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We are just about at the halfway point of this season, which thus far has been a reset. The characters that we have come to know in season one, are largely still with us, though they have been somewhat re-positioned. At this point, we still don't really know the end game of the aliens but we do have a larger sense of the world itself and know a little bit about the new government. The question is, can our merry band of survivors really create a strong enough existence to shake up the new world order?
Things are really tense for the Bowmans, and they have to watch each step they take. Now is the time to circle the wagons because everyone else is looking out for themselves. Let's begin at the prison camp where Bram is being housed. Nolan decides that he wants a tour because of the special shipment which is in the warehouse and Maddie hitches a ride to check on her much beleaguered nephew. Over the last few episodes, Katie has pushed Maddie hard in order to ascertain if her sister is doing everything that she can for Bram, and as it turns out, Katie's right about exactly how self interested Maddie has become. To assuage her guilt, Maddie brings Bram a bag of goodies saying that she thought he would find it a welcome relief, given that the food in the prison cannot be all that good. Bram of course isn't interested in the food and wants to know when he's going the hell home. Maddie tries to offer Bram a bit of good news by informing him that his brother Charlie is finally home. Bram however isn't comforted by this news and wants to know why his parents aren't doing everything for him, the way they did for Charlie. Bram promptly drops the bag of food on the ground and walks out, now sure in the knowledge that he's going to have get himself out of this bind.
While Maddie has been busy, Snyder takes Nolan on a tour of the facility. Even though Nolan is now the Deputy Proxy, there are still certain things which are above his pay grade. This however doesn't stop Nolan from leaning on Snyder, claiming that he is the one responsible for Snyder landing this cushy job at the prison and that they can continue to be friends. Snyder seems passive, which should have been a warning to Nolan that his mind is already spinning. Snyder takes Nolan to the crates that the aliens want taken off planet and of course, Nolan is insistent on opening one up. Inside the crate, there's a tube of some sort, which Nolan sees as proof that the Greatest Day is going to happen. At this point, I have no idea what the hell this device really is, or if it's indeed connected to the Greatest Day.
That evening, Maddie remembers that she's an aunt who's supposed to love her family and decides to advocate on Bram's behalf with Nolan. Her change of heart doesn't last a New York minute when Nolan starts talking about how close they are to their goal. Nolan even argues that in times like this, they have to look out for themselves. He says this bullshit with a smarmy ass smile and Maddie drinks it up hook line and sinker.
As expected, Snyder is running his own game. Nolan should have thought about the fact that Snyder was selected to be Proxy in the first place, thus meaning that he's no easy mark, no matter how low his star has fallen recently. Snyder gets on the phone with Helena to tell her about Nolan's little visit to the facility and his desire to see what's in the crates. Nolan assures Helena that he didn't show Nolan the crates which really matter. In the coup de grace, Snyder then implies that he's looking for Helena and informs her that Nolan is gunning for her job. This will probably mean problems for Maddie, if Nolan finds himself on the outside looking in; however, I'm done caring about what happens to her character.
Having surmised how little his aunt is willing to do for him, Bram starts making plans. The resistance inside the prison have gotten their hands on a device which they are certain is going to turn the tide. This might be just what the resistance needs because things on the outside aren't going so well.
It seems that the government is done playing games with the resistance and has devised a new way to trap them. In Northern England, which now looks like a refugee camp, the authorities are showing pictures of Simon to the beleaguered people, hoping to find someone who recognises him. Simon's mother is identified by her reaction when she sees his photo. You know damn well that she's about to be leveraged.
Back in the states, Will and Katie have someone check the Yonk, to ensure that there are no monitoring devices there. It makes no sense to me why the government would choose not to bug a bar of all places. Now that Katie is certain that they aren't being observed, she hands Will the USB flashdrive that she used to copy information about Bram from Nolan's computer. I almost feel bad for assuming that Katie was breaking her word to Will last week and looking for information to help the resistance.
Getting the file from Nolan is great but unfortunately, they cannot seem to open it on a regular computer. Will takes the USB to work but he doesn't have the clearance necessary to be able to read the file. Will smiles at one of his coworkers and gets the cold shoulder in return. It's clear that Will is going to have to be a lot more charming to get the information he needs. The only holdover from when Will began at Homeland under the occupation is Betsy, and so with few options, he decides to pay Betsy a visit.
Betsy at first is not down with helping Will, particularly now that Jennifer has supposedly been transferred. Betsy explains that things have changed while Will was gone and that the people in charge now don't play any games when it comes to following procedure. Will turns up the charm and Betsy agrees to help. Before Will can get any information however, Burke shows up at Betsy's door, causing Will to grab the USB and hide it quickly. Burke doesn't find out what Will and Betsy were up to but he makes it clear that there's no need for Will to use a computer because his role is to be a good, "bloodhound", and "there's no point in teaching a dog how to use a computer."
Will's day doesn't get any better when he gets a call from Katie to say he's got to come home right now. Will tries to argue that now isn't a good time but Katie refuses to take no for answer. On the way out, Will stops to report to Burke that he's leaving and lies and says that Charlie is sick. With a smile on his face, Burke thanks Will for letting him know that Betsy is a rule breaker and informs him that he's had Betsy transferred. There goes Will's last ally in Homeland Security.
When Will gets into contact with Katie, he learns that BB, a member of Broussard's cell is sick and Broussard is missing. Will fails to see how this is their problem and so Katie explains that in Broussard's absence, his team thought about taking BB to hospital. In a drug induced state, BB could potentially give up everyone.
Will heads to the green zone where he bullies a doctor into checking BB out. Blindfolded, the doctor is taken to the resistance underground bunker and quickly realises that BB is going to need extensive testing to figure out what is wrong with him. Will, Katie, BB and Dr. Weisman head to his clinic. After running some tests, Weisman determines that BB has radiation poisoning. It's clearly from all of the work that BB has been doing on the alien tech. Unfortunately for BB, the best case scenario is for him to live no more than 48 hours in extreme pain.
Now that Will and Kate know that nothing can be done for BB, it's time to drop off Weisman. The doctor is afraid that now that his services are no longer required that Will and Kate are going to kill them. Will and Kate don't want any loose ends and so Kate assures this by showing Weisman pictures she took of him helping BB, explaining that if they go down, he will as well. Will and Kate drive off leaving the doctor standing on a curb.
Now that Weisman has been dropped off, it's time to deal with BB. Will and Katie take BB to the remains of his former home. It's a great metaphor for where BB is at right now. BB asks to speak to Will alone and says that he wants to go out like a soldier. BB is certain that if he's caught, he won't be able to stand up against interrogation and that he doesn't want to go out like this. This is one kill that Will doesn't want on his conscience but he accedes to BB's request.
When Will and Kate return to the Yonk, Broussard is waiting for them in the alley. Will, who is full of indignation, tosses the spent shell at Broussard making it clear that he did Broussard's dirty work today. It's Katie who warns Broussard that he needs to get his house in order before it brings everyone down. Broussard believes that his team isn't ready and Katie is adamant that he needs to make them ready. You know damn well that this isn't going to be the lats time Katie is dragged in to run damage control.
While Katie, Will and Broussard are having it out, Simon is having a major case of cabin fever. He's pissed that the tech they are working on is killing them and is suffering from a lack of belief in Broussard's leadership. Even though Simon is told to stay inside, he makes the decision to head out. This is when Simon sees that his mother's face has been placed on wanted posters which are plastered all over the building. Simon now officially represents a threat. Will he defect to save his momma?
There's a part of me that wonders why Will didn't just take Broussard into custody on the spot? Yes, if caught, Broussard could bring the walls crashing down on Will and Kate but the longer Broussard is at large, the more precarious Will and Kate's position is anyway. If anything, what it reveals is that Will and Kate are in a no win situation. They need to find a high value target to hand over to Burke because he's absolutely onto Will at this point. The survival of their family might well depend on this. I somehow don't think that Burke will be easy to frame, kill or handle.
Bram is going to have to watch himself going forward. Yes, he wants to get out of prison but being impetuous landed him there in the first damn place. He has no idea who he is dealing with when it comes to Snyder and I doubt that his new girlfriend can really be trusted either. It really is a sign of youth that Bram isn't thinking carefully through all of the moves he is making. Yes, it's great that the resistance has a weapon which might do some real harm but what happens if things go south? The resistance has already shown that it's willing to throw people under the bus to keep the train running.
Snyder is as slippery as it gets but at this point, I really hope that he manages to stick it to Nolan for the simple fact that it will take down Maddie as well. I know that Maddie has been inducted into the government cult but to turn her back so easily on her family like that? I mean really? Unless Colony gives us a better reason for Maddie's betrayal, I'm absolutely done with her. Yes, I recognise that this means that Amanda Righetti is a great actress, because I downright hate her character right now.
