Season two of Colony, is the season of explosions. Normally, when a show leans on pyrotechnics, it's to cover for lack of a good story or a stagnant meta but that certainly is not the case with Colony. I'm all in at this point.
Last week, the resistance scored a big victory when they blew up the alien transport ship; however, someone clearly has to pay for that. Maya is well beyond their retribution having sacrificed her life but Snyder's smart enough to know that Bram played him. The one thing Snyder can be counted on is his desire to cover his own ass at all costs.
The trouble begins when Helena meets with the other proxys to determine what they are going to do. One Proxy, who has clearly sipped from the well of the Greatest Day, wants to use the opportunity to promote the government's cult. Helena however feels that what's important is that the people remain confidant in the abilities of the government enforcers. Helena also makes it clear that whatever the response is, it will be out of their hands anyway, so there's no point trying to spin anything. Of course, the big fool doesn't listen to Helena and goes ahead does a PSA claiming that the explosion was actually the Aliens doing some inter-dimensional travel that humans aren't currently capable of. Helena doesn't think about it for long because she gets a call notifying her that the aliens have made their decision. It's just as she predicted, humanity will have no say.
At the work camp, Snyder is determined to cover up that the problem occurred there. That begins by getting rid of Jenkins' and the woman who was in the tubes bodies. Snyder then has a chat with Bram and informs Bram that by his actions, he signed his own death warrant and that of everyone in the camp. Snyder however is certain that if Bram hands over the people who were involved that he might be able to scrub away all evidence of the rebellion's activities.
Bram isn't exactly warming up to the idea. Snyder has a group of people lined up, and handcuffed. Snyder walks down the line and executes them individually and stops when he finally gets to Bram. Bram is told that he is never to tell anyone what happened and that if he agrees to this, he will be allowed to live.
All of Snyder's work as an executioner turns out to be for nothing when Helena shows up and asks him to get in her car. Snyder is resistant and tries to plead saying that if the aliens show up at the work camp that they will find no evidence that anyone from the camp was involved. To speed things up, Helena is forced to inform Snyder that she's trying to save his life. I guess it's a good thing that Snyder thought ahead to rat out Nolan and get on Helena's good side earlier. Snyder then negotiates to take Bram with him. Just like Snyder initially was, Bram is resistant to go along for the ride but the choice is taken out of his hands. As the car speeds away, the factory is destroyed behind them. It's just as Snyder warned earlier, the act of blowing up the ship was indeed a death sentence for everyone. The aliens even blew up the red hats who were working at the factory, making no distinction between them and the prisoners.
Bram is brought to his family's new apartment ( more on that later). It seems that once again, Snyder has kept his word to a Bowman. Snyder gives Bram a speech about surviving in this brave new world that they live in and asks him to say hello to Will for him before driving off with the convoy. In a parting shot, Bram advises Bram not to forget why he survived. Bram is greeted with a hug by his father; however, Bram seems most grateful to finally see his little brother and the two hug it out.
Well, how did the Bowman's end up in a new apartment building? Knowing that they are actually living in a death camp rather than a Colony has brought Will and Kate together again. Unfortunately for them both, in the middle of make up sex, Will is called away. Last week, Will decided to let Emmett go and as we all know, no good deed goes unpunished. Emmett was caught on surveillance leaving the former resistance safe house and now Bennett wants him tracked down. Burke gives Will a knowing look which clearly implies his belief that Will knows more than he's revealing. Bennett is done with the bickering between Will and Burke and assigns Burke to follow the surveillance and Will to head back to the house to see what they missed. Will of course sees this as being shut out of the loop and Bennett explains that he wants to see what they can do separately. This is going to be a problem for Will, because if Burke gets to Emmett first, there's no guarantee that Emmett won't rat him out.
Will heads to the safe house and there he meets Frankie's mom, who claims to be looking for her long lost daughter. I think that Colony showed their hand here by casting Laura Innes in that role. Even though Karen did the whole simple worried mother routine, she's simply to big of an actor to occupy a small role. Will of course feels guilty for his part in Frankie's death and admits that he was there when she died, hoping I suppose to give a grieving mother some sympathy. Karen questions whether she is being taken to the factory and Will gives her a pass. Look, I know that Will feels guilty for his role in Frankie's death but by letting Karen go, he's making the same mistake. I kinda just want to scream at him at this point.
Katie makes her way to the resistance hide out and Simon is less than impressed to see her. Broussard makes an executive decision and makes it clear that he's going to hand the gauntlet over to Hennessy. Of course Simon is not pleased with this result. Morgan seems rather neutral at this point because she's busy working on what she calls, "the most depressing Ted Talk Ever: You're going to die".
The moment that Broussard leaves, Simon starts playing up the romantic relationship he used to have with Morgan and how his mother always liked her. No surprise, because Simon has been a problem for awhile. Simon shows Morgan the missing person poster and reveals that the government has his mother. Simon admits that he's already called the contact number on the flyer and suggests that both he and Morgan can get ahead of this if they turn in Broussard. Morgan reluctantly agrees to follow Simon's lead.
Broussard takes Kate to meet with Hennessy at the hand off. Kate explains that the doomsday clock counts down to 27 months from now when the population of the Colony will be reduced to two percent. Hennessy hands over a leaflet by Red Hand taking responsibility for the explosion. Kate and Broussard ask for any information he might have on Emmett because of the trouble that Will is in. Hennessy isn't forthcoming at first and calls Will a collaborator. Kate explains that Will is a source working on the inside and that he if gets burned, they are going to lose access to a lot of information. Hennessy says that he hid Emmett in a safe house because the kid believes that the Red Hand will kill him just to tie up loose ends.
Kate and Broussard waste no time in getting to the safe house but Burke arrives minutes later, having followed clues from surveillance. Emmett takes off running and Kate is given no choice but to hide in a closet of all places and hope that the Red Hats don't discover her. Fortunately for Kate, Emmett is found first, thus giving the Red Hats no reason to keep searching the building. It's a close call for Kate; however, Emmett being captured moves Will from the frying pan into the fire.
While Kate and Will are busy trying to stay one step ahead of the government, Lindsay has taken Charlie and Gracie to a service at one of the Greatest Day's churches. Charlie, like every kid who's been dragged to church, is not the least bit interested in what is going on and decides that bouncing his ball would be better entertainment. The first time Lyndsay tells him to stop, she's all saccharine smiles. Charlie continues bouncing his ball which causes Lyndsay to stop her mask and threaten to report Charlie for being violent and subversive. Lyndsay explains that the government would remove Charlie from his parents and that he would never see them again. Gracie is shocked but remains quiet and Charlie finally agrees to stop being a distraction.
Bennett sits down to question Emmett himself and Emmett, being fully aware of the compromising situation that he's in, makes it clear that he's willing to talk if he's allowed to live. A worried Will looks on as Bennett explains that he survived the raid by hiding in a crawl space. Bennett then asks about how Emmett was recruited and who led his cell. Emmett explains that Frankie told him that she loved him and he'd never been with a girl before. Emmett then reveals that the leader of the cell was none other than Karen Bloom, Frankie's mother. See, I told you that the grieving mother routine was a rouse.
Back at the house, Lyndsay is tutoring Gracie about the Greatest Day. Charlie keeps his distance until he hears a sound that worries him. Having been on the other side of the wall, Charlie knows when to follow his gut. Charlie grabs Gracie's hand and the two of them take off running, as Lyndsay tries to order Gracie to sit down and finish her lesson. The Red Hand bursts in and shoots Lynday center mass.
Clearly, this is the most satisfying moment of the episode. The Red Hand soldiers make their customary marking on the wall, so that there will be doubt as to who is responsible for this. Red Hand makes their way through the house searching for anyone else. Fortunately for Charlie and Gracie, Will and Kate arrive home and after discovering Lyndsay's body, they make their way through the house killing the Red Hand Soldiers one by one. The kids are found hiding out on the roof and Charlie is holding a knife ready to fight for his sister.
Broussard returns to the hideout only to find Simon pointing a gun at him. Simon pulls the trigger but it doesn't fire because Morgan took the bullets out. Morgan hits Simon from behind and Broussard stabs Simon in the gut. Morgan is horrified by Simon's death and Broussard thanks her for acting to save him. Morgan however wants more than thanks and indicates that she wants Broussard to train her.
Having your house raided by Red Hand is one way to be forced to move. The Bowmans are sent to an apartment complex that was clearly a dump before the invasion. Kate tries to make things better for the kids by promising that they will turn the dump into a home. This is when Bram shows up at the door, making the Bowmans one happy family again.
I know that Snyder is a snake but he's easily one of my favourite characters. He didn't lie when he told Bram that the explosion would mean all of their deaths. Bram may be older than Charlie but Charlie has lived more in the past year than his brother. Charlie has an understanding of this world that Bram is only now beginning to grasp. When Snyder tells Bram to remember how he got there today, what he was doing was putting an I.O.U. in place should he need it later. Snyder recognises that like him, Will is a survivor and only a certain type of person is going to make it to the final end game.
Will is safe for now because Emmett readily gave up information about Karen. This doesn't mean that he's going to remain safe because Emmett has yet to be tortured. Bennett is going to want to ring every last bit of information that he can out of Emmett, particularly given the pressure he's under and Frankie's suicide.
Speaking of Karen, she clearly wanted justice against those she deemed responsible for Frankie's death. If Will is going to survive, he needs to stop wearing his heart on his sleeve and think critically about every decision that he makes. Too many people in the resistance see him as a collaborator and the government is suspicious of him which gives Will no real allies on either side. This is not a good position to be in. Will is going to have to have Katie to run more interference for him, if he plans on staying alive and out of the factory.
So, now we know that the extermination will largely be finished in just over two years. It makes me wonder exactly how much people know? Does Nolan even have the smallest inkling? Does Helena? We do know that Helena is at least aware that the aliens have no problem with taking out an entire Colony if the people act up. How high up does the collusion to end humanity go? Will anywhere on earth be safe for the Bowmans to flee to if they get out of their Bloc?
Finally, Lindsay is dead and I'm so happy. I couldn't stand her character and threatening Charlie was the absolute last straw. The Bowmans may now be short on friends but at least they have each other and with the exception of Gracie, who's the youngest, they've all had a real reality check of how the world functions now.
