Continuum review – 2×11: ‘Second Guess’

Continuum continues its outstanding second season run as a series of debilitating hacks cripple Vancouver and a few politicians make some significant power moves.

Let’s bitch it out…

Things are beginning to heat up in Vancouver. As the mayoral race comes to a close, two very different politicians make their separate campaigns. After some time away (campaigning?) corrupt candidate Jim Martin (Tahmoh Penikett) returns to stir up a hornet’s nest. And while I’m sure that he imagined it would be a wise move to pit his demanding Liber8 supporters against each other in the hopes that they take each other out, his plan completely backfires – predictably – when Sonya (Lexa Doig) and Travis (Roger Cross) make up. It’s good to see these kids get back together, especially now that Lucas (Omari Newton) is out of the picture and Garza is…well Garza (presumably she’s off doing her own special brand of crazy).

Speaking of crazy, Lucas has officially gone off the deep end. We knew he was having difficulties last week when he saw long-dead Curtis, but now he’s seeing Kagame (Tony Amendola), too. The former head of Liber8 orders him to use Alec’s (Erik Knudsen) ARC code to execute a series of hacks that cause all kinds of chaos: making private emails publicly accessible, playing with traffic lights, spewing money out of cash machines and exposing the Pyron deal that allows the Vancouver Police Department to operate as an independent entity to the public. Oops!

In one of the most impressive scenes of the episode, Inspector Dillon (Brian Markinson) gives the order to take advantage of the information leaks against Liber8 and their followers by arresting suspected sympathizers. It’s a vision straight-out of dystopia / war texts: frightening images of people who may or may not have done anything are rounded up by armed forces and hauled away. Since returning in 2×09 ‘Seconds’, Dillon has initiated a number of unsettling policies and while his transition to morally questionable leader has felt a little abrupt, Markinson is certainly selling his character’s escalating obsession with seizing control.

For now this involves trying to take down both Jim Martin and the episode’s other politician, Julian Randall (Richard Harmon). Although Julian may profess to Martin that he’s not a politician when they meet in the elevator bay following their separate interrogations, Alec’s sibling is clearly gaming the system. Like Dillon, Julian’s transformation this season has been the most dramatic, though Harmon has wisely played the role in an understated fashion. The simmering rage concealed just beneath his mildly antagonistic surface works because Harmon is already such a hissable character (and, if I’m being honest, has a bit of a punchable face). Julian has clearly proven to be a charismatic – and dangerous – figure in this new world order.

The question now is whether these two politicians will be able to achieve their separate goals. History tells us that Julian’s Theseus persona will take him to radical places, but Jim Martin’s future looks less rosy now that Travis and Sonya have reunited.

Best of luck to the new Mayor!

Other Observations:

• In her search for Lucas, Kiera (Rachel Nichols) shares a few heart to hearts with Kellog (Stephen Lobo). Their first conversation reveals something we’ve never heard of below: time travelers can suffer temporal dislocation. Hmm…is this setting up a future storyline?
• Initially we believe that Lucas is just insane, but once he’s apprehended and footage from inside his traveling hacker van is played back, we learn that Julian was impersonating Kagame. This doesn’t mean that Lucas isn’t hallucinating though. In his final scene he sees Kagames everywhere (paging Being John Malkovich), but in reality there’s no one physically present. Is this what the future has in store for Kiera and the remaining Liber8 members?
• In Kellog and Kiera’s second discussion, they debate his intentions regarding the use of ARC. I love where Alec is physically placed during this second talk – the young boy is seated directly in the middle of what Kellog describes as the “family” unit. Alec really is caught right between mommy and daddy (and so is the ARC program)
• Kellog has another juicy conversation when he meets up with Escher (Hugh Dillon). It’s basically a “join me or back off” threatening kind of talk. Seems that Escher has aggressively acquired Laroche Energy Systems, the company from 1×04 ‘Matter Of Time’ that we now know could eventually power the time travel device. Whether or not Kellog really thinks his thinly veiled attempt to warn Escher off would work is uncertain, but Escher ends up coming off significantly more scary (thanks to a threatening soundtrack)
• Just in case Escher wasn’t already enigmatic enough, the two scenes he figures in highlight his status as the man behind the curtain. His tense conversation with Kellog takes place at the art museum where he’s viewing a painting that bears a striking similarity to Continuum‘s logo and later, in the chilling final scene, we learn that he has CCTV footage for seemingly everywhere. In an episode exploring the cost of invasions of privacy, it’s clear that Escher doesn’t consider anyone’s business off-limits. The question is: what is he looking for?
• Emily (Magda Apanowicz) offers to destroy the ARC program, but – of course – she keeps it. This would be far less interesting if she weren’t actually conflicted. I imagine she’ll still hand it over to Escher eventually (he probably has a CCTV camera inside the lab!), but for now she’s holding onto the powerful program
• With Isaac apprehended, Kiera is able to recover the remaining orange slices of the time travel device he was carting around. This means that she and Alec now have the whole set (Side Note: Did anyone else kinda want them to smash it against the table like a chocolate orange?)
• Finally, I love that there’s never a question of whether Jim Martin will win the election. We never even met his competition!

Best Lines:

• Kiera (when Julian tries to a report a crime against humanity): “Julian, stop playing games. There are no cameras here and this isn’t our first psychopath rodeo”
• Kagame (when Isaac inquires about the tsunami coming): “It’s a metaphor”
• Martin (talking at the police elevators): “You sure about this revolution, Julian? Because from where I’m standing, it looks like a temper tantrum”
• Kellog (suggesting Sonya deal with Escher): “I was thinking something more efficient and non-occurring”

What are your thoughts on Isaac’s hacker attacks? Did you anticipate Jennifer Spence’s Betty to get exposed? What is Escher’s game plan? What is Kellog’s game plan? Does Jim Martin have a chance in hell of surviving? And how far will Inspector Dillon’s crusade take him and the VPD since he refuses to show a sign of “weakness” and address the recent controversies? Sound off below

Continuum airs Fridays at 10pm EST on Syfy