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- TV Series: V: The Series
- Episode: Fruition
- Starring: Elizabeth Mitchell, Morena Baccarin, Morris Chestnut, Joel Gretsch, Lourdes Benedicto, Scott Wolf, Logan Huffman, Laura Vandervoort
- Written By: John Wirth and Natalie Chaidez
- Directed By: Bryan Spicer
- Network: ABC
- Series:
V: Fruition Review
People are playing both sides against the middle By Kurt Anthony Krug
May 12, 2010
V: The Series Review
© ABC/Bob Trate
SPOILER WARNING: This review contains spoilers that happened in this episode. Read it at your own risk. You have been warned.
The ending alone deserves an A– for delivering an excellent capper on an excellent episode as we move into the season finale next week.
As part of her campaign to sway the human race to her side, Queen Anna (Morena Baccarin) has her own daughter Lisa (Laura Vandervoort) brutally beaten and frames Kyle Hobbes (Charles Mesure) and Prof. Lawrence Parker, who is working on a bio-weapon that is a threat to the Vs. Anna shows up Lisa before the media, eliciting sympathy and revealing that her people will leave Earth. To make good on this, she orders one of her 29 ships to leave the planet.
FBI Agent Erica Evans (Elizabeth Mitchell) and Anna appear for the first time on-screen together throughout the course of this series. It’s interesting to learn that Erica didn’t know Lisa was an alien, nor is she aware or unaware that her son Tyler (Logan Huffman) knows this. Speaking of Erica, it’s pretty gutsy of her to be calling her cohorts in the Fifth Column from FBI HQ. They can’t trace anything back to her? Just an observation.
What makes this show intriguing are how the characters’ loyalties are put to the test; you don’t know which way they’ll go, which makes for exciting television. In Lisa’s case, she’s developing human emotions and is willing to screw over an innocent man, fearing what her mother can do to her. This comes when you think she’ll do the right thing.
Chad Decker (Scott Wolf) realizes Anna purposely leaves him out of the loop, believing he’d make a desperate plea to the people about Anna and the Vs – and it works. Anna also wants Chad to give up his informant, who happens to be Fr. Jack (Joel Gretsch), a member of the Fifth Column.
Perhaps the best character arc this episode is Hobbes. He steals the hard drive from Parker’s computer, which contains his research on the bio-weapon, and informs Marcus (Christopher Shyer), Anna’s aide de camp, about it. In exchange, he wants the Vs to leave him alone and a boatload of money. Can’t blame the man.
There are a few more clever twists in this episode:
- Val’s (Lourdes Benedicto) water breaks. Her unborn child is a half-human/half-alien hybrid, which is a threat to the Vs.
- Erica plans on fighting fire with fire, using Lisa to become closer to Anna.
- FBI Agent Sarita Malik (Rekha Sharma), herself an alien incognito, suspects there’s more going on to Erica than meets the eye.
- Anna’s army of super-soldiers is ready to hatch, which could crush the Fifth Column effortlessly.
- Anna’s “bliss” effect doesn’t affect members of her race with human emotions, which includes Lisa.
It would appear that a lot of the momentum V lost once it went on hiatus for a good five months is being made up for with a vengeance. Unlike FlashForward, this show has been cranking out some strong episodes and hasn’t turned into a convoluted mess like FlashForward has, sadly. If only one of the two can get renewed, it really should be V.
An open appeal to ABC: Please renew V for a second season. If you can’t do that, please make sure that the season finale ties up all the loose ends of an otherwise excellent and exciting but underrated series. You owe the fans that much.
agree that this was a great episode of V. I don't think people have given this show a chance. It does have its flaws but its still enjoyable. They need to fix the problem with Morris Chestnut's character who doesn't seem to know shit about his own people and their motives.
disagree with your flashforward comment. it seemed to start picking up with some revelations. but it does seem to have too much to deal with, with all the subplots.
hopefully both are renewed. especially now that i'm losing lost!