Now that Will has been compromised, the Bowmans are free to stop following the dictates of the invaders and their collaborators. It's a new chapter for Colony and it's amazing. Broussard, Kate and Will are now on the same team and they work quite well together as they try to find a way out of the Colony. Though the Bowmans are finally together for the first time since the occupation, not everything smells of Roses. Bram is determined to join his parents in the fight but after having been seperated from the children for so long, neither Kate or Will is anxious to see Bram become involved. This does not sit will with Bram who is much changed since his time in the work camp.
A confrontation between Kate and Maddie has been a long time in coming. While Kate has been finding ways to defy the invaders, Maddie has done her best to be a good little collaborator. Sure, at first it was about getting medication for her diabetic son but it soon became about all of the little bonuses that come with being with Nolan. Suddenly, not only did Maddie get to stop worrying about insulin, food and security were no longer an issue. This was coupled with an increased status and public recognition as a pseudo first lady to Nolan. We've seen time and time again that while Maddie cares about Kate, she doesn't understand her sister's decision to rebel and certainly resents how this complicates her own life.
In The Garden of Beasts, the relationship is put to the final test. Given that Will has been recognized as a resistance fighter and the Bowmans are now living on the other side of the law, Kate seeks out her sister to warn her that the government will come for her. At first, Maddie is certain that Nolan (oh he of little backbone) will absolutely protect her. At this point, I really wanted Kate to simply walk away from Maddie because while you can lead a horse to water, you cannot make the horse drink. Kate points out that Nolan is the same man who turned his back on his wife and suggests that if Maddie needs her that she is to tie a string around the lamppost at the Yonk as a sign.
Sure enough, Kate is right and the Global Authority come to question Maddie about her interactions with Kate, and it quickly becomes clear to Maddie that she is in jeopardy. Nolan is ordered outside to meet with none other than Proxy Alcala. It seems that Alcala isn't as dumb as he's playing in front of Helena. For whatever reason, Nolan features largely in Alcala's plans for his position in the Colony. Nolan at first wonders if his loyalty is being questioned and is indignant given that he sent his wife to a labour camp. Alcala wants Nolan to think about the bigger picture and suggests throwing Maddie under the bus because she's just a "piece of tail". Rather than taking Alcala's advise on this issue Nolan confronts Maddie and questions her love for him. Maddie of course claims to love Nolan and adds that she would do anything for him. Nolan has Maddie agree to set up her sister.
Kate is all too aware when Maddie signals that she could very well be setting her up but she needs to know for sure where her sister stands. Will and Broussard also point out that this is the perfect opportunity for them to be able to attain a Global Authority vehicle so that they can cross the border and meet up with the other resistance fighters in the desert. Kate places a call to Maddie on a payphone and arranges to meet with Maddie at the place where Maddie revealed that she was pregnant. Of course, the call is being traced and it's not long before the black coats arrive to attempt to scoop up Kate, Broussard and Will. With tears rolling down her face at her sister's betrayal, Kate tells Maddie that she loves her one last time before taking off running.
It's Broussard who manages to get inside the Global Authority Vehicle. A computer has been left open and as Broussard flips through it, he finds a file on Will. There's also a capsule in the back like the kind Bram and Maya found in the work camp but this time it's empty. Broussard drives the vehicle to the front of the building to meet up with Kate and Will. As Kate and Will approach the vehicle they noticed that it's been targeted by a drone and so Will screams for Broussard to abandon the vehicle. Broussard manages to get out of the vehicle just before a drone destroys it. The group splits up and meets back at the their underground hide out.
When word comes back that the mission to capture Will and Kate was a disaster, it's up to Nolan to deliver the news to Maddie. The mission to capture Will and Kate failed spectacularly that it lead to several deaths. Rather than being relieved that her sister escaped, Maddie wonders where this leaves her and Nolan replies that he doesn't know. Nolan may indeed care for Maddie as he showed when he convinced her to betray Katie but I don't his concern/care for Maddie is going to extend to the point of his own personal jeopardy. If this doesn't clear suspicion lingering around Maddie, she will soon be wishing that she took her sister's offer because I doubt that Nolan will protect her much longer.
As I mentioned at the beginning, Bram is resentful that his parents won't just hand him a gun and allow him to come along on the missions. Ona tries to explain to Bram that his parents don't want to lose him after getting him back so recently but of course, Bram doesn't listen. While his parents and Broussard are out trying to figure out if Maddie really needs help, Bram decides to sneak out. Bram makes his way to Maya's place because he feels it's important to tell her mother how Maya died. Unfortunately, Maya's mother is a junkie and probably doesn't remember a damn thing about her daughter. Bram takes the opportunity to look through Maya's things and he finds her sketch book. It's a touching tribute to a character who died too soon as far as I am concerned. Instead of being content with making the family notification, Bram decides to meet with Karen, the head of the Red Hand resistance movement. In Karen, he finds someone who understand that he's not the same boy who snuck under the wall and someone who will validate his desire to fightback. It's the dream of every angsting teenager. We all know that Red Hand has a habit of finding emotionally needy young men and indoctrinating them before sending them on suicide missions. At this point, I am quite sure that to Karen, Bram appeared to be a useful tool. Karen may not have put together that Bram is Will's son yet, but it's certain that she is going to leverage Bram to get to Will, who she blames for her daughter's death.
Snyder has gone full on Lazarus since being saved from the factory before it exploded. He is now working for Helena and is clearly in charge of keeping her in the loop and one step ahead of Alcala. Snyder begins his investigation at the Bowman's home where he finds agents of the Global Authority doing a search. He's waved in without a problem but when he confronts Van Warmerdam, it's clear that Snyder doesn't have nearly the clearance or authority he thought he had. Van is very dismissive of Snyder and questions his new position given that Snyder is the one who hired Will in the first damn place. Yes, Snyder has officially been put on notice that he needs to be careful what moves he makes.
When Snyder meets with Bennett he's on far more sure footing. Bennett it seems thus far has been sending carefully worded reports to Helena while giving Alcala all incoming information without censure. Bennett tries to protest that he's just doing his job but Snyder makes it clear that Bennett is now in a position where he needs to pick a side and that picking the wrong side would be extremely detrimental. When Bennett still hesitates, Snyder points out that he's a man who has risen from the dead, heavily implying that it would be wrong to bet against someone capable of doing that as he hands Bennett his card. Where exactly Snyder fits in now I'm not certain but I have to say that as self serving as his character is, I absolutely love him.
Things are really coming together for Colony. Last week I mentioned the unanswered question of why Will was spared by the drone and I think that this week, Colony dropped some hints. Those Global Authority agents were the first so-called humans to be able to simply order a drone strike on their own which heavily implies that they are no longer completely human. The fact that they had that space coffin in the back suggests that humans are being brought to the mother ship and adapted somehow. Will's name being on a list of humans suggests that the aliens have selected him for modification and that this is why the drone didn't kill him when he was trying to scale the wall. That's right, Will is even more super special than we thought. What we don't know is why the aliens have decided that certain humans need to be adapted and if this is their plan for all of humanity, or only a select percentage?
At this point, I'm pretty much done with Bram. I'd be happy to see Karen just send him off on a suicide mission and be done with his character already. What teenager hasn't wined about his parents and family not understanding him? It's just all so damn emo and out of place with everything which is going on on Colony. I'm not certain if the writers want us to feel sorry for Bram, or annoyed by Bram, but I'm certainly the later.
I'm not sure where Snyder's story line is headed. Ideally, I'd like to see him team up with Broussard, Kate and Will. I know that Snyder is a self serving weasel but there's something about him which makes me root for his character. I want to see him somehow end up on the top of the heap and beat the odds. I'm hoping that he will find out about the fact that the Colony is a death camp and decide to throw in his hat with the resistance. Is that really too much to ask for? I think that his conniving should be used for good. At any rate, I am sure that Bowmans haven't seen the last of him.
The confrontation between Katie and Maddie really was a long time in coming. Every decision that Maddie has made has moved her further and further away from her sister and all for the purposes of creature comforts. For now, Maddie has Nolan but I don't think that he will be faithful to her in the long run. The question is when the time comes that Maddie really and truly needs Kate's help, if Kate will put blood over Maddies betrayal? At this point, I really believe that Maddie deserves whatever she gets.
Colony is clearly building up for a big season finale. Will Broussard, Will, Kate and the kids make it over the border by the end of the season? I know that Will was pushing to leave but I'm sure that when he discovers that Bram is gone that's going to throw a wrench in his desire. The longer Will stays however, the more opportunity he gives the Global Authority to capture him. If Will can be captured and altered, he would represent a great threat to the resistance. I'm excited to see where this is all going.
