Photo Credit: SyFy
For the past ten or eleven episodes, beginning with the penultimate episode from season 1, we’ve been taken on a journey, and that journey has been Stanton Parish (John Pyper-Ferguson). A good deal of television series introduces their villains quickly, and from the moment you meet them, you know they are rotten to the core. This has not been the case with Parish, not by a long shot.
With Parish’s first episode last season, many viewers, myself included, saw nothing to be afraid of. In fact, I actually liked the character. He was handsome, polite, and he seemed to legitimately care about the Alphas’ cause and wanted to make a difference. Perhaps even a lot of you supported Parish, and if you had to pick sides, you would join his cause. Unfortunately, with Parish being the sociopath that he is, the terrible wretch brewing under that very likable exterior didn’t come completely to the surface until tonight’s episode. Continuing from last week, Dr. Rosen (David Strathairn) keeps Dani (Kathleen Munroe) out of prison and out of Binghampton but only after Dani agrees to help them apprehend Parish. Of course, it is no surprise that Dani goes right back to Parish after she is released, having no real intention of helping her father.
This is all thought of in advance, and with the help of Dr. Rosen and some mind-bending by Nina (Laura Mennell), Cameron (Warren Christie) is sent in as a potential Stanton Parish recruit. To gain their trust, he helps them obtain some military-grade grenades from an army base, and even agrees to submit to a very painful mind-probing test by alpha Agnes Walker (Kandyse McClure). After having passed all of Agnes’ tests and now being accepted into Parish’s circle, Cameron’s primary mission is to find Dani and to stop Parish from setting off the bomb he has made from the grenades that he helped Parish steal.
This is where things get interesting. The remainder of the episode is about promises being broken; trusts being violated – and about betrayal on the highest level possible. As I watch Dani in the final few scenes of the episode, I can’t help but feel sorry for her. For the greater part of her life, all she has wanted is someone to love. She spent years trying to win the love of her father, and when that didn’t work and when Stanton Parish came along, she turned to him. Dani is just a weak, vulnerable girl who fell into Parish’s trap, and Kathleen Munroe has done an excellent job portraying this. Dani trusted Parish implicitly, and when she finally realizes tonight that he doesn’t give a damn about her, the look on her face is absolutely heartbreaking.
At that point when Parish sacrifices Danielle to further his mission without even blinking, we now see this monster who will stop at absolutely nothing to get what he wants. For those who pay extra attention, Parish’s statement “Danielle, you are so much more than I ever thought you’d be” was the same bull crap he unloaded on Jason Miller right before he tried to gain control of his sub conscience. My hats are off to the writers of Alphas. You all have created a hell of a villain. You created a character that originally was quite likable, and then, turned all of that around into hate. That is just good writing and good television.
David Strathairn also gives an exceptional performance in this episode. Most of us were probably guessing that Dani wasn’t going to make it out of all of this alive, but man, that was heart wrenching to watch Dr. Rosen fall apart in those last few moments before Dani dies. I’m sure he thought he would always have more time to make up for all of the wrongs, and I can’t imagine what went through his mind when he realized there would be no more second chances.
One thing is for sure – Stanton Parish is now at the top of a lot of people’s s**t list. Capturing Parish and sending him to prison is no longer possibility. You can bet Dr. Rosen (and probably several others, especially Cameron) wants Parish dead, and until he figures out a way to make that happen, this will never be over.
