Sanctuary: Pax Romana

[grav_ity]

I'm still not entirely sure how this happened. But it did!

One of my big fears going into the back half of season three was that the show was going to become about The City and all Its Crazy Politics and how Gregory Magnus Has Engineered Everything. Thankfully, in true Sanctuary fashion, they instead solved two MAJOR PROBLEMS fairly immediately, hit the reset button, and when April 22 rolls around, it will be business as usual. I like this, because the show isn't really about Big Bads. They just...have one every now and then. And then they knock it over, and get on with the business of playing with funky animals.

You know why I love this show? Your team is two men and two women. Your mission is dangerous. Who goes on that mission? WITHOUT EVEN DISCUSSING IT? Helen and Kate, my friends. *hearts this show* (And that's BEFORE we get to the bonus points it gets for having a disabled actor play a disabled character.)

Man, did I ever love this episode. Because you don't cross Helen Magnus. You don't cross her when she's on your boat in the middle of the Indian Ocean, and you don't cross her when she's miles underground, recently reanimated and all but held captive in a city you pretty much control. She is just that awesome, and you would do well to listen to her. *hearts Helen Magnus*

I also really loved Henry and Kate in this episode. Kate's lines were all brilliant, and the callback to her not liking rides was wonderful. Also, she had EPIC hair. And Henry! OMG, HENRY! HE IS SO AWESOME.

And Will did his job, which I appreciate. And it also allowed for my favourite scene in the entire episode, where I yelled "OMG, Will, JUST SHOOT HIM!" and Adam was all "You and Helen are cut from the same cloth!" and knocked him out, and then Helen walked around the corner and SHOT HIM IN THE HEART. *hearts Helen Magnus*

I'm coming around on Polly Walker. Mostly because she's nearly as awesome as Helen, and because she's not an idiot. And Gregory's time line STILL doesn't make sense (because 2010-65 is only 1946, which is a long time after 1892, and doesn't allow for any surface time), but I can work with it, because it'll be a while before we see him again. And I only barely typed "Joe" before typing "Gregory" just then, which is progress. And very Jacob Carter of him, of course. At least Amanda Tapping has experience with this kind of thing.

I'm a little bitter we didn't get to see the John fight/escape scene, but such things are probably best left to the imagination. *imagines*

(I am also trying to ignore the part where John wandered around the City, carrying two dead cave things for...dramatic effect, without setting off any of their vamp-detecting security systems when Helen very clearly wore the shield for the entire episode. And the part where John has no way of knowing that Helen is actually alive, unless he just disbelieved Adam in the first place, which is not unlikely. And the part where no one mentioned that John is pretty much the only person in the whole world who could have got Worth to Hollow Earth that quickly. Though the latter is a bit easier to shrug off, since Team Sanctuary is smart enough not to mention him when they're already on the ropes credibility wise.)

The ending was quite neat, all pretty bows and ribbon, but I really don't care, as I mentioned above. I will say, however, that I noted two things:

1. Adam's mysterious energy thing that led to his "temp-death" and killed 200 other people happening in 1935 and,
2. Gregory's 65 years started in 1945/6.

WORLD WAR TWO, m'dears. Because why else would Will's heretofore unmentioned calculations have led him to so random a number? ;)

Also, we have John off the deep end again, presumably, which will very nicely dovetail into more flashbacks. I really, really want Worth to be dead. And I think he is. It takes a lot of blood to write a message (yes, these are the things I learned in school...), and John wasn't exactly succinct. Plus, Helen had already shot him twice. And Sanctuary doesn't really draw these things out a lot (it won't even be the first time John's killed a major villain off-screen, now that I think about it). Not to mention that John's already let him live once. He's not all that forgiving.

But we have quite a few things set up for the rest of the season, and we'll have even more when they get back to the Sanctuary and either talk to Nikola or discover he's been distracted by something shiny and wandered off without leaving a note*.

In any case, I AM GLAD THIS SHOW IS BACK. Oh, and watching it week to week instead of three seasons in two days might kill me.


*obviously, I don't think that's what happened, but I'm trying to be as spoiler friendly as one can be in an episode review for an episode that won't air for TWO MORE WEEKS.

IS IT APRIL YET? Oh look! It is! :D

Comments

[ceilidh]

Yep. It's neat how it's set up--Magnus and Kate are naturally action-oriented, Henry's the tech guy providing gadgets and behind the scenes support, and Will is the negotiator/talker. It works. It's like "okay, let's do this" and everyone peels off to do their thing very organically.

[grav-ity.livejournal.com]

It was so great in terms of people being REALLY GOOD at their jobs! I know we don't always see eye to eye on Will, but he was absolutely perfect in this episode; perfect for the plot, the character and the story. I was so impressed with all of them.

I'm so glad it's BACK!!! ;)

[ceilidh]

I was very happy with Will in this epsiode, definitely. :)

[earendilgrey.livejournal.com]

Because you don't cross Helen Magnus.
No, doing so will always end badly for you.

Also, she had EPIC hair.
I have noticed that the last season she has had EPIC hair more often than she did before. I approve of this!

(I am also trying to ignore the part where John wandered around the City, carrying two dead cave things for...dramatic effect, without setting off any of their vamp-detecting security systems when Helen very clearly wore the shield for the entire episode.
Did she still have it on after she came back? I didn't actually notice. I thought they mentioned something about it when Adam and John came back into the city. Since nothing happened then. Maybe he just needed to get past the front gate so to say. Since they think that no one can get into the city unless they go through the front door. They do seem pretty cocky that their tech can't be beat so maybe they overlooked it. (probably reaching here)


So happy to have the show back!

[grav-ity.livejournal.com]

Honestly, I meant to watch the episode again and check, but life kept interfering. :)

[earendilgrey.livejournal.com]

It's sad that I can't remember since I have watched the episode like 10 times since I downloaded the leaked version. You think I would remember it, but nope.

[shadadukal]

I agree with this. The anti-vamp thing is probably only at tunnel entrances, and John teleported right into them so he avoided them completely. You're right about how arrogant they are about their tech.

[nandamai]

I am so excited that John has (apparently) lost it again. I loved the cuddling, but he and his character arc are more interesting when he's evil.

Thankfully, in true Sanctuary fashion, they instead solved two MAJOR PROBLEMS fairly immediately, hit the reset button, and when April 22 rolls around, it will be business as usual. I like this, because the show isn't really about Big Bads. They just...have one every now and then. And then they knock it over, and get on with the business of playing with funky animals.

The lack of ongoing big bads is one of my favorite things about the show, because you never know when the next one is going to show up. And I think the only way Helen's survived this long in such a dangerous business is by dealing with threats and crises as quickly as possible and moving on.

[grav-ity.livejournal.com]

And I think the only way Helen's survived this long in such a dangerous business is by dealing with threats and crises as quickly as possible and moving on.

YES! Because she learned that lesson very early and also because she is just unstoppable.

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

I mentally drew little hearts around the show when I (finally) realized that Helen, Kate, AND Ranna were going to be the ONLY ones going on the mission.

And then again when Helen shot Adam. *draws more little hearts*

I do think this episode could and should have been two--a little bit more interaction with the city would have been nice after all that build-up, although I think you're right about getting back to monster stuff sooner rather than later.

[ladygj.livejournal.com]

Thankfully, in true Sanctuary fashion, they instead solved two MAJOR PROBLEMS fairly immediately, hit the reset button, and when April 22 rolls around, it will be business as usual.

You know what? You are SO right, and I feel the same way. I'm happy they resolved everything in one ep and, now that it's over, we'll get stand alone episodes and new storylines to dive in. ;)

Who goes on that mission? WITHOUT EVEN DISCUSSING IT? Helen and Kate, my friends. *hearts this show*

*draws hearts on the screen* And must I had RANNA too. I mean, you have all those men around, but Helen, Kate and Ranna are the ones going. I squeed! :D

I'm a little bitter we didn't get to see the John fight/escape scene, but such things are probably best left to the imagination. *imagines*

Although it would have been an awesome scene, it's not particularly that one I wanted to see... but anything with John in. For me, there was something missing for him in this episode, either between the two scenes we saw, or right after the one with Adam. As you said, does he know if Helen's alive? And kind of the other way around, Helen MUST have been surprised to see his signature on the ground of the transport module. I mean, it's not as if they knew he was there. What was their reaction? They're probably smart enough to draw conclusions: that John brought Adam to Hollow Earth, but this leaves a lot of unanswered questions. Why? How? Where is he now?

But you know, it could also all be stuff for other episode(s)? So maybe I'm getting ahead of myself. ;)

[shadadukal]

I think they guessed immediately that John had brought Adam to the city, as soon as they knew he was here. They just didn't say so to Renna. And I think John knows Helen is alive. The message is for her, not anybody else, so he either never believed Adam, learned she had survived, or got it out of Adam before he killed him.

I think John has now lost it again.

[ladygj.livejournal.com]

I thought the message was for her too, but then I had a discussion with some friends... The message doesn't have to be related to Helen. John did in FK&C that he owed her nothing. So, we've been thinking that it was more debts he owed the Empire. Because the first around, when The Five was hired to kill Adam, he's the one who let him go. (He thought Adam would die in the river, but he didn't. So, I think John feels 'bad' - for lack of a better word - for that mistake he name all those years ago.) In that vain, the message could be for anyone who knows his history, not necessarily Helen.

And I think he has lost it again too. Honnestly, I kind of HOPE he has. It could be really interesting for his character to go to the deep end. I want them to explore that side of him more. ;)

[shadadukal]

I think it was for her because he signed John. If it was for somebody else, he'd have written Druitt, or John Druitt.

He said he owed her nothing but then it turned out Adam was alive. So he owed her for that. Killing Adam erases the debt. I don't think John is lucic enough to give a damn about any other debt he might owe.