Continuum 4×04 review: ‘Zero Hour’

The future plan has been revealed, so does this mean that this final season of Continuum can be salvaged?

Let’s bitch it out…

It’s an understatement to say that I haven’t been very impressed by S4 of Continuum, which has struggled mightily to balance the scope of its story with its condensed episode order. ‘Zero Hour’ goes a long way to rectify that situation as all of the shifting alliances and secrets and destinies start to coalesce into something manageable, though we’re not quite out of the woods yet.

Considering that Continuum is a series about time travel and destiny, it’s no big surprise to hear several different characters refer to themselves or events or objects as keys. The word is used repeatedly in this episode which makes sense considering there’s only two episodes left before the series’ end game. The other reason is because many of these characters are pawns in the games of others. Shifting alliances have always been the show’s strength and weakness (Rachel Nichols’ Kiera with Liber8, Stephen Lobos’ Kellog with…pretty much anyone with power, etc) but the prominence of Brad (Ryan Robbins) and the mercenaries this season has been thrown off the show off its game; Brad and his crew have introduced too many variables into the mix.

One of my biggest complaints has been the writers’ inability to juggle all of the different story lines and ‘Zero Time’ unfortunately continues that tradition. Although we get a better idea about where everything is headed with the reveal that the mercenaries are building a a time vortex machine that will allow people from the future to travel to modern day Vancouver en mass, we’re still adding and dropping stories and characters at random. Last week we spent a significant amount of time following the rise of Theseus (Richard Harmon) and this week Julian barely appears outside of Alec’s (Erik Knudsen) memory of the final family dinner a few episodes back. In his place we have a new B (C?) plot about Alec’s search for his future wife, Jason’s (Ian Tracey) mother.

One could argue that meeting Annie is a significant event given what happens when the Traveler transports Alec to the future for a “meeting with destiny” with his future self (William B. Davis). Perhaps in response to Jason’s suggestion that Alec’s destiny with the waitress is predetermined, Alec takes control of his future and directs his future self to create the time travel device that initiates the entire series. Obviously this is a necessary piece to help explain this alt-timeline (otherwise Liber8 and dead Kiera would have never traveled back in time), but, more significantly, this is Alec’s attempt to put his stamp on his future rather than believe in fate.

Overall the fact that everyone appears to have more agency in this episode is encouraging. Kiera confronts Brad over his duplicity with the machine, Kellog demands that Vasquez (Kyra Zagorsky) gives him the details of the plan or else he’ll withdraw his financial support, Dillon (Brian Markinson) stands up to Kellog about abusing his VPD privileges and Carlos (Victor Webster) straight-up follows Kiera to the merc factory instead of complaining that he’s being left in the dark. All of this hopefully indicates a shift in the way that these characters are interacting with each other, a transition away from wondering and worrying to confronting and acting.

I’d love to say that ‘Zero Hour’ is the break-through that confirms that the shifting character alliances that have derailed the last few episodes are a thing of the past, though Kiera and Brad’s relationships remains both frustrating and bland. I’m cautiously hopeful that with the threat on the horizon identified and everyone in the know, the remaining two episodes will be able to wrap the series up in a satisfactory way.

Other Observations:

• It’s unclear whether Kellog knows what that dialysis machine means for his future, but it’s fairly obvious that the mercenaries intend on bringing back Command Kellog to secure him the organ he needs to survive. Watch your back Kellog!
• While it is a bit of an exposition dump and one that concerns my least favourite S3 plotline – the Traveler – at least now we have a better idea where Curtis (Terry Chen) is coming from. His endgame remains maddeningly oblique, however. Apparently Alec, Kiera, Brad and the device hold the key to the future. That’s pretty vague.
• Alec’s inference to his son that he will not make efforts to ensure he is born is a bit harsh, no?
• Zorin (Michael Eklund), who has taken charge of the mercenaries, fails to tell Kellog that Marcellus is dead. I’ll admit that as an actor Eklund is fine, but the character – along with Vasquez – fail to do anything for me. Part of the problem with the mercs is that they’re not fleshed out; they’re just boring. We traded in Travis and Garza for these people?

Best Lines:

• Alec (after Jason insists he protected his father by sending Emily away): “I’m not your father, Jason. He’s an old man in another timeline who left you behind.”
• Brad: “Kiera, I’m trying to protect you. Stay away.” Ugh.
• Kellogg (to Vasquez): “If there’s anyone who knows the seductive power of empty flattery, it’s me”
• Vasquez (threatening Kellog): “Unobtainable women are your Achilles heel”
• Kellog (when Carlos accuses him of being tied to a terrorist cell): “So A + B = me?”

Your turn: are you glad that the threat has been identified? Do you think Kellog has a nasty fate awaiting him? Did Alec take control of his future or simply fulfill his destiny? Are you done with the Kiera/Brad “can they trust each other” relationship? Happy that Carlos finally confronted Kiera? Sound off below, but please refrain from posting spoilers if you’ve watched ahead in Canada.

Continuum airs Fridays at 11pm EST on Syfy