Sanctuary – I loved everything except the Twilight shout-out

So after ragging on Sanctuary last week, how about I share what I liked about episode 2?

Continuity.

Continuity proves to me that the writers care about the show. Don’t you hate it when a character goes through a traumatic event and then somehow has completely returned to normal by the next episode? A serious show must allow its characters to develop and be changed by their experiences. That’s why I’m glad Will isn’t back to his old self yet. He’s messed up. He can’t sleep. He’s become a liability to the team and thinks he’s going bonkers. That’s actually great. We need to see the aftermath of Mumbai (he was DEAD for a good 15 minutes).

I hope they allow Will to be a little bonkers for a while. Farscape did it (remember when John Crichton went nuts, and it was awesome?). I had hoped they would do this with Helen in season 2. She lost her daughter in a horrific way, and that should have seriously screwed her up — but no, she didn’t change. She stayed the same cool-headed Magnus. I want to see her evolve — develop a darker side to her character (“Next Tuesday” was a start). Amanda Tapping is such a fine actress; let’s hope she takes Helen to new emotionally twisted places this year. Helen’s already pretty darn interesting as a static character (one that does not change); imagine how fascinating she would be as a dynamic character (one that experiences internal change as a result of the events of the plot).

On the subject of continuity, I was also very pleased that “Firewall” picks up the loose threads from “Kali Part 3″ — specifically, the mystery of what caused the earthquakes that quelled Kali’s tidal waves. If this were last season, we would have been left hanging with no answers and an eternal mystery to torment us. Looks like that’s changing. Among the loose threads from last week was the issue of whether Helen would be reinstated as head of the Sanctuary network. Obviously she was — and we even got to see Wexford get kicked in the balls by the other House leaders. Isn’t follow-through a great thing?

One more continuity thing — the Cabal got a couple brief mentions in this episode. Perhaps they will factor into this new story line somehow.

So here are some more things I enjoyed about “Firewall.”

• Those creepy abnormals were freaky awesome, especially their self-destruct scene.
• The Big Guy reading Nicholas Sparks? If that didn’t make you smile, I don’t know what will.
• I loved the return to the Sanctuary setting with its darker aesthetic. The episode felt more intimate, and the sets were lush as usual (I want that library).
• Helen’s shameless name-dropping continues. Joe DiMaggio, eh?
• Daddy Magnus is back, and it looks like he’s set his daughter on another adventure. What the heck was he doing in Will’s dream/vision? I think we’ll find out.
• The scene with the crystal was, in a word, wondrous. When Sanctuary makes me marvel like a little kid, then I know it’s doing something right.

So was there anything about “Firewall” that I didn’t like (apart from the weird new theme song)? Yes, indeed — the Big Guy’s clumsy Twilight reference. When Will asks him if he likes those movies, the Big Guy (who is played by Christopher Heyerdahl) says he likes Marcus, i.e., Heyerdahl’s vampire character. Haha, very funny. No, really, save the Twilight jokes for the next Tesla episode.

What did you think of “Firewall”? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Clacked by Ruby T.
on Oct 23, 2010 @ 08:52 EST5EDT