Quick Summary: Esme using her telepath prowess further divides the team sending the Struckers to confront Jace and Lorna and crew to do a risky save. As this is happening Clarice, Sonya and the Strucker teens find themselves at the creepy hands of Dr. Campbell.
The Three Faces of Esme: Comic book peeps alerted me to the fact that Esme was going to have sisters/clones etc but it didn't distract from the wth is happening scene at the end. Esme went full on terror enthusiast. She didn't have to kill any of the officers and the ways she did were so blatantly cruel. The scenes were a companion piece to Dr. Campbell literally ending the dream by shooting Dreamer/Sonya. Neither character felt any remorse about the bloodshed they were invoking. This really concerns me because it seems Esme or at least one of the sisters is still around with the Underground till the end. Why are they letting someone who gives mutants a bad rap and is a crazy killer around their headquarters??? Is she inside their heads? Esme and the rest of her clan are so scary because their powers could take over the Strucker kids or Lorna and created huge havoc. Skyler Samuels plays this villain with umpf. She made us feel sympathetic for her at the episode's start and then let us see that true side by the end. Bravo to her! I am curious if Esme purposely got friendly with Caitlin and flattered her with the leader comment to first get her on the side of the Triple Threat.
The Death Revelations: I thought Dreamer/Sonya was going to be killed in this ep but predicting correctly still didn't take away the horror and shock of that scene. Elle Satire was brilliant in this ep. The first scene with Jace where she goes from being flippant to complete remorse is a watershed moment. Satire is so heartbreaking in it. Then we learn that Sonya hid her gifts and worked at a woman's abuse shelter. We now understand why she implanted that memory in Clarice to save Johnny and the rest of them- she used her gifts to take the bad memories of abuse from people. Yes, she did this without consent but it wasn't to hurt or control them but rather to help them. Sonya, it turned out, was a very good person. Not only did she give up herself to save the Strucker kids last ep but in this one she purposely keeps telling Lauren and Andy not to do it. Thus she keeps them on guard with Campbell and sets it up that when the bad doc is ready to kill he will turn on her not Clarice.
While I hated to see Dreamer die, her death will further impact the characters. John has lost now his best friend and girlfriend to Dr. Campbell. The always balanced John may become unhinged at this. Lorna has lost her best friend and she already had so many new scars and fresh wounds from her prison stay. Lauren and Andy watched her die...because of them. That will haunt both of them. (Kudos btw to Lind and White who were magnificent in this ep.) Clarice had learned to trust Sonya and grieved her...will she be able to ever get into a ship with John knowing his past with Sonya who died for her?
The death I was not expecting was Agent Weeks, whom I really liked. Esme had him shoot himself which was so unnecessary and was a bloody brilliant surprise. Turner had been starting to see the light but his partner in crime's death because of a telepath will haunt him further.
Knock, Knock, Who's There: Not in a million years would Jace Turner think it was the Struckers. This was such a majestic piece of writing because no one ever has characters do the smart thing and try to find a win-win solution. It was Esme's idea but it was Caitlin and Reed's follow through that worked well. Yes, everyone would have been in jail but that was better than being in the hands of Trask. One breakout at a time. Reed and Caitlin try to appeal to Jace's heart and the scene is so well shot with it looking like a regular visit among people. Except one has a gun and the tension is palpable. Moyer, Bell, and Frances Turner are wonderful together. It is Amy Acker's last monologue that seals the fate of the characters. It is also a perfect guide on how to act without it making it look like acting- she crushes it ladys and gents. Acker's A game is always strong.
Notice plans where Caitlin is the MVP seem to go right (freeing Lorna and Reed, this one). While everyone wants to watch explosions etc the Struckers represent the real world approach. They also didn't think going after the Power Plant to get into Trask without thinking it through was a good idea. Again they have been proven right.
Final Thoughts: The Mutant Underground has got to think things through better. Esme and her other halves are not to be trusted peeps! There are more and more enemies to fight...they need to find a better way to do so. What did Dr. Campbell mean about those test results??? We'll find out in January.
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