Last week, I wrote an article debating whether the charismatic, but dark, leader of St. Germain, Brother Michael (Steven Weber), should be considered a hero for his centuries-long work to try and defeat Ilaria or whether he’s simply a dangerous psychotic who is using the project to feed his own deep hunger for power. I think the answer to that is still up in the air, but Friday’s episode raised another much bigger question: Given Michael’s homicidal tendencies but knowing his past, does he deserve our sympathy?

Whenever a new villain is introduced in a series, I often find myself thinking back to the character Philip Blake AKA “The Governor” of AMC’s The Walking Dead. Here’s a man who started out decent and good, but after losing his wife and then his daughter, Penny, after the outbreak, he became more and more calloused. The tipping point came when Michonne killed his zombified daughter even while he was on his knees begging her not to. At that point, the man we knew as Philip Blake was gone. Not an ounce of humanity remained, and all that was left was a shell with no compassion, no remorse, and a deep-seated need for revenge.

When we got the Brother Michael flashbacks in Friday’s “Cross-Pollination,” I couldn’t help but think of the Governor once again. 400 years ago, we could see that Michael didn’t start out as a bad person. He was a good man who fell in love with a peasant girl, married her, and rescued her from her life of poverty. All he wanted in return was for her to love him and be faithful. Instead, she betrayed him and in such a public and outwardly way. She had an affair with a young, handsome, well-built man, the complete opposite of Michael, who while attractive probably wasn’t considered the best catch in the community. What’s more and what could be considered the salt on the wound, everyone in the community knew of the affair and made fun of him publicly for it.  “Cuckold, Cuckold, Cuckold!” they would yell at him and laugh (the term “cuckold” actually meaning the husband of an adulteress).

There’s only so much hurt and humiliation that a person can withstand, and somewhere along the line, they get to their breaking point. Michael finally did, and it culminated with the murder of his wife as well as her lover. Also at that point, Michael made a vow that he would never let a woman get close to him and let this happen again. The good, caring Michael was gone, and we are left with a man who is cold, heartless, and almost not human. It’s this same Michael who becomes the hater of women and sees them as mere objects that he can use for his own gain.

But, does this justify Michael’s actions in Friday’s episode? As hard as you may try, I don’t think so. It was bad enough when he killed his own daughter, Agnes. But, it’s another thing to murder the vast majority of his people for no apparent reason at all. And, then, of course, that final scene with the little boy. That boy trusted Michael — was taught to trust Michael — but he didn’t blink, and in fact he faintly smiled, as he gave the poison to the child. If that doesn’t make Michael a monster, I don’t know what does.

So, what happens next? You can bet there will be hell to pay, and this act will definitely not go unpunished. I can tell you that I’ve seen Friday’s episode, and it is a game-changer. I will be posting an Advance Preview later this week, but in the meantime, below is the first look of the episode which is titled “Vade In Pace.”

You can also check out my earlier article “Helix’s Brother Michael: A Good Renegade Immortal Or A Deranged Psychopath.”

Helix  airs on Fridays at 10/9c on Syfy.

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Promo:

PHOTOS

All photos courtesy of Philippe Bosse and Syfy

 

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