"Just when I think I have a handle on all this, everything goes weird again."Okay, no strict recapping this week, minions. We're jumping straight into the theorizing and revelations because they really opened up the story with this one and in doing so demonstrated just how closed the loop really is. We sat down to this one thinking that they better pull something fun and interesting out of their trick bag soon, because the story was quickly losing us. Well, mission accomplished.
We don't know why it took us so long to figure this out - although we're blaming it on an understandable case of ennui - but the Director? The bitch with the shitty glasses and bob who seems to be in charge of this whole operation and who treats her staff like shit? She's the crazy doctor who was locked up and strait-jacketed; the one Mark and Kat went to see. The one that Tori's father originally told them to go see in South America. The one that ultimately pointed Mark and Kat to the church with the priest who confirmed that Joe used to be a priest there before he was abducted.
I know, right? Think about that for a second.
Upon first viewing, there was a lot of stuff that we found to be either implausible, coming out of nowhere, or a huge coincidence. Upon second viewing, not so much. We thought it
was strange that priest somehow got Mark out of jail just by showing up. Can you really post bail for prisoners awaiting extradition? That seemed a little odd. Then we rolled our eyes as we witnessed another Choose Your Own Adventure-style shift as Kat,Mark, and their latest ally, the Padre, went from jail to crossing some sort of border hiding in coffins, the priest lyinghis way through to the border patrol. Then a quick unpack, a little exposition about legends of strange lights and pow. Bye-bye father. You've served your purpose. We found it a little silly that Mark and Kat can then stumble their way through a South American forest on foot and just happen to take the exact route to the town. We also thought Kat's sudden breakdown was a weird 180 from her "Buck up, little soldier" speech of last week. What's with the sudden change?So, take all of those unl
ikely events, consider the revelation that the entire journey for these two characters was far more deliberate and calculated than we thought, and then also take into consideration that various frantic conversations back at the dimly lit mission control between Mr. Ulrich (the Irish guy who chatted with the pudgy detective on the phone) and the hotel manager referred to a "replacement" that was on the way. Okay, think about all that.Now let's think about some other things. So what really was going on with Kat's complete change in attitude from "remember your daughter" to "I can't take this anymore!" Kind of convenient that she can speak both Italian and Spanish, considering where their zig-zagging adventure took them. Remember when she dressed as a nun and swiped the Ambassador's card so that Mark could get in his office and find the picture? That was pretty slick of her,
wouldn't you say? She always seems to say the right thing and do the right thing in order to get them from situation to situation, picking up a few more clues along the way; clues that led them directly to the town.Kat's the replacement.
I KNOW, right? What the HELL is going on here?
Also, this: we find out that this version of the program was to test Joe specifically. To see if he's a candidate for the "10th level," whatever that is. But then later the Director notices how badass Janet is. Even Erika noted that she was the strongest of them and the only one they hadn't gotten to yet. The Director starts thinking they should be paying a little more attention to Janet in this scenario. We always said we didn't trust her and once again this
week she showed some impressive moves, giving Erika a bloody nose. Just what is this lady's deal, anyway?At any rate, this episode was definitely the shot in the arm the series needed and we're back on board for what's coming. Throw your theories and observations out, minions. And if you haven't seen it yet, here you go:
