Note to self: Going forward, it might be a good idea to have a stiff drink ready before watching Helix because if last night’s episode is any indicator, I think we’re all going to need one. Holy crap. Holy hell. Holy sh*t. Every time I thought this episode couldn’t possibly get crazier, a couple of minutes later, BOOM, and we had a shocker 10 times bigger than the one before.

That said, instead of doing a traditional review or recap, I thought it would be more fitting to talk about some of the scenes that totally rocked the Helix fandom in last night’s “Scion.” And, compiling such a list wasn’t a very easy task because this eppy was chock-full of them, but here’s my top 5.

5. Good ‘ol sibling rivalry

As Doreen said last season when Alan (Billy Campbell), Peter (Neil Napier), and Julia (Kyra Zagorsky) were about to meet up again at Arctic Biosystems, “This is going to be one frakked up family reunion.” Well, as soon as we learned that Alan was already on St. Germaine, I knew when he finally crossed paths with Peter, there was going to be a hell of a confrontation. After all, as Peter explained to Sarah (Jordan Hayes):

     It’s more than rumors. Interpol has security cam footage of him leaving Ilaria’s corporate headquarters just before a bomb went off — Peter to Sarah

Even with this, what Peter did at the end of the episode I did not see coming. After Alan steals the keys to a shed where some mysterious barrels are being stored, he discovers it is full of jars of that yellow goo we saw in the season premiere. As for the barrels, they are suspiciously empty, and the only thing he finds in one of them is a single tooth (remember that freaky-deaky scene of the girl getting her teeth pulled at the end of the season premiere).

 

However, Alan should have been more vigilante because if he had, he might have been able to see Peter sneak up behind him before knocking him out. What the hell are you doing, Peter?! Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t think Peter has any intention of hurting or killing Alan, but I do think his actions will make clear to Alan, as well as the rest of the CDC team, that his true loyalties lie with Ilaria.

4. The boogey-man in the woods

This was the heart-racing scene of the episode, and I swear, for a moment I thought Peter was a goner. When Kyle realizes he left the samples from the ship in the shack in the woods, Sarah and Peter volunteer to go and retrieve them. With what we know is hiding in these woods, I’m sure we all guessed this was probably not a good idea.

They were able to find the samples, but not before running into one of those yellow infected freaks. Apparently, this new virus not only makes you aggressive, but it also gives you super-strength and super-speed. Peter is pretty athletic, but the man quickly overcomes him, and just like last week, Peter froze again. Sigh. Fortunately, Sarah knows her way around a gun because if it weren’t for Kyle giving her his firearm, Peter would be toast.

Whew. Peter dodged a bullet AGAIN, but I’m still very worried about him, and I would be surprised if he survived to the end of the season.

3. Let’s take a walk outside on a nice Sunshine Day

As some of you know, I love the music in this series and have always been intrigued by it. So, when I saw that the song “Sunshine Day” was one of the songs featured in last night’s episode, I knew there must be some meaning behind it — and, there definitely was. “Sunshine Day” is most known for its use in the 70s sitcom, “The Brady Bunch.” The 6 cute and sweet Brady kids perform the song on a television talent show, and it quickly became the symbol of good, wholesome American children.

A “Sunshine Day” on “The Brady Bunch”:

Nothing could be further from the truth here, which made using “Sunshine Day” so damn funny and ironic. Because Kyle (Matt Long) is asking too many questions or perhaps simply because he rejected Amy’s (Alison Louder) sexual advances, Amy decides that he needs to be taught a lesson.

 

After extracting a powerful hallucinogenic drug from one of her plants, she uses her puppet, Landry (Sean Tucker), to deliver it to the children. The drug forces the children to become extremely aggressive, and they end up nearly stoning to death our poor Kyle. That was one frakked up moment, and what made it even worse was after Kyle, Peter and Sarah track down the children a few hours later, they are back to normal.

How much you want to bet that will keep Kyle from having children EVER? It’s definitely not something you can easily forget.

2. Julia, we saved you a place at the table

We had been given plenty of hints that the future Hatake (Hiroyuki Sanada) that we would see this season would be starkly different than the one we remember from season 1. And, while the Hatake we have grown to love isn’t exactly the most stable, the new one we saw in “Scion” comparatively speaking has gone completely coo-coo for Cocoa Puffs.

As soon as we saw Daniel (Meegwun Fairbrother) and Jaye (Amber Goldfarb), I knew immediately they were only figments of Hatake’s imagination. I mean, come on, Daniel’s head had been completely blown off. Some shows like to play the Lazarus card, but no matter how you look it, having your head blown to a thousand pieces isn’t something you can come back from.

So, yeah, I knew right away that Hatake had become somewhat unstable, and to be honest, it was quite understandable. With the exception of Julia, the man had lost everyone he cared about last season — his adopted son Daniel and the love of his life Jaye. But just how far Hatake had gone off the rails wasn’t evident until the very end of the episode.

After having drugged Julia (and yes, a very nice season 1 tieback with the “Keep Calm and Carry On” mug!), the next thing we see is Julia waking up, tied to a chair, and seated at a dinner table with her very-dead mother and Daniel’s headless corpse. Oh my freakin’ God!

I think this clearly illustrates the harsh reality of being an immortal. You are left behind as the people you love, one by one, die, and you find yourself all alone. This has happened to Hatake, and so, what does he do? He tries to piece back together his family, even if none of it is real.

Bottom line: This is one messed-up dude, and I can’t see it getting any better as the season goes on.  In fact, check out the below synopsis for next week’s episode. It looks like Hatake and his delusions are about to come to a head, and the big question is will everyone make it out of that cabin alive?

1. It’s time we take matters into our own hands — literally

The opening scene with Landry and Amy was hands-down (no pun intended!) the most shocking and hilarious scene of the entire series — and quite possibly in the history of television, period. Damn! Honestly, at first I didn’t know exactly what I was watching, but once I realized it was Sister Amy giving Landry “a hand” in order to coerce him into being her puppet, I nearly fell out of my chair. Congratulations, Sean Tucker, you may have a small role on the show, but you are the center of one of the most talked-about scene on television this week.

All in all, last night’s Helix was one crazy roller coaster ride. And, the most insane part is we’re only 3 episodes into the new season! The writers of the show are going to have a tough time topping everything that went down in “Scion,” but with this show and the writing talent that it has, it wouldn’t surprise me if they did.

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

Critic Grade — A

NEXT WEEK ON “Helix” — Episode 2.04 “Densho”

Official Synopsis from Syfy: “As Michael struggles to keep the abbey under control, the CDC team moves closer toward tracking the source of the pathogen. Alan fights the urge to rejoin his team and confronts the reality about Peter’s allegiances. In the future, Walker makes a desperate attempt to escape from her delusional father, with potentially deadly consequences.”

PHOTOS

All photos courtesy of Philippe Bosse and Syfy

 

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