gasping for breathe, horrified that the Messengers made a deal with the devil.  Joshua reveals that he didn't tell Rose anything about his vision.  Joshua vows that he will not allow the Messengers to fail.  Yep, cue substitution of leader to the typical White male version.  Joshua leads the crew to the train and they meet up with Koa, who hustled the tickets for them. 

The horsemen are checking the facility where the remains of the meteorite are being held. Richards assures Schiller that his hacking skills will come in handy.  Schiller is a little reluctant and is worried that the devil will find out about this.  Schiller is concerned about the fact that thus far the devil has managed to talk the horsemen out of the apocalypse six times. For her part, Richards is unconcerned.

Koa sits with Joshua on a train and Joshua reads to Koa from the newspaper, sharing the news that the Plowman brothers are big players in the genetically modified seed industry.  Oooooh some writer on this show is anti Monsanto - not that I blame them.  Koa changes the subject and questions what it's like to be dead.  Cue typical tunnel of light story.  Yep, Joshua was headed for heaven until the devil grabbed him and now poor Joshua feels like the devil has him tight in his grip. Joshua is terrified that he is going to hell for being brought back.  Koa decides its time to lighten the mood and initiates a card trick.  The trick does not work out as Koa is planned and she becomes distraught because she knows the trick like the back of her hand.  It seems that Koa has begun to forget things. Joshua suggests that the memory problems are the cost of Koa's gift.  He doesn't talk long because he gets a vision of a terrible storm with flashes of lightening.

Vera and Alan sit in another area of the train discussing Amy's drawings.  It seems that not only did Amy include Vera's son she excluded Rose.  Vera points out that Michael's soccer uniform is the same uniform that she saw in the vision the devil gave her.  It seems that its Amy's imaginary friend who is guiding her.  Alan asks if they are sure that Amy is not a Messenger but Vera is sure because they haven't seen Amy's wings.

Raul, Erin and Peter are sitting together.  Erin is determined to find a way to get Amy away from all of this. Erin is concerned that Amy is drawing photos which predict the future.  Cue awkward conversation about children and Raul admitting to being Nadia's father. 

From the window, Vera sees a sign for the St. Monica's Tigers, with a tiger just like Amy's drawings.  Vera realises that St. Monica is the patron saint of mothers.  It matches the clue the devil gave her earlier.  There's a photo on the table of a group of soccer kids and Vera quickly points out Michael. When Joshua hops off the train to tell Vera and Alan that the train will be leaving, Vera naturally wants to stay and follow up on this lead. Vera suggests that since they gave the devil what he wanted, he might be helping her find her son.  Joshua is adamant that they not separate right now and that the devil cannot be trusted. Vera will not be reasoned with, so Joshua hops back on the train.

Back on the train, Erin advises Raul to tell Nadia who her father is as soon as they get back.  Raul is worried that Nadia will not take the news well and admits that he has feelings for Erin. 

A deputy walks down the aisle and notes Peter.  He looks up Peter and Raul hears him realise who Peter is and that Peter is wanted for murder.  The deputy immediately gets on the phone and calls in Peter's whereabouts. Raul sneaks up on the deputy, knocks him unconscious and disconnects his phone call.  Erin later finds Raul tying up the deputy in the bathroom. When Raul and Erin rejoin Josh and Koa , Raul isn't interested in Josh's vision and wants to get off the train now that Peter has been spotted. Joshua however wants them to all stay together, arguing that they have already lost Vera and Alan.  Raul points out that Peter isn't the only fugitive and that both he and Erin are wanted as well.  Koa uses her powers to stop the train and Vera, Raul and Peter hop off, promising to meet Koa and Joshua at the Plowmans. 

Vera, Raul and Peter make their way to a farm, where they notice that the farm has seen better days.  The group runs across a tree from one of Joshua's vision and wonder about asking the residents for a ride.  The Messengers are confronted by Earl and Tom and quickly say that their car broke down and are looking for a ride.  Earl agrees to give them a ride and invites the Messengers to dinner first. 

Vera makes her way to the Fairburn house only to find no one at home.  Alan begs Vera to wait for some kind of back up but she leaves her body and enters the house. Vera finds the home in shambles, with a broken photo of the family in question. 


Alan manages to get the door open using a hidden key and takes Vera's body inside the house. An out of breathe Vera returns to her body and takes Alan up to Michael's room.  Vera pauses at Michael's project on the solar system and smiles when she learns he got an A+.  She stops to smell Michael's clothing and stops when she recognizes one of the toys on Michael's floor as a toy she has seen in possession of the devil.

At the dinner table, the Messengers learn that they are enjoying food from the very last berry harvest.  It seems that the Cowens have been plagued by drought and that the crops keep dying. Gladys tells the Messengers that they prayed repeatedly for a miracle and then Tom introduced them to the people from Plowman family farms.  Earl reveals that the Plowman's are buying them out. Galdys admits that Earl is upset because the farm has been a part of his family so long.  It's Raul who hears Tom snark that it's about time Earl give up the farm.

Joshua is quizzing Koa on all the things she remembers but everything from her past is all blurry.  Koa cannot even remember what her father looks like.  Joshua again says that this all has to do with Koa's gift. Joshua believes that each gift is about what they have to learn about themselves, adding that Koa's future should be about helping people, instead of manipulating people. 

Later, Raul tells Erin what he heard Tom thinking.  Erin points out that Joshua had a vision of this place for a reason, adding that its about to be taken over by the Plowmans.  The Messengers are invited to stay the night and Raul is quick to agree, after watching Tom make his way into the barn.

At the facility, the horseman stand in front of the meteorite. They are informed by Dr. Simon that the meteorite contains every element known to man plus one never seen before but when they try to extract it, it becomes volatile. Richard demands to see the extraction process and Simon balks at the danger.  Richards informs Simon that it's either his people or the good doctor who will be in danger.

Lapsed into silence, Koa and Joshua sit facing each other.  Joshua is still upset that Rose lied to them and Koa points out that Joshua isn't the only one who fell for it.  Joshua is upset that the Messengers aren't listening to him and chose to go their own way.  Koa assures Joshua that he is a good leader and needs to listen to his own advice. 

Back on the farm, Raul watches Tom as a carries a load of salt up a silo and dumps it in.  Tom snarks about the Plowman's not paying him enough for this. 

At the facility, Dr. Simon oversees the extraction process, saying that the element resists extraction like it's defending itself.  Richards however is not sympathetic and demands that Simon get to it.  Simon gives the order to move forward and it results in one of the scientist exploding.  Richards is excited because she sees in the element the most destructive weapon ever.

Vera is flipping out after striking out in the search for her son.  Vera is angry at herself for trusting the devil and cries (very bad acting) that she needs her son. Alan hugs Vera to comfort her and is hit by a dart.  Two men approach and Vera leaves her body, causing their assailants to believe that Vera is dead.  Vera watches as her body joins Alan in the trunk of a car and is driven away.  Vera returns to her body.

The next day, Peter stops to see the calf which has been separated from its mother. Empathizing with the calf, Peter takes it over to see its mother and watches as the two walk side by side.  At the breakfast table, Raul hands Earl a glass of water from his irrigation tank.  Earl notices the salt right away and so Raul reveals that he saw Tom pouring salt into the tank.  Tom is quick to deny being guilty and Earl is stunned by the revelations. Tom argues that he did this for Earl's own good and so Raul asks how much Tom got from the Plowman family.  Earl directs Gladys to call the sheriff and Tom takes off running, only to be stopped by Peter.

Later, Earl hands Raul the keys to his truck.  It seems that Gladys and Earl believe that the Messengers were the miracle that they had prayed for. 

At Plowman Family Farms Headquarters, a big party is in swing.  Koa and Joshua look out for the other Messengers.  Raul et al make it but Vera and Alan are still missing.  The Plowman brothers interrupt the music to say that they will be launching a new rain making system.  The rain apparently seeds clouds and produces smart rain to feed the plants.  Mark Plowman then takes the mic and starts explaining the technology behind their plans, as the audience cheers. Vincent interrupts and tells the audience that they are on the path to feeding the world.  Joshua gets another vision where he sees a bag of Plowman seeds and when it is cut open, it's filled with bones. The Messengers wonder which brother is the horseman and Joshua suggests that they make a decision as a team.  The Messengers agree to split up and watch both brothers, leaving Joshua time to give his team rallying speech.

Koa checks her phone and learns that she her money has been returned. What she doesn't know is that she is being watched by the devil.

The car Vera is in has stopped moving, so she leaves her body to check it out and watches as Alan is moved to an SUV and her body is left behind to be crushed. 

Okay....is it me or is this show moving at a snails pace? Last week we had the big reveal about Rose and then this week nothing.  I know the horseman are busy plotting and the devil is running his own game but it would work better if we could see the two groups interact a little bit more. I like the idea that the horsemen are rebelling against the devil but this story needs to be a stronger plot line.  Also the idea that the devil is just dragging this all out for phone is kind of blasé.

Okay, onto the bad acting.  Both Jon Fletcher and Shantel VanSanten need an acting class in the worst way.  Vera is supposed to be distraught when she once again lost the opportunity to see her son again but beyond scrunching up her face, VanSanten could barely scare up a tear.  I get that Joshua is supposed to be pathetic but the earnestness of Fletcher's portrayal coupled with the big sad eyes didn't do a thing for me.  Just yuck.  The acting in this episode was anything but stellar.

Speaking of Joshua, who suddenly elected him leader?  Why does he get to be the one who is supposedly logical and task oriented?  And having Koa fluff him up just had me giving the whole thing major side eye.
 
How long are they going to draw out this thing with Amy?  Just let us know what she is already.  Why doesn't she have wings and is she a Messenger?

Why am I still watching this show? Oh yes, I remember, Sparky's sadistic drive to torture me.  There shall be a reckoning.