Photo Credit: SyFy
“Today I killed a man, and that’s not something I want to forget” – Kat
Tonight’s episode marks Kat’s (Erin Way) return from her FBI training and her becoming an official member of Dr. Rosen’s (David Strathairn) team. While most would see that as a cause for celebration, Kat’s first day on the job included taking a man’s life, and so, celebrating is the last thing on her mind.
While only pretending to be cooperating with Nathan Clay’s (Mahershalalhashbaz Ali) group in order to gain access to any information that he may have, Rosen recognizes a single address while sifting through Clay’s files. It’s an address that he had seen before when he had access to Stanton Parish’s (John Pyper-Ferguson) memories in the Jason Miller case. With Kat being gung-ho and eager to please on her first official day in the field, Rosen sends Cameron (Warren Christie) and Kat to investigate the significance of that particular address.
When they arrive, they find an old farmhouse with no sign of Parish. The only occupant is a man who calls himself Mitchell (Sean Astin) locked in an upstairs room. Initially, he appears to be mentally retarded, and neither Cameron nor Kat sees what Parish would want with him. That’s until Mitchell touches Cameron’s arm and is able to see Cameron’s past memories with Dani (Kathleen Munroe). Mitchell is actually an Alpha, one that is kind of a “living journal” for people’s memories. Parish doesn’t share with Mitchell any of his plans, but instead his feelings and his past, so that he won’t forget them himself.
When attempting to leave with Mitchell, they learn that Parish didn’t really leave one of his prize Alphas all alone and made sure a “caretaker” was there to watch over him. This “caretaker” is in some ways like Parish, in the sense that his body is capable of healing its own broken bones. We see him completely recover and walk away after suffering a broken neck. But, this ability comes with a price, one that Kat figures out and uses against him. The downside is while his bones are recovering, they become denser and more heavy. So, after having been severely injured by Kat and pushed into the river, the caretaker is unable to pull himself up and drowns.
After getting Mitchell back to Alpha headquarters and having been examined by Dr. Rosen, a huge discovery is made about Stanton Parish from Mitchell’s stored memories. Parish actually regrets killing Dani, and wishes he could turn back time. He views it as one of the biggest mistakes of his lifetime, and he also seems to care for Mitchell tremendously. The next quote that came out of Dr. Rosen’s mouth actually scared me, and highlights the focus of the episode and maybe even the entire season:
“I was wrong about Stanton Parish. He’s not a sociopath. It’s this humanity of his that is his weakness, and we will use it against him” — Dr. Rosen
If you look at Dr. Rosen and someone relatively green and innocent like Kat, the comparison is alarming. Killing is wrong, and even if it is justified like with the “caretaker”, if you ever get to the point where killing someone makes you feel nothing at all, you are the one with the problem. Kat is so distraught after having killed a human being that she records that day so that she won’t forget. Whereas Dr. Rosen and Hicks are so consumed and obsessed with killing Parish that they are losing their own humanity. They burn down Parish’s childhood home and commit innocent Mitchell to Building 7 at Binghampton only to try and hurt Parish and ferret him out. They don’t think twice about doing these things, and I find that disturbing.
I believe this is a comment on humanity, and the writers do an excellent job in depicting it. Granted, yes, Stanton Parish is a huge threat, probably as big as Bin Laden, as Clay points out. But, I think in some ways, Rosen has forgotten that, and it has become personal – very personal. Killing Stanton Parish should be about protecting everyone, not about getting revenge over a single act. The ends don’t justify the means, and if you do something right but for the wrong reasons, it doesn’t make it right. As I have said before, I think Rosen and Hicks really need to read Moby Dick.
With only two episodes left in the season, it appears that we are heading for a showdown. Dr. Rosen certainly appears confident, but as the old saying goes, “When you embark on a journey of revenge, be prepared to dig two graves”. Let’s just hope Dr. Rosen gets his priorities straight – for his own sake and for humanity’s.
