Photo Credit: SyFy
Well, since the beginning of season, I have always thought that we’d see one of our beloved Alphas go to the “dark side” and join Stanton Parish (John Pyper-Ferguson). I had wondered if it might be Nina (Laura Mennell) in a moment of vulnerability and weakness, but tonight we get a hint that it could be someone else, someone equally as close and dear to our hearts.
Last week’s episode ended with Dr. Rosen (David Strathairn) making no progress whatsoever in figuring out the real purpose of the photic-stimulator that the Stanton Parish camp has such a keen interest in, and we know this means road trip to find the tattooed, techy-genius we were introduced to last season, Skylar Adams (Summer Glau). Here we are introduced to Alphaville. If there ever were a refugee center for Alphas, I had always pictured it as a high-tech fortress, all concrete and steel with all kinds of super-computers and geeky gizmos that no one knew how to work. Alphaville is far from it. No cell or radio signals, no advanced technology, heck they even grow their own food. Basically, it is 1000 steps back to escape the technology and advances in humanity that had made them prisoners.
We all remember Dr. Rosen’s speech at the end of season 1 and how the revealing of Alphas to the world was “for the good of everyone”. But, until we see Alphaville, we don’t realize some of the far-reaching consequences of Dr. Rosen’s actions. One alpha had been abandoned by his wife and kids after Dr. Rosen’s “stunt” as Skylar calls it, and other alphas came to Alphaville to seek refuge from a world that was not ready to accept them. There is a good deal of character development tonight for our good Dr. Rosen, as he comes to realize that some of his decisions aren’t as perfect and wonderful as he had thought. We see more of Dr. Rosen’s imperfections as he uses his patent manipulation and mind games to coax Skylar into helping him, even when the entire camp is against it. We still know very little of the story behind Stanton Parish and at the end of day, I’m sure he will turn out to be the monster our gut tells us he is, but at this stage of the game, we see very little difference between Parish and Dr. Rosen – just two men manipulating the people around them to get what they want.
Dr. Rosen doesn’t get all of the answers he came to Alphaville for, as they are interrupted by Scipio (Elias Toufexis) and a handful of other Stanton Parish followers. After Cameron (Warren Christie) gets the crap beat out of him and Alphaville is burnt nearly to the ground, Dr. Rosen and his team barely escape with their lives and not much more knowledge about the mysterious photic-stimulator. The only new information they have is that it seems to enhance an Alpha’s ability, which does not necessarily mean a good thing as Rachel (Azita Ghanizada) finds out. As if things can’t get worse, Skylar escapes in all of the chaos and something tells me that she’s not going to answer Gary’s (Ryan Cartwright) phone call next time. And, this is especially true if Skylar accepts Stanton Parish’s offer of protection and a life for her daughter, Zooey, in return for joining his cause.
While the whole Alphaville field trip seems like a total loss, one positive thing comes out of it – Dr. Rosen’s realization that he’s got a leak on his team. Stanton Parish knew they were coming, and we know where he got that information. The big question is which side will Dr. Rosen and Cameron take when they find out one of the people they care about the most is a traitor? I have no doubt about Cameron – he didn’t tolerate Nina, and I don’t think he’ll side with Danielle (Kathleen Munroe) either. But, what about Dr. Rosen? His work and especially his work with Alphas is his life, but will he be able to sacrifice his daughter and stand by the people who have grown to trust him like their own father? Dr. Rosen has had a good deal of trials, especially in his recent work with the Alphas, but it looks like his biggest challenge is yet to come.
Some memorable moments and quotes:
