The Spoiler's Review

!!SPOILERS BELOW -- LISTEN TO THE PODCAST BEFORE YOU COME HERE!!

Phew I’ve had quite a week. I don’t want to go too much into details but it began with several days of stress, repetition, and lengthy practices in preparation for a test. On the big day, I sat in a room for 4 hours with 30+ people who were in worse shape than me. A handful of them couldn’t even sit because they were so on edge and spent half an hour pacing around the room. It was a humorous sight indeed! After my test I had a minor panic attack for about 10 minutes while waiting for results after I realized I’d forgotten an important step. When I was told thatI’d passed, I ended up celebrating… really hard, so I'm apologizing for the spelling and grammar errors now. There’s only a few hours left until the chapter finale, so before that happens, I want to get a word in or two.

Michael’s being a good leader and getting everything that can be prepared ready for easy transport to Fort Irwin. With her son up and running, poor Tanya has nothing better to do than scan all the journals into digital copies so they can dump the books for a lighter load. I still don’t understand why this is a good idea. Paper and the written word will outlive technology long after humans are extinct. However technology makes things easier to duplicate, protect, and transfer. I’m certain this will come into play in the far future. Is someone reading all these archived journals in a PDF file or on microfiche right now?

After reading some of the journals, Tanya finally takes an interest in wanting to learn more about the creatures. She notes they have animalistic traits even though they’re assumed to have originated from humans. Being a vet, of course, we knew her expertise would come into play eventually. I’m probably wrong but I don’t foresee her getting to experiment on anything this season. It’s just something to look forward to.

The characters are making it a point to note what the audience already knows. All signs of the creatures are few and far in between. Wouldn’t it be funny if they were migrating to the same area that our heroes are going? Maybe to some breeding ground further north? Are they preparing to hibernate?

Durai went south, Michael wants to go East. These are two very opposite directions. We don’t know how well informed the Mallers are but seeing as how they’re repeating the same actions that caused the Other Tower to fall, they know something our guys don’t. Tanya says the Colony has never encountered Behemoth’s in the south which means the new mutations haven’t made it that far. It appears Durai may have the better idea.

The alarm goes off and Michael runs off to the Armory, bumping into Angel on the way up. This POV switch of the same event is becoming a regular rhythm in the story telling. It’s a clever (yet frustrating!) tactic that Writing’s using to keep the audience in the dark about who’s the Rat. I made the mistake about using the “A” word in my22.1 blog…. Assume. I should know better than to assume anything in regards to WA. I’m so confused about who is doing what that I’m even starting to suspect my pretty Peggers is guilty. She’s the first one we look at and say “nah, she’dnever do that” and immediately omit her from any list of suspects. However we don’t know JACK about her. Yeah she plays in the dirt and flew planes with daddy, but what else Pegs? What else?

My brain hasbeen buzzing since the last episode. I’m almost certain this is all happening because of several different people acting alone. However I believe they’re happening for different reasons and we only think that these incidents are related to one area. In the story the chapter title is taken from, someone of importance disguised themselves as someone non-threatening to observe the people around him and came out after he’d discovered their misdeeds. So who’s pretending and who’s plotting? Who is the friar and who is the judge?

As we know, the Armory is fine and Pippin is dead. Oh look, Angel’s picking on a blind kid. Why am I not surprised?

So while Michael and Blonde Boy go back and forth trying to figure things out, I’m digging the clarity of the sound effects here. I can sense Michael pacing angrily and probably mangling his hair in frustration. Angel’s standing off to the side trying to be calm. The music is also very fitting for the situation. It reminds me of something out of an old Mission Impossible episode. I also think it’s funny that the dialogue here mirrors the everyday forum conversations. Way to tease.

There’s so many possibilities in this whodunit setup that I’m not even gonna begin to try and sort it all out. Some people stink. Some have certain smells. Everyone looks guilty as hell. Either way, here’s where I put up a big WTF sign. Michael’s made some great observations to profile the Rat. But for some awkward reason that makes no sense to me at all he wants to LIE to the Tower people by convincing an innocent person to be the Rat. Everything in me screams that this is a terrible, TERRIBLE idea. It’s the worst decision he’s ever made. I’ll tell you why.

Colony leader Marcus came to power using a lie. It was necessary for the time, but it inevitably sparked an uprising against him. He wasn’t able to keep it contained for long. Even Gatekeeper had his suspicions before he knew the truth. Michael is making the same mistake. The Tower residents could come after the fall guy or try to leave him behind when it comes time to fly. They’d have to waste more energy protecting him. All it takes is for the Rat or murderer to strike again for this lie to be blown out into the open. Angel and Michael are running a huge unnecessary risk. If they lose the trust of the resident’s, both of them can be ousted out of power.

Burt’s narrating….again…

Kalani accesses the bird and gives us civies a clue on what kind of helicopter it is – a big one – and it can fit everyone in the Tower. Great! But he stresses that it’sbetter to have two birds. *Random thought, Pegs drives the helicopter with all the supplies, steals everything, Rat revealed* Concentrate! Datu catches the boys up on the Pippin situation but Burt’s nose works even if his eyes don’t. I noticed that Kalani’s taking a stronger stance with this new task. I still don’t like him but his attitude has turned for the better. Now that he’s in charge of something he’s actually good at, we’re seeing his character strengths surfacing.

Kalani reluctantly reveals that Peggles is the second pilot! Surprising! Nope. Burt’s already hating which is also not surprising since he’s still unaware of Peg’s transformation at the Colony. To him, Chicken Little is still a little girl. I hope she kicks him in the knee.

In a way this chapter felt like borderline setup material and filler. We haven’t learned anything we didn’t figure out months ago. However we did get a few clues about the creatures but still no answers. This big lie scheme is the dumbest idea Michael’s ever had in my opinion. If Lizzy were there she’d be the first to point it out. If he’s wrong about the Rat being loyal, that person (or anyone) can easily ruin his name among the people. Angel’s involved in this as well so he too as at risk for being overthrown if this lie’s ever exposed.

It’s 2am PST. The weather man said nothing about rain. 7 Hours and counting.

Audio 100%
Writing 99%
Acting 98%
Episode Rating 99%

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