Review: Outcasts "Episode 8"

Non Spoiler Review:

It's a bittersweet ending to a promising series, and, as expected, little is resolved as far as the broader storylines. The alien intelligence launches a deadly viral attack against Forthaven (just like the original virus that killed their children). While Stella struggles to figure out a solution, Julius makes his move to take control as CT-10 arrives at Carpathia. Revelations abound about Fleur and Cass, while Tate makes a huge gamble with the presidency.

It's difficult to review what amounts to the final episode of the series that ends on a cliffhanger. Had there been a second season, it would have made a good finale. The story moves briskly and keeps the tension high to the end. 

The episode (and series) suffers from too many quick cuts between scenes when characters and plot would benefit from more time. The visuals still look great and Stella and Tipper remain my favorites. Julius makes a good sociopath, who got away with a lot for far too long. We can only wonder what interesting characters were to be discovered on CT-10.

Spoilers Now!

A peaceful dawn over Forthaven is broken as Tipper is violently possessed by a burst of energy. Fleur wakes up next to Jack. He understands she's not feeling that great, but tells her to let him know if she wants to do it again sometime. In command, Stella gets Cass to retrieve Tipper to help with the transmissions, but when he shows up he finds him seriously ill with a green haze around his face.

Stella briefs Tate that this new virus is similar to C-23 and Tipper is put into isolation. As everyone goes into crisis mode, Cass tries to make amends with Fleur, but she tells him she got drunk and slept with Jack—which doesn't help matters. 

Julius aggravates Tate with his pressure to go after the ACs. Though they tested positive for the original disease, Tate doesn't believe they were the cause, and is still keeping Julius and Jack in the dark about the alien intelligence. One of Jack's men comes down with the virus, too, and it's apparent it's starting to spread quickly.

Julius contacts C-10 about the health crisis which can be used to his advantage as the transport orbits Carpathia. Julius is also about to reveal the content of the Omega file to bring down the presidency. He next goes to Jack to reveal the truth of that project to get him onside to act immediately.

With everyone indoors, Fleur and Cass help organize the quarantine, until Jack and the XPs show up and arrest Fleur! Tate demands she be let free, but Julius heads him off and reveals what's happening with the Omega file. He's gotten authorization from the justice member of council to reveal the contents and asks Stella to choose a side, given she's in charge of security. She tells Tate he can't deny the council the file, but she's not going to throw in with Julius, either.

Tate presses Julius for what he ultimately wants to gain. He's told his ambition is too small for what's at stake on Carpathia. Julius then goes to see Fleur and drops the bomb that she's an AC, and she's been collaborating with them all this time. Fleur is horrified, and even Jack tells him to go easy on her. Julius has nothing but contempt for her and tells her she caused the virus. Stella arrives to get her out. All she knows is that Fleur was part of a project called Omega. So she sends her to get the explanation from Tate while she looks in on her daughter, and says Fleur can stay at her place in the meantime.

Julius is preparing Jack to lead a final assault against the ACs (including Fleur) once council approves, but Jack isn't buying the story that she isn't human. Julius explains that there's more information in her file about the death of Mitchell, and that Cass very likely covered up his murder for her.

Stella comes to see Tipper, and lies to him that he'll be all right. She's concluded the letters they've found in the transmissions could be DNA—transmissions geared to their particular victims, like Tipper or Josie. As she leaves, she runs into Lily, who wants to come home. It's a bad time, given she has Fleur there, so Lily gets angry and walks away, running into Julius. She immediately gives up how upset she is her mother won't let her come home because someone is using her room.

Julius heads straight to Jack, with word that Fleur is held up at Stella's and soon he'll have authorization from the council to wipe out the ACs. As he starts lecturing Jack's men, Jack steps in that he still gives the orders.

Fleur is grateful for Cass' support as she struggles with the idea that all the memories of her parents are false. Tate shows up for his big talk and tells her she was a niche project to see how ethics were shaped by genes and environment. She wonders if all her thoughts and attitudes are even real. He loved her as his own child, and during the original virus, there was no indication she was carrying any disease, so she wasn't on the list to execute. What she's really thinking is if she was made from some of Tate's genes, which he doesn't answer, so she leaves. Cass tries to get her to come back. Then the XPs attack them, forcing them to run and take cover.

She and Cass barge into Tipper's place, where Lily is waiting. They plan to stay until nightfall to get her out of the city. So he leaves her there and returns to Tate, who is dealing with a censure motion from Julius. Cass yells at Tate for treating people like chess pieces. He tells Cass to ensure Fleur is kept from harm.

At the council meeting Tate addresses the members (including Jack, who has a seat). He confesses Fleur is an Omega AC but he won't risk her life by revealing where she is. Tate says he's defied the general council, so relinquishes the presidency, deciding proper leadership is needed. He's not about the office or status, just the welfare of Forthaven. Prior to elections, he will designate his immediate successor—Jack. The choice shocks everyone, and Tate urges him to act cautiously in the best interest of humanity. Their efforts should be focused on combating the real source of the virus. Stella leaves with Tate, as Julius tries to encourage a vote, but he's quickly lost control of the situation.

Tate isn't sure Jack will do Julius' bidding now, and suggests they drive a wedge between him and Julius. Stella tells him the code is DNA—it allows them to build copies and send viruses, and they need to find a way to block it.

Lily and Fleur hang out while they wait. Fleur encourages her not to give up on Stella and a reconciliation will take time. But then she sees Lily bathed in a halo like Tipper.

Stella comes to see Jack, who's struggling with the choice of being named president. He tells her he knows now that Mitchell never killed himself, and she says he gave them no choice. Stella asks him if he really cares about Fleur being an AC. She gives him a list of DNA sequences and a quick lecture on DNA. She explains the nature of the host force on Carpathia that is making copies of them. The sequence that she's detected matches Tipper's DNA. She's telling him because he's president now. But then she gets a message Lily is infected.

Cass and Tate commiserate in the empty bar as the disease continues to spread. He tells Cass to get Fleur out safely to warn Rudi, and stay with them until its all over. Meanwhile, Stella thinks they can create a defense by setting up a jamming signal around Forthaven so the aliens can't send their viruses.

Jack doesn't want to remain in the command centre, but plan the attack on the ACs. Julius would love nothing better than to get him out of there, as he's proving less than cooperative now that he's president. He amends his instructions to CT-10 and says Jack is to be added to the elimination list, though Stella is to be spared. CT-10 reports that their thermal shields are fine and are ready to enter the atmosphere.

While Cass and Fleur get out of the city and signal for Rudi, she wants to know what happened on Earth. He explains he used to work for the cartels as an enforcer and ended up killing a kid. He gave a lot of people up and Tate saved him. Fleur says good-bye and gives him a big hug, and heads off with Rudi. He'll fire a flare when it's safe for her to come back.

Julius tells Stella the XPs have gone to attack the ACs. He says he cares about her and advises her to hold off on the shield for now until the AC problem is dealt with (as it will interfere with communication with CT-10). She wants to know what he's planning.

So she goes off to see Tate to let him know, and they retrieve Jack before he leaves. Meanwhile, CT-10 prepares for entry. Rudi brings Fleur to the AC camp. The ACs are successfully bearing children and growing in number. He wants all of Forthaven to die, so they will be moving far away to start again on their own.

Julius tries to send Jack off, but he wants to hear what Stella has to say about the shield. So Julius tells him another transport is coming and if he does what he's told he can share in the power. So they arrive in command with guns to take over. Julius tells them about the arrival of CT-10 which has been invisible to their screens. Their shield will interfere with its landing.

Stella pleads with him to use the shield against the virus. Julius orders them to stand down from the shield, but Jack tells him he's forgetting that he's president. Stella didn't treat him like an idiot, whereas Julius does. Julius says if Jack betrays him now he'll go the way of the rest. He offers him his life. Jack pulls his gun on him and resigns the presidency. Julius is led away as they activate the shield.

The incoming shuttle changes coordinates as they lose contact. Tate goes back to his quarters to see his doppelganger there. He pleads one last time for peace, but the alien says they can overcome their defences if they wish, but still find them interesting.

Stella returns to sickbay to find Lily recovered. Tipper is, as well, and thanks her. Cass watches the shuttle arrive over the mountains and head for Forthaven. Julius smiles in his cell.

The Verdict:

And so it ends. With no renewal, we're left with threats to the colonists from within and from external alien forces. For the moment, Forthaven has become a bubble of safety beneath its blanket of jamming signals—aside from the giant shuttle slowly coasting towards it. Speaking of which, where are all the other shuttles from the previous transports?

In retrospect, I would have preferred the series take a simpler approach—no evil clones, and no disembodied aliens. The struggle of colonization was interesting enough, coupled with the undiscovered nature of Carpathia, that encounters with actual primitive hominids would have made a great story (rather than their fossils). The political side of things remained the most compelling storyline, and there are indications the arrival of CT-10 would introduce another, hardline political figure.

Cass, Fleur and Jack got some closure. While I'm not too happy with the AC thing spreading to all these characters, she and Cass at least showed their feelings for one another and Cass confessed his past (which was hardly a surprise). Jack, though, got the best of the deal, showing he wasn't so easily manipulated at all, and his respect for Stella pointing him in the right direction for his decision.

But Outcasts can't be faulted for being ambitious. There was lots of fertile ground to plow for several seasons worth of stories. It's disappointing that it didn't get a chance to develop.

Review: Outcasts "Episode 7"

Non Spoiler Review:

After last week's somewhat tedious plotline, this one jumps right into the mystery—Tate confronting himself in his quarters and the reveal that an alien intelligence is at work on Carpathia. That's not really a spoiler, considering it happens in the first minute. Unfortunately that's not the main storyline. Nor is Julius' simmering coup d'etat. Instead we get Cass and revelations about his past, all springing from his association with a girl we only meet in this episode. It's all a bit messy and contrived, and not at all successful.

As the penultimate Outcasts episode, it's unfortunate this is what we get. What should have been a shocker about Cass instead meanders around and around with numerous scenes of Cass just running to fill out the hour. And then the payoff is pretty lame, as well. If Outcasts had a season with a few more episodes, then perhaps this would be acceptable, but I just wanted more focus on the big picture stuff.

Spoilers Now!

Tate comes out of his room to face...himself. In shock, he asks his doppelganger who they are and gets an info-dump—they've been watching Forthaven for a long time and a species like humans were here before, but became extinct. Tate asks if they killed them. It tells him they will suffer the same fate, then disappears.

Cass has not told Fleur what happened in the mountains, so she keeps pressing (and flirting) with him to get answers. But he promised Tate to keep quiet. He takes the opportunity to ask her out and she suggests they talk that night.

She goes off and Cass finds a letter on his desk that says I know who you really are. Be in touch soon. That puts him into a massive panic and he rushes off home and goes through some old files in his locker to ensure everything is still there and secure.

Tate's consulted with Stella, and realizes they need to respond to whatever intelligence is making copies of them. Jack remains a problem—he'll eventually talk about what happened with Josie. Tate needs time to deal with the situation before Jack talks to anyone, so he warns him he could have court-martialed him for his black op, so now it's payback—24 hours before he tells. And he wants the AC prisoner released.

Stella gets the idea to analyze the recordings of Josie made when she was still missing. Her team isolates an anomaly in Josie's broadcast that she believes is the host force. She gets some receivers set up in the city to detect any other signals and see what they can decipher.

By nightfall Cass goes to the bar and a girl strikes up a conversation with him. She's pretty drunk and so is he, and they end up going home together. Cass wakes up to find the girl going through his locker. He's crazy panicked and struggles with her, and she gets stabbed with some scissors. She fights back, though, and manages to get away with his gun. He runs off to work trying to keep it together. Fleur isn't too impressed with being stood up and gives him the cold shoulder. 

Cass tries to explain but says he got scared and spent the night drinking. She then gets a report of a missing person, Carla, so they head off to get debriefed by her husband, James. The man's wife went missing a few days before, and he shows them her photo—guess who? Cass nearly freaks. Her husband says Carla has been increasingly down about life on Carpathia and suggests she might be having an affair. 

Julius demands to know what's going on now that Jack's clammed up, but Tate has had enough of his scheming and tells him all he says are lies and has no right to demand anything from them.

Cass and Fleur look through Carla's house with her husband's help. Fleur finds a torn note to a lover, and then gets a tip she was seen at the bar the previous night with a man. Cass lets her talk to the barman while he checks out the neighbourhood, but instead runs home to clean up his apartment of any evidence of Carla. He finds the scissors with the blood, but neglects a spot on the carpet. 

Tate abruptly shows up and tells him he's going into the mountains to talk to Rudi. He's not telling Stella, but wants Cass to watch out for Julius to ensure they don't raise tensions against the ACs. 

Tipper shows up at command to talk to Stella and tell her Lily's been arrested for stealing at the bar. Stella goes to see her and finds out her daughter just wanted to get noticed by her mother. She has her retained for 24 hours and let go. 

Julius comes by to console Stella later on. Fifteen years is a long time to live apart, and Stella still sees her as a baby she left behind. Julius wants to talk to her about Tate, telling her he's disappeared. He suggests he's losing control, but Stella assures him he has his reasons. He says he'll wake the city up to the dangers that threaten it, and wants her to be on side with him. She doesn't want to talk with him about that and leaves.

Fleur gets reports of a woman trying to buy a gun, so assumes it was Carla planning to kill her husband. Cass rushes to find James, as two other kids come in as witnesses who saw Carla running away from a man. They bring Fleur right to Cass' house. Shocked, she looks around his place and manages to notice the spot of blood on the carpet. She takes a sample to get tested and it's Carla's.

Carla confronts her husband, threatening to kill him. He's been controlling her since they arrived on Carpathia and she wants out, but he won't let her. She then threatens to kill herself, but he takes the gun, promising her everything will be just as it was. She drops the bomb she had sex with Cass so he punches her out.

Julius continues to manipulate Jack and finally gets him to tell him the truth about Josie. He also provokes him to take action about the ACs and execute his prisoner rather than release him. He tells him not to worry, as they have friends—angels in heaven.

Fleur has uncovered Cass' file and wants to know who he really is—Tom Sileg. He confesses Carla stole his gun. Stella comes to see him, telling him James is claiming Carla was having an affair for over a year and has a diary that says as much, so she wants to know how long this has been going on. She leaves the diary with him to read.

Next Stella consoles Fleur, who wants to know if she knew about Cass' past. Stella had some idea. But Fleur doesn't know if she can believe his innocence now. Then they're advised James has found a suicide note. Fleur consults with him and he seems to think she might have gone out to the lake.

Cass realizes the diary is written in the same handwriting as Carla's letter, but no one will listen to him. So he fakes an illness to escape from the cell. Fleur gets alerted about that, and also what he said about the journal.

Tate follows his phantom children through the hills, but is soon surrounded by ACs. After a bit of a beating, Rudi shows up and Tate admits he didn't listen to the first warning, but wants Rudi's help to persuade the host force that they can all live together. Rudi rebuffs the overture, telling him they killed their children when they first arrived, and it's only Tate's people who are threatened, not his.

Cass' tries to get to James' house but it's locked up. He hears Carla inside and breaks in, finding her in a cellar. James shows up as he tries to free her and pulls a gun on them. He explains Carla will be assumed drowned and the search will be called off. He'll bury them both there together. Cass charges him, and the ensuing fight breaks the ceiling bringing down the soil above to fill the chamber. But they're rescued just in time and James is arrested.

Later, Cass confesses that back on Earth Tate had taken him in and saw him as redeemable, offering him a new chance on Carpathia. When Fleur presses just what exactly he did, he tells her if she finds out she won't want to know him. So she leaves.

Julius addresses the people about the AC attack, and assures them they have avenged it. The AC has been hung, and normal rules no longer apply now that they're in a fight for their lives. He accuses Tate of doing nothing when Forthaven needs action.

Jack isn't feeling terribly great about the execution, so tells his men to give the AC a decent burial, then shows up at the bar to find Fleur. The two get pretty close and go back to his place.

Tate comes to see Cass. They knew it would all come out eventually, but Tate defends his right to be there. Cass shows him the note he got and wonders who else knows about him.

Julius communicates with the transport, commenting that the information on Cass proved useful. They then provide him with information on the Omega subject he requested, noting there is one on Carpathia...Fleur.

In the command centre, Stella shows Tate they've deciphered four letters that cycle in infinite variations, which seem to compose the bulk of the alien communications. Now they can listen in.

The Verdict:
What a convoluted and contrived mess. Perhaps if the season were twice as long, the series could afford to bring in new characters to flesh out the main storylines, but it seemed tacked on here when Cass' story could have been better served with existing characters. There was simply no emotional investment in Carla or her situation at all. And even then, we don't get any information about what Cass actually did to make him so terrible. Plus we get a groaner of a jailbreak, and filler scenes of Cass running around Forthaven like a crazy person. It was really agitating to watch (and then attempt to recap) all these disjointed scenes and make sense of it.

Cass just isn't as important when Forthaven has Julius Berger and an alien host force to worry about, both of which get too little play. While the idea of disembodied aliens is still not my preference, the idea of their communications being detectable by Forthaven was a good touch.

And we get some additional details from the alien—there are 70,000 humans on Carpathia. Plus they killed the original hominid species and, perhaps, other life forms, as well. But for what purpose? And why would they leave the ACs alone? Why would they chose to differentiate between the two?

Outcasts has been unfortunately cancelled, so this amounts to the penultimate episode. Too bad, as this show did have much promise, and something tells me not much is going to be resolved in the final episode.

Review: Outcasts "Episode 6"

Non Spoiler Review:

Episode 6 jumps right into the middle of a crisis—three XPs are two days missing, leaving a pregnant wife about to give birth, and three other children waiting for their mother's return. Jack struggles to find out what happened to them, but is keeping secrets about the true nature of the mission they were on. When one of them is found alive and returned home, everyone is elated, but what follows is an increasingly ominous revelation of what exactly returned to Forthaven.

Probably the weakest episode so far, this week seemed to meander on and on with the mystery (an ongoing problem these last couple of episodes), but takes forever to get to its conclusion. I realize the running storyline addressed this week requires build up over the course of this season, but what's becoming increasingly clear is that Outcasts is indulging in a classic science fiction cliché, that for me just isn't working. The political side of things is much more interesting, as Julius raises the stakes, and his schemes seem to be moving along towards an inevitable confrontation. So a mixed bag again this time.

Spoilers Now!

Three expeditionaries are missing after performing some secret mission for Jack (and, apparently Julius). As search parties spread out, they see a flare but turn up dead ends. Jack is feeling responsible and brushes off Tates' questions, but the president suspects Jack is running his own operation against the ACs. 

One of the missing is single mother Josie, and Stella takes it upon herself to look after the three children while their mother is gone. Meanwhile, Marie, wife of one of the missing men, is about to go into labour, and she's the only pregnant woman in Forthaven at the moment (so lots of pressure there). Tate and Stella both want to ensure she delivers a healthy child.

Josie appears wounded outside the gates and is brought inside to a happy crowd. She explains they were ambushed by ACs and only she got away. Everyone applauds her return, but she's acting a bit vacant and stunned, and when she's brought back home to her children they notice her odd character right away.

Marie goes into labour as another man, Mark, is found, and he reveals that it was Josie that tried to kill them. Stella leads the team that goes to arrest her (in front of her children) and Tate and Stella interrogate her to little success. Josie just wants to see her children. Tate wants it all kept quiet until they find out what's really going on. They suspect she may have just snapped considering she left a husband back on Earth to come to Carpathia. 

Mark is in hospital as Julius comes to see him and reveals he knows about Jack's black op against the ACs. Mark can offer little explanation except to say Josie went crazy and suddenly killed Brian (Marie's husband).

Meanwhile, Rudi addresses his troops after apparently discovering the black op launched against them. He tells them they will be precise in their revenge but will not act rashly. They'll target the XP leader and deal a fatal blow to Forthaven. Two ACs head out and soon find Brian's body and the photos of his wife.

Stella receives a radio message from Josie who says she's miles outside the community. But she's still in her cell. Tate is now quite open to the idea of weird things happening given his own visions of people who shouldn't be there, so he sends Cass and Fleur to check it out, while he and Stella debate what exactly is happening. Stella is taking the logical route, thinking hallucinations are a result of their society under pressure. Tate's not so sure.

He goes to watch Josie in her cell, and she seems to be interacting with someone unseen. Then he goes to see her children and talks to them about their mother's behaviour. The youngest child seems to know matter-of-factly that this woman is not their mother.

Julius gets debriefed by Jack. The mission he asked him to undertake is still incomplete (assassinating Rudi), but he wants to find out why Josie attacked her own men. Julius wants assurance Jack is on his side against Tate to correct the flaws in their society. Jack is less sure about going against Stella, and Julius himself isn't certain yet if she will be friend or enemy when it comes down to making a choice.

Cass and Fleur arrive at the area where the radio broadcast came from, just as all the power goes out in Forthaven. That's due to the ACs, who have dug under the wall and gotten into the settlement. Alarms go off and faux Josie escapes, while Marie goes into labour. Cass and Fleur run back to town. Nearby is a seriously wounded Josie, but they don't see her.

Tate, with the children, rendezvous with Stella, who is dealing with the crisis. Julius wants to be involved in things, of course, but both Stella and Tate brush him off. Faux Josie somehow finds her children in all the commotion and makes off with them.

Real Josie manages to get on her feet and heads towards Forthaven. Meanwhile, Marie's pregnancy is seriously more complicated...either the baby survives or the mother, and Stella opts to make the difficult decision to chose the baby and let Marie fight for her life.

Cass and Fleur draft Jack and his men to help maintain order inside the settlement. Cass spots the ACs and manages to warn Jack, saving his life. They bring down both intruders, and arrest one survivor.

Real Josie stumbles up to the gates, only to be nearly shot, as everyone thinks she's run off with the kids. She's thrown in the brig with the AC and treated like dirt by Jack. But Stella realizes something else is going on, and asks Cass to break her out after Jack refuses to listen. So he does so, heading off to the rocks with real Josie in the hopes of finding a place that the children might go to. And so they do find the children, who realize this is their real mother.

But the XPs catch up, and hot-headed Jack is about to shoot Josie despite Cass saying it's all wrong, when faux Josie appears at the top of the hill. She stands in silence and looks at them, then seems to just walk away out of sight.

Cass advises a stunned Jack they should keep it all between themselves and reports back to command. Tate suggests they all just imagined the other person, and tells him goodnight. Julius pops in right after, declaring the previous night's attack warrants a massive response against the ACs. Tate refuses. Julius pretty much threatens that he should side with him on this, but Tate throws back Jack's secret operation to assassinate Rudi. Of course Julius denies any knowledge of that, and he's sorry Tate chose that path.

Marie is told of her husband's death, but she and her baby both survived, so Stella can take some solace in that. Meanwhile, Julius contacts CT-10 again, saying he will be ready to overthrow the government with the help of Jack, and he's also confident Stella will be onside when they arrive.

The lights come back on as Stella joins Tate at the bar. They're still debating whether there were two Josies. Tate knows it wasn't a hallucination. What if something destroyed the hominid species, he suggests. They're not alone here.

The Verdict:
Despite the tension of the episode it felt so drawn out any drama was seriously deflated. Perhaps it was just a pacing problem, but it felt like this week was two hours long. Add to that an unsatisfactory ending—despite the mystery of the faux Josie, which itself is an ongoing plot with the phantom kids and dog, there was no explanation about where faux Josie went and why no one went after her. They just cut back to the goings on at Forthaven.

There were some good bits—following up last week's diamond-mania, it was nice to see Cass toss one of them into the garbage before they headed out on the search. As well, the the characterization is usually pretty good here. It's just the actions that produce some eye-rolling moments...

It's debatable already how fit Tate is to be president. I'm happy with how Stella is being handled, but Julius is seriously crossing the line of believability in how he can maintain his power grab without being found out. Still, Jack's behaviour was the most egregious. What is the power structure in Forthaven that allows him such free reign...and not only that, but to act so gun crazy? That just didn't seem realistic at all. Add Julius' more overt machinations in dealing with Tate, Stella and Jack, and the political schemes sometimes are a bit hard to swallow.

Review: Outcasts "Episode 5"

Non Spoiler Review:

A new episode, with a new stranger walking into Forthaven. That's unusual, given there shouldn't be any strangers. This one creates a ruckus by tossing around diamonds like cash. That sparks a mystery to find out who he is and a journey to the forbidden areas of Carpathia. Cass and Fleur continue to be the dynamic duo always off on their weekly adventures, but this time Stella and Jack get to spend some quality time together, too. On the political side of things, Julius ramps up his game against Tate, who is mired by all the secrets coming out about his administration.

While offering intriguing tidbits on a variety of fronts, the plot seemed to drag out extremely long this time around. After sitting through a lot of teases of information, not a lot was revealed, leading to a disappointing conclusion. The saving grace was an ominous final scene.

Spoilers Now!

On a rainy night in Forthaven, a mystery man enters the bar (where Lily now works), sits down and orders whiskey, paying for it with a bag of diamonds he got by the ocean (which is, apparently, a closed zone rife with radiation dangers, as Tipper informs him). His name is Pack, and he quickly manages to insult Jack, prompts a bar brawl, then runs off into the night to be pursued by Fleur and Cass. Unfortunately, both are somehow knocked out.

Stella advises Tate that the jawbone is definitely hominid, which means it would be the most insane discovery in human history. But Tate tells her to take it with a grain of salt, given there were human fossils on the last transport. And, by the way, he doesn't know how or why, but his kids are back (!). Stella has little time to absorb that little tidbit when she's informed her people are missing, and so she goes to interview Lily and Tipper.

After getting the lowdown, she and Tate realize that Pack could be short for Patrick, as in Patrick Baxton, the first man to step foot on Carpathia 11 years ago, went insane, tried to kill everyone, and escaped in a vehicle that subsequently exploded in a fireball due to Carpathia's crazy radiation. Stella wants to find out and go to the ocean—despite it being in the control zone and against Tate's wishes (could he have secrets there, too?). But she wants to learn anything more she can about the fossils.

Jack, meanwhile, is not happy his people are busy looking for bones, and tells Julius that as he reports about all the diamonds Pack was spreading around. Julius advises him to keep it quiet (as knowledge is power) and it looks like the two of them together are going to be bad news.

Stella enlists Jack to head off in search of the others, but Baxter has already led Cass and Fleur to the ACs (which are always everywhere, I guess). They seem to know him and will let them pass if they give up their weapons, so Fleur reluctantly agrees, and after they pass, Baxter tosses the guns down the cliff. They have little choice but to go with him.

Stella and Jack encounter the ACs later, and Jack's man is killed, leaving the two of them to wait until nightfall until moving on. While they're hunkered down, Jack wants to know what's the big deal with the ocean. Stella wants to see the coast to see if life started there. He tells her she thinks too much.

At camp, Fleur confronts Baxter about being the first man on Carpathia, asking what really happened. He confesses the first man was actually an AC, who walked around for awhile to ensure the surface was safe. Baxter followed. But the AC died of a virus very quickly as his immune system wasn't updated. Baxter realized then the planet didn't want them.

As Fleur recounts, the story was that he killed his CO and took off in a plane. But he says nothing to confirm or deny that. They soon arrive at the site of his plane crash, where he said his legs were shattered after he ejected. Apparently his dog brought him wood for flints for his legs, though Fleur reminds him there are no dogs on Carpathia. He says he'll take them on to the sea where he wants to have some human beings around him again when he dies.

The settlement is going diamond crazy, using the few Baxter brought to trade and going off in search of their own. Tate cracks down on restricting people's movements outside the perimeter. Julius says he agrees with the lock down and is more than happy to speak to the people if Tate wants him. Tate allows him, but warns him off any talk of a universal spirit.

While Tate chastises the people for falling to avarice, Lily is mugged and has her diamond stolen. Tipper blames Julius, and seems to see through his rise to power.

At the ocean, Cass and Fleur are elated to see a beach again. Baxter watches them run off and play in the surf, and smiles.

Stella and Jack are getting close, but Jack gets bitten by a fly and appears to have an allergic reaction. She treats him and he recovers.

Baxter walks down the beach, with his dog running around him. He walks into the water and collapses. Fleur and Cass drag him out but he's dead. They opt to leave, though they don't know the way back.

Jack and Stella arrive after they're gone. The radiation levels are nearly zero, oddly enough. Jack finds the diamonds everywhere in the sand and Stella finds another fossil. She sends up a flare which does alert Cass and Fleur, and soon everyone is reunited again.

While Jack gathers diamonds, Stella finds skeletons among the rocks, but they have to leave as the tide is coming in. Stella decides to leave them there, lying together as a family. Later, Jack wonders why there are no other advanced species on Carpathia aside from flies and trees and such. There seems to be a big chunk of fauna missing. Off in the distance, a dog runs around the rocks.

When Tate denies Julius a portfolio on council he threatens he can get two thirds majority to overturn it. Tate says if he wants to remove him as president he's not going to make it easy for him. Stella reports back to Tate and discusses the proto-human fossils and the more supernatural hallucinations he's suffered, but realize all they have are questions (like us!).

In his quarters, Julius pulls out some kind of transmitter and announces himself as Alchemist to CT-10. Tate has violated his mission and has no ambition beyond utopian ideals, he says. He will ensure neither he nor his supporters will be in a position to offer resistance upon their arrival—they being another transport ship we see approaching—CT-10.

The Verdict:
There's a lot of Carpathia mysteries being bandied around this week—more visions, the radioactive ocean (or lack thereof), the hominids, Baxter's backstory—a lot of questions with few answers to be found at the end, so it was disappointing to get that after enduring a very leisurely paced episode.

It felt a bit of a cheat that Baxter got very little explanation, especially the murder of his CO and escape. So we're left with more unresolved mysteries. And again, the ACs seem to be experts on everything outside of Forthaven.

I did find it odd that the diamonds would have such an effect on the population, given they're not an essential item in the context of a day to day struggle establishing a colony on a new planet—diamonds would have no purpose outside of industrial use, and no value aside from trinkets, especially given the original settlers have been away from Earth for fifteen years. Who would even care about them?

Cass and Fleur's relationship continues to gel, and it's obvious he has a thing for her. But more important, Jack gets some time with Stella, to hopefully counteract Julius' influence. Stella remains a big wild card because everyone seems to be vying for her support and she doesn't carry all the baggage that Tate does.

The ending brought a big surprise and the promise of the arrival of another large group of people, which left me wondering what Tate's original mission was, and how closely he and Julius see things. Is civil war coming? What kind of ideals are represented on the approaching CT-10? So, a bit of an off episode in many ways, and pretty damn slow, it felt, but likely essential in setting up all these pieces. As long as they pay off.

Review: Outcasts "Episode 4"

Non Spoiler Review:

As the AC revelations spread through Forthaven, a wandering AC gets into town with a few emotional problems (to say the least) that resurrect more secrets from Tate's early days on Carpathia, as well as providing an opportunity for Julius to further his position. Fleur and Cass are brought into conflict again, and the awkward threesome of Stella, Lily and Tipper gets more more awkward.

Episode 4 is a morality play pitting many of the players against one another and setting up some dynamics between friends and enemies, promising some greater conflict down the road. Sympathy for Tate continues to dwindle, and there's still the question of the imaginary kids, which get more play here in increasingly creepy scenes. However, a bit of a shocker comes out of left field at the end, making quite a rich episode and new mysteries to add to the mix.

Spoilers Now!

Jack head's off a stranger walking towards the gates in the middle of the night, but the man collapses at his feet. In the morning, Tate is wakened by what he believes are voices in his quarters,so he gets up to make breakfast and listen to Tipper's commentary about his recent announcement. Then he notices there's a child's handprint in the steam on the glass. 

The stranger is an AC, and was caught outside in last episode's whiteout. Tate is reluctant to return him to Rudi right away until he can be sure of the motives. Cass brings in breakfast, but the AC is panicking in captivity and manages to make a break for it. 

Stella and Tate discuss the failure of many of the seeds brought from Earth, and just like the ACs who have managed to breed despite their sterilization program, he has to figure out why. Forhaven has only had one birth in four months. So he's using both the samples from the AC baby, as well as new samples he plans to take from the AC prisoner to help ensure the survival of their species. Meanwhile, Lily and Stella's new living arrangements are a bit tense. 

A custodian woman finds the prisoner and recognizes him as an AC. She promises to help him out by cleaning him up a bit. He tells her his name is Elijah, but when she reaches out to him he has a blackout, and when he looks down she's knocked out on the floor. Cass and Fleur come across the woman in their search, and she's still alive. She tells him he was just scared.

Tate knew Elijah had a history of aggressive behaviour, but Stella doesn't want to alert the public given there's not a lot of knowledge about the ACs yet. Jack just wants to hunt him down, but Cass reminds him he only operates outside the gates, while they handle stuff inside. Jack protests to Tate and wonders why he's treating the ACs with kid gloves—the ACs respected Mitchell, but they despise the rest of them. 

Julius attends the bedside of the custodian woman as she wakens. He just wanted to stop by and say how sorry he was. He suggests she warn the people of what he did to her so when he's caught he won't do it again. She knows that Elijah was just scared and didn't mean it, and she refuses. That doesn't go over well, and Julius calls her a stupid woman.

Lily comes by to see Tipper and drops off some papers she says she found outside, then leaves. He knows she's Stella's daughter, so reads it, then switches on the radio to announce he's been handed some information—there's an AC loose in Forthaven and he attacked a woman. Stella is not impressed that she has a leak in her department.

Fleur notices the AC hanging out around the first landing memorial (it has a flashing green light) and a chase ensues. She nearly falls off a building trying to catch him but Elijah comes back and rescues her. He asks her to promise not to make him go back. 

Cass arrives on the roof. As cooler heads prevail, Elijah explains he's having flashbacks to red and green lights, a long time ago in the secure center, with Tate watching him. He can't go back, he pleads. Cass realizes something's wrong with this. Elijah isn't running. He isn't a killer. 

Elijah knows he's not safe with Tate around. Cass and Fleur take him inside to hide. Elijah tells her he didn't mean to hurt the woman. Tate assured him he would be with his brothers and sisters again, but he was tortured in some kind of experiment, and afterwards everything was different. 

Fleur realizes yet again Tate is hiding something, so she suggests Cass look through his office. They've been lied to before, and she has no idea what they might do to Elijah if they bring him back. Cass knows she's right, so he asks Elijah to trust them.

Cass gets into Tate's office and finds Elijah's records. On his way out, Tate runs into him, so Cass asks what will happen if they find Elijah. Tate doesn't seem to think he can reverse the man's behavioural problems and he can't be sure he wouldn't come back and put them in danger. Cass doesn't need to hear that.

Tipper continues to talk against Tate on the radio, when Stella makes an unannounced visit (breaking in), asking where he got the information. So she starts breaking his vinyl. He suggests he doesn't want to tell her for her own good, but Stella presses, so Tipper admits it was Lily (snap!).

Jack's bitching for having to work on the water pipes rather than hunting the AC. Something has to change, he grumbles. Then he's called over by one of his men, who's found an interesting rock.

Cass returns to Fleur and Elijah with information—Elijah was experimented on—his fear and danger responses enhanced so that he's unable to control his reactions. Cass is still loyal to Tate, and doesn't like having to make decisions on things like that. Fleur wants to get him back to Rudi, and she knows how to contact him. Cass doesn't want her going out alone, but she knows how to use his feelings for her to get what she wants. She heads out and sends up a flare.

Stella returns to Lily with the folder and says she knows she wanted to hurt her to elicit a reaction. Lily says she was left behind and Stella has no idea what that was like. It's too late to be a mother. Stella admits she can't do this anymore and suggests she find somewhere else to stay for now. Lily is hurt, but agrees.

Cass and Elijah are getting on well, talking about love and special girls. But a bolt of lightning frightens Elijah, and the next thing we see Cass on the ground with a head wound. But when Cass wakes up Elijah is still at his side. Elijah admits to hurting him and it's getting worse, and wonders if he should be kept away from everyone. Fleur shows up then with Rudi. They decide they'll need a distraction to get Elijah out of town, so it's Cass' responsibility to ensure everything is arranged.

Tate hears voices in bed again, and later on gets into a discussion about faith with Julius. He suggests the people are losing faith in Tate but he will stand up in support for him. Tate suggests something must be in it for him. Cass overhears this, and admits the AC is under lock down and they're getting ready to bring him in. Julius seems to think that Tate will be unable to keep the people's support. Well, guess who gave the go-ahead for the AC program at the time—Julius.

Cass tells Tate Elijah needs to go back to Rudi, but Tate promises him no harm will come to him. Fleur will never forgive him for this, Cass says. Then Jack intercepts him and wants in on the take down (Berger told him), promising to put aside their differences and help. 

With everyone in position, Cass goes back to the hideout to let them know they have their opportunity. Elijah tells Cass not to worry, and he understands. Cass gets Fleur away from the window just as grenades come through, and pushes her outside. Elijah runs for it and is tranquilized, but Jack has live ammo and shoots him. Fleur steps into the line of fire and Jack stands down.

Later, Tate comes to the morgue to see Fleur, who's mourning over Elijah's body. Rudi returned to his people, and he doesn't know if there will be repercussions or not. Tate's not angry for her disobeying and seems to understand. Fleur muses that there's no place for her there anymore, but Tate tells her they do what they have to.

Meanwhile, Stella is furious Jack opened fire against orders. He dismisses it, and instead gives her a bag, suggesting when she looks inside she'll change her mind about how useful the expeditionaries are.

Lily comes to see Tipper, asking for a place to stay. He feels guilty so agrees, as long as she doesn't give him any more official documents.

Julius congratulates Jack for taking out Elijah with one shot. He suggests they play things more subtly. He has friends in high places and things need to change and he wants Jack to be a part of it. 

Cass tries to make nice with Fleur. While she knows he was trying to protect her, she understands his first loyalty will be to Tate, and she'll never trust him again. She does give him a hug though, and knows he's sorry. 

Stella shows Tate what Jack gave her. It's a fossil—a jaw bone, that looks suspiciously human, tens of thousands of years old. Julius comes to see her and lets her know Lily is at Tipper's. He thinks she needs to learn boundaries and will do his best to make her understand her mother. Here in Forthaven, the children are the future, he muses, and leaves. Stella's not worried about the future. It's the past that concerns her, as she ponders the fossil. 

Tate lies awake, so he walks outside of Forthaven and speaks to the empty landscape. And then his children appear around him. He knows they're not his real children, but he doesn't want them to leave. He sends them off to play. Creepy.

The Verdict:
Elijah's tragic story was a bit predictable. It seemed unlikely he would get out of Forthaven alive. But the important thing is it provided opportunity for Julius to exploit, and the surprise was how easily Jack was drawn into his fold. My initial impression was that he was his own man, but the last few episodes he's been increasingly portrayed as a hothead and trigger happy.

If Julius secures the expeditionaries, it's big trouble, and a bit disappointing that this group has such power to run around willy-nilly. The role of the XPs continues to perplex. They seem to be completely independent of government authority—almost like a military branch that continually needs to be appeased. Why would such an arrangement ever be set up?

Tipper and Stella remain my favorites. She didn't pull out the DBV this week, but she did kick her daughter out of the house which was a bold move. Lily lost some traction, as I thought she was being a little warmer to her mother but now just seems to be satisfied to catch up on all the rebellion she missed out on.

Obviously, the big surprises were the ghost kids running about and the discovery of a primate fossil. I'm more interested in the latter, because the phantom kids smack a bit too much of a Star Trek plot device. I'm hoping it doesn't lead to some disembodied aliens.

Review: Outcasts "Episode 3"

Non Spoiler Review:

Forthaven gets a disaster episode, as the end of the white out season promises a respite from their wacky storms, until the notes from a late scientist offer up a more ominous theory about Carpathia's environmental cycle. There are the usual catastrophe clichés—the imminent wedding of two characters, various citizens in peril—but it really makes for an effective hour, especially seeing the devastation these electromagnetic sand storms wreak as they sweep over the landscape. The crisis provides movement on many plot points—the ACs, Julius' slow rise to power (and some surprising allies), relationships between various players—all making for a very good episode.

Outcasts has won me over if it continues with this level of quality, and there are more than enough mysteries floating around, I want to see them answered. The character interactions are very reminiscent of the early days of Battlestar Galactica, getting to know these people (and their flaws). Even (the obvious villain) Julius is subtle enough to break away from the standard expectations.

One of Outcasts' strengths (and what makes it different from similar ideas that came before) is picking up the colony ten years in, rather that focusing on the initial travails of settlement. Tate says himself that after ten years they're stronger now, and it allows a lot more freedom with storylines. We still get the new colonists in the form of the CT-9 survivors, but what's interesting to watch is the history (and baggage) of the original settlers now that they're a decade in their new home.

Spoilers Now!

All is calm at Forthaven as the white out season is over (maybe). Cass is playfully flirting with an ex-girlfriend, Trix, who is getting married that day to Leon, while we find out Tipper runs the radio station and has a love for old vinyl. Fleur heads out of town on her own, avoiding Jack's inquiries as to where she's going (he's obviously interested in her but she continues to brush him off). She's got the baby (stuffed into a duffel bag), and is on a special mission from Tate to return it to Rudi. 

Stella is a bit concerned about how that will all turn out. But in the meantime, Julius has given her some notes that were passed to him on the transport during the evacuation. A brilliant scientist had been working on the white out patterns and had made an important discovery that was crucial to Forthaven. Stella can't make anything out of the theorems, but she's worried enough to advise Tate to put the community on alert just in case something is going to happen. She knows a brilliant prodigy who might be able to help—Tipper. 

And the white outs look like they might be a problem, because every other scene shows some sand getting kicked up and weird electrical discharges—while Rudi walks along the river, there's a sudden waterspout/lightning storm, and from orbit the atmosphere of Carpathia is getting nasty.

Stella gets Tipper to have a look at the data, but he's not very keen on using his child prodigy powers. He makes a point of asking if the professor was Jewish, given his last name, and Stella's family is too (an odd comment which didn't seem to go anywhere). Stella tries to get him to focus, and asks him to at least attempt to decipher the math.

The ACs and Rudi find Fleur and she tells him she's come unarmed to bring back the baby. Rudi admits that he was planning on killing everyone (but Fleur) during the hostage crisis, but he has no issue with her and asks her to stay and talk.

He explains some more of what went on back in the day, when Mitchell had taken the ACs out to kill them (on Tate's order). But he stopped and showed them pity. Then he says a big white out is coming, and he'll take her back to town (AC eyes are adapted for the storms). If she should want to talk to him again she can send up a flare.

Tipper has come to some conclusions, but what he sees is evidently not comforting. He muses about how he had to leave his family behind on Earth because he was the smart one and his sisters didn't warrant a ticket on the transport. Then he takes pleasure in making Cass wait on him while he analyzes data, but pushes him too far saying he heard rumours Cass was involved in killing an AC outside the fence. Given we already know Cass has issues about being a thug, he flips out on Tipper and storms off. When he and Stella return, Tipper is gone—Cass tells her Tipper has no desire to be the prodigy he was back on Earth.

Julius sits down in the park with Lily (they never really met on the transport), and urges her to make amends with her mother. So she goes to the command centre to let her mother know she's doing well, and offers Stella a chance to explain her choices in coming to Carpathia and abandoning them.

Tate wanders along the town wall and finds a child's cup in the bushes—one that his boys used when they were little. Jack comes out with Leon and Grant (who are off to secure the Earth beacon for the potential storm), and Tate is left wondering what's going on with this find, and  last week's bizarre moving paper.

Tipper has a meltdown on the radio as he talks about leaving his sisters behind. Trix is getting ready for her wedding day, hears what's going on and heads off to find him, running into Cass along the way. They break in and Tipper concedes he'll help them, but he wants to see his sisters again.

So Tipper explains that there is a final white out event as the cycle ends (a storm five times larger than normal). The heat will be bearable, but the size of the dust storm will be massive. With mere hours remaining, Stella orders a lock down and tells Cass to retrieve Lily. Tate is going to address the populace, but Julius wants to, as well. Stella is on his side oddly enough, but Tate insists on a secular speech and none of this crazy universal spirit nonsense.

The mountains are cloaked in white mist and the storm appears to be gathering on the horizon as Fleur returns and Cass admonishes her for not telling him she was going. Tate addresses Forthaven to advise the citizens to take cover but maintain calm. Julius then has his turn and asks the citizens to join him in a moment of quiet meditation and talks about a universal spirit.

Fleur reports to Tate about her conversation with Rudi, and he's forced again to admit it was a desperate time when he ordered the AC's execution. Fleur thinks he needs to come clean about the whole incident to the general population before it gets to big to control.

Julius has a curious encounter with Jack as his men prepare the town for the storm. He seems to want him to acknowledge him through his compliments, as he does with everyone he encounters, but Jack is too busy. Jack, meanwhile, continues to flirt with Fleur.

As the white out begins, it's Julius who delivers Lily to Stella. They sit during the storm and talk about her father, with their hope he's still alive and will one day arrive. The storm moves in on Leon and Grant as they're securing the Earth beacon, and it's upon them before they can take shelter. Grant is trapped under debris.

Then the storm massively sweeps over Forthaven while Julius leads a prayer group. Tipper and Trix wait out the storm but she (crazily) runs off outside to look for Leon. Jack brings her back in. Cass has gone out in search of the men and finds them at the beacon. Grant tells them both to go as there's no way to free him in time, so they leave him, but are themselves knocked out by the electromagnetic craziness of the white out—until someone saves them and drags them inside a shelter. It's Rudi.

The storm subsides by morning. Grant is dead. Rudi wakes up Cass, letting him know he could have killed him easily, but he kept saying a woman's name when he was unconscious. Rudi says he saved him for now.

Cass returns with Leon. Julius has gained popularity from his speech, with suggestions he should be on the general council. Stella seems to agree that he's made a real effort, and Tate concedes. He's also going to make an announcement about the ACs. They can cope with the truth now, he's decided.

Tipper invites Cass to the wedding, and suggests he bring Fleur. The ceremony's held in the hospital as Leon recovers. Afterwards, Stella asks Tipper to come with her and hooks him up to the DBV so he can see his sisters again. Stella wants Lily to live with her, even though they both know it won't be easy.

Julius visits Tate as he looks out over the town from the command center. Julius says it's a testimony to his leadership, and Tate makes an offer for him to join the general council. He tells him they are a secular society and his prayer was inappropriate, but he's pleased they'll be working alongside one another. Julius is very happy, and looks forward to doing great things on Carpathia.

The Verdict:
Another great episode, not only due to the disaster-themed storyline, but for all the bits and pieces along the way. Some explanation on what exactly the white outs are (aside from lunar influences) would have been helpful in the context of the scientist's notes. But that plotline allowed for insight into Tipper's tortured mind. The effects really worked nicely, too—some good shots of the storm rolling over Forthaven.

Okay, so Trix and Leon's wedding was a bit too cliché (though neither died), and Trix's crazy running outside bit was a little much. The only other awkward moment was Tipper's Jewish comment, which I thought was going somewhere relevant to the overall political situation (anti-Semitism is prevalent on Earth at this point?). But it ultimately was just him trying to change the subject, I guess. It was an odd choice of writing, though.

The survivor guilt of the colonists is an ongoing theme that I'm pleased the writers are dealing with. Like Tipper, most would have left behind their families and arrived at Carpathia relatively young (given fifteen years since departing Earth). There must be lots of similar issues like that, especially with the last news out of Earth that no one else could be coming.

Stella continues to grow on me too, offering a few surprises in taking Julius' side on some matters. That was unexpected, as was the rapprochement with Lily, but better now than stringing along such a minor plot all season. And again with the DBV!

On to Julius, who is somewhat likable in his sociopathic way. The notion of his universal spirit is curious in how it relates to old religions, and if his ultimate goal is to set up a theocracy of some kind in this already secular society. He's a subtle snake in forging alliances where necessary and then offers bizarre comments like his bovine reference to Jack and his men.

The jury is still out on Rudi and his ACs, but that could be an anti-clone bias on my part, and if they get some more backstory as I'm sure they will, that will help flesh them out a bit better. Right now they seem just a force of destruction (rightly so given their treatment at the hand of Tate, perhaps). Is Tate hallucinating those weird experiences?

A potential Cass/Fleur/Jack triangle is being set up. I want to like Jack, but he's such a hothead it's hard to gain any affection for the character. Cass (with his big dark secret) and Fleur (with her idealism) are an obvious pairing. But it looks like Rudi has developed a fondness for her, too.

Now three episodes in I'm wondering why they spent so much time on Mitchell. A bit of a mislead and stunt casting in promoting Jamie Bamber if he's killed and gone, along with his wife, and his child shuffled off somewhere. Given their prominence in the premiere, I expected they would have some relevance after the fact.

Review: Outcasts "Episode 2"

Non Spoiler Review:

Episode 2 picks up with the survivors from the destruction of CT-9, and the subsequent search to find Stella's daughter, Lily. Tate must negotiate for her release from a group who's identity is revealed quite quickly. Julius Berger is introduced, revealing he is a whole bag of crazy and undoubtedly going to cause massive problems for pretty much everyone.

The secondary characters get more play here, especially Cass, Fleur and Jack, attempting to deal with a tense hostage situation with these others. And amid all this drama more secrets gets bandied around about the troubled early days of Forthaven.

Lots of interesting stuff this week. While the hostage drama moved a bit slower than it could have, the hints of the backstory and the politics of the colony continue to fuel the intrigue. Julius is going to be an interesting factor. 

Spoilers Now!
Fleur sits by Karina's body confessing she killed Mitchell, but they at least brought Linus back (though that's the last we hear of him this episode). They're going to say Mitchell shot himself, as the citizens have had enough to deal with. She and Tate commiserate about losing her, and as they return to the command center, Fleur is concerned about the bipeds that attacked their camp. There are insects and birds on Carpathia, but the existence of aliens sound crazy. We're the only aliens on Carpathia, Tate insists, and he's more concerned about one of the missing escape pods.

At the crash sight, a girl (obviously Lily) crawls out of the wreckage, while on the horizon a group of men appear above the sand dunes. They take her to some caves where there's a crying baby. Their leader, Rudi, explains she's ill and the people coming to find Lily will make her better. 

The survivors from the other escape shuttles are filing into Forthaven, while Stella searches among them for her daughter. Julius Berger has taken the liberty of waiting in Tate's office and welcomes his old acquaintance. Julius never imagined Tate (a scientist) would end up as a statesman. Tate brings him up to date on his family's death, while Julius explains the situation on Earth became very grave when they were departing five years earlier (lots of geopolitical stuff involving China, and the nuking of Shanghai).

Julius mentions he will be leading the survivors in thanksgiving prayers. He had an experience on the transport he says made him very spiritual (uh oh). Tate doesn't know what to think of that, but Julius attempts to put his mind to ease and knows he has a lot to learn about Carpathia. He won't be stepping on anyone's toes.

The missing pod is located, but Tate won't allow Stella to go on the rescue. He wants her to deal with the missing ACs that Mitchell mentioned. She sees off Fleur and Cass, who promise to bring back her daughter if she's out there. The two of them team up with the expeditionary force now led by Jack.

At the crash site they find no one left, but all the bodies are stripped of supplies and covered up. Some were finished off, but there's no one fitting Lily's description. That's when mystery man Rudi arrives with his men.

Jack knows who it is. They're Mitchell's people, and he doesn't listen to Jack anymore now that Mitchell is gone. He tells them to come with him and he'll return the girl if they make the baby better. News of a baby is a surprise to everyone, but they surrender their weapons and go along.

One of the CT-9 survivors, Ashley, comes to see Stella. She's eighteen and her mother died on the ship because someone stole her place on the escape shuttle—Julius Berger. She wants him punished. Stella goes to see Julius, and she asks how he got his space on the shuttle. The evacuation was controlled by activated passes to distinguish essential personnel to escape. He admits to taking the pass of a friend—Catherine Burroughs—but she said his life was worth more than hers, and in his terror he gave in. The truth, as unflattering as it is. He asks if she has any other questions, but she says no and leaves. He then summons a man from the next table over. "Where's Ashley Burroughs?" he asks.

She's walking aimlessly through the streets when Tipper runs into her. She knows her life is in danger, so he takes her inside to get high on some local plant life and we get some of Tipper's story—he was a child prodigy, which is how he ended up on the colony. They bond while discussing their last days on Earth. After staying for awhile, she says good night and leaves, but she's taken a knife.

Jack, Fleur and Cass are led to the refuge of the men who, as Jack explains, are clones. They were experiments developed in the early days with enhancements to give them a survival edge, but Mitchell saved them after Tate ordered them executed. They bring out Lily, and Fleur realizes she's Stella's daughter. Cass gets him to agree to taking the three of them in exchange for Lily. But he also wants Tate.

Stella confronts Julius again, asking why her husband wasn't on the transporter. He's contrite, and explains that it was chaotic in the final days before they left Earth, and though her husband was given only one spot, he chose to give it to his daughter. Julius suggests they pray for those that were lost. As far as Ashley's allegations, Stella suggests the DBV as an option, but Julius refuses and doesn't seem to think Tate would agree to a warrant. He tells her the investigation is closed and the girl is delusional. Later, Tate advises Stella to pick her battles, but she thinks Ashley needs to be protected.

As Julius holds his prayer group with the survivors, Ashley walks up with her knife but is quietly headed off by Tipper. Julius has noticed this and walks over to tell her he's sad that he can never trust her again. Tipper leads her off sobbing, while Julius returns to the group.

The clones are led back to the outskirts of Forthaven. Rudi gives Fleur the baby to take to the hospital while the others remain as hostages. He'll kill the rest if they don't heal the baby, as she reports to Tate later, and informs Stella that her daughter is alive.

The baby has pneumonia, but Fleur doesn't know if they'll return Lily. Tate confesses to ordering the executions years ago, which alarms Fleur (given how peace loving she is). They're called ACs—Advanced Cultivars that were used for genetic patterns to help them survive in the advanced missions. He thought they were responsible for the C-23 virus and so he did what he thought was necessary to save the colony. Fleur had thought they were making a better world here, and Tate assures her it is. He wants her to come with him when he goes to talk to them.

Jack gets into a fight with one of the ACs, which only makes a tense situation worse, prompting Lily to make a run for it. But she's caught and Jack takes a beating from the guy he started a fight with.

Tate and Fleur meet the ACs. Rudi is extremely not happy to see him. They don't need Tate now, and one day they'll have their revenge on Forthaven. Tate tells him they had no choice—at the time they were sure it was the ACs who caused the virus. Rudi wants to know who is parents are, but Tate doesn't know. Rudi suggests that whatever killed their children could still be out there. Can he be sure it was a virus? There's still a lot about Carpathia he doesn't now. Next time Fleur comes alone with the baby, he says. Back in his office, Tate is reviewing papers when a hand drawn card begins to move across his desk. Freaky.

Tipper brings in Ashley to see Stella, advising that something weird is going on between Julius and her. Stella gets a great idea—let's use the DBV on her to see if there's anything she can find out about Julius. Instead, Stella returns to Julius, suggesting he leave Ashley alone now. He assured her he never slept with her but Ashley threw herself at him on the transport. Stella is going to protect her now, she warns. And then Julius starts musing about the soul, and she leaves.

Tate doesn't know how the ACs produced a baby, but he takes cell samples for further research and Stella finds out and is thoroughly pissed that he would put the hostages in jeopardy. He's ready to send it back anyway, and the ACs gather everyone for the exchange. Fleur heads off to meet them.

Jack doesn't like how things are unfolding, sensing a trap. Cass tells him to wait before acting again, but Jack attacks his guard. Lily runs off again while Cass and Jack fight the clones. Cass is forced to stab one of the clones while Rudi watches from a rock and then walks away.

Cass, Jack, Fleur, Lily and the baby return to Forthaven, greeted by Stella. Stella doesn't recognize her (it's been fifteen years), but they share an awkward embrace. Then Lily tells her she's not her mother because she abandoned her. On that note the three others walk back together. Fleur isn't sure Rudi was going to double-cross them. Cass is angry and tells Tate he has blood on his hands—again. What if they make the same mistakes? he says.

Julius meets Ashley in the bar, suggesting they go somewhere private. He admits to being wrong when he kissed her the first time, but he tells her she'll never have the chance to stab him again. But Ashley seems stronger now. She's going to live for her mother and start a new life in her memory. Julius asks her to tell Stella that he understands her terms and they won't be speaking again. He leaves her as Tipper enters. Ashley's much better now.

Tate needs to find Rudi, return the baby and find a peaceful solution to the new AC situation. He tells Stella he took the samples for a reason. Their birthrate has plummeted and they need to do something pretty quick. For some reason the ACs have started to reproduce, and the baby could be the key to their colony's future.

The Verdict:
The AC reveal came so quickly, almost as an offhand remark it was easy to miss. The idea of villainous clones isn't entirely groundbreaking, and it might have served them better to have a more mundane explanation. It's apparent they'll fill the role of the dangerous others outside the gates. But the questions Rudi raises about the virus and all the unknowns about Carpathia hints at more might be out there.

Tate's darker aspects are beginning to spill out, and those around him are starting to question his methods as they find out more secrets. He is a scientist first, after all, and he approaches matters with a cold objectivity. Cass had another dark incident in the past that is really weighing heavy on him. Was it for Tate? Mitchell seemed to know about it last episode, as well. And what was the story between Mitchell and the ACs, and why do they turn on Jack so quickly once Mitchell was out of the picture? Weren't they all supposed to have a happy new settlement together?

I had assumed the attack on Fleur and Cass' campsite was the ACs, but now I'm not so sure. Could there be another race on the planet? Will we get to see anything aside from the sound of chirping birds? And probably more important was the brief, but weird, moving card on Tate's desk. Hallucination or something else?

The age of the colonists is interesting to consider. Ten years on the colony plus five years in transit mean all of them were relatively young when they left Earth (Tipper just a kid). No wonder Lily is upset, given she'd barely be three when her mother left. It obviously was a profound sacrifice that saved her life (at the expense of her father), but it looks like Stella has her work cut out for her reforging that relationship.

Julius is B.A.N.A.N.A.S. But he plays it really well—charming one moment and very manipulative and devious the next. He must have quite a history already if, after fifteen years, Tate and Stella are still concerned about what he could be up to. She seems to be on to him, though, which speaks to some sort of association long before.

Tipper has quickly grown on me, and I love his interaction with Stella (who is slowly loosening up). Stella's ongoing suggestions to use the deep brain visualization for every little problem gave me a chuckle. It could easily become a plot device to establish guilt and innocence rather quickly, though. It looks like Fleur and Cass are going to be her regular heavies to carry out Stella's missions. They are all relatively likable, though Jack seems unusually reactionary, it's a wonder he hasn't gotten himself killed already. I guess there's a reason Mitchell was in charge.

Overall, Episode 2 brought more pieces together, and continued to develop the major characters. Outcasts remains a great looking show with its South African scenery and the great job on the aesthetic of Forthaven. 

Review: Outcasts "Episode 1"

Non Spoiler Review:

Outcasts is a BBC sci-fi series focusing on the human colony on planet Carpathia. The story begins with the settlement of Forthaven in its tenth year as a transport ship approaches. Its arrival is greeted with surprise and hope, given it's been five years since the last vessel and all contact with Earth has since been lost.

The situation on the ground is in a state of flux, as president Tate's regime, with his head of protection, Stella, governs Carpathia seemingly with a pacifistic ideology, but that doesn't sit well with Mitchell Hoban (Battlestar Galactica's Jamie Bamber) and his comrades in the expeditionary forces charged with exploring their new home. They believe their utopia is growing more and more oppressive.

This first episode was a strong beginning. Though some of the accents were a bit tough (child Linus was difficult to understand at some points), the character introductions and backstory were handled pretty well with a lot of stuff to work with over the season. We were thrown into the initial conflict brewing with Mitchell right at the start, and it culminates in a very dark ending for a first episode, promising that this could get into some weighty themes.

The series is filmed in South Africa, and the visuals are suitably unfamiliar enough to stand in for an alien world that isn't too alien. There's no sign of Carpathian native fauna at the moment, but the special effects are well done and serve to accent the story—vistas of the colony ship orbiting the planet, and the frontier town look of the settlement built up around the massive landing shuttle. The setting of Forthaven is the right mix of technology and rustic community—thrown-together architecture that is believable for a town that's had a decade to grow.

Outcasts has been compared to Battlestar Galactica in its dark view of humanity, and one certainly gets a sense of that from the premiere. For fans of BSG, the colony could easily be a callback to New Caprica ten years on. There's a strong sense that this is going to be a character-heavy drama, with a lot of interesting people to develop and broader plotlines set into motion. There are some additional science fiction elements thrown into the mix—mystery viruses and alien weather, for starters. Plus, the ending has a sufficiently head-scratching shocker to bring me back.

Spoilers Now!

As CT-9 approaches Carpathia, the captain attempts to raise someone on the ground, unsure if there's anyone down there. After a five year journey, they've suffered thermal shield damage, which is going to make landing on the surface difficult.

Mitchell returns to the settlement of Forthaven from exploring the frontier. President Tate and head of security Stella Isen greet him, but he's not supposed to be bringing weapons into their community (a new rule). He reminds Stella they're not pacifists, but expeditionaries, but Tate advises him everyone will respect the new regulations.

Tate is drawn away as communication has been made with CT-9. The captain advises of the damage. Tate says it's been five years since their last transport of colonists arrived. As far as the captain knows this is the last ship, as they lost all contact with other vessels in their flotilla after leaving Earth. Contact with Earth has been lost, as well, and the captain has little information for him aside from adding that if there are people left, they're not having an easy time of it.

Tate begins an ongoing conversation with the captain over the course of the episode as CT-9 makes repairs. Though he won't say, he is very worried about the condition of the ship and there is mention of previous dangerous entries into the atmosphere. He tells him Carpathia is warm and hospitable, but with occasional white outs caused by their imposing lunar system.

The captain advises Tate about the growing panic among the passengers, but they can't attempt entry until the ship is ready. Tate asks to address the ship and gives them a pep talk about how welcome they are on Carpathia. The planet is named after the rescue ship that attended to survivors of the Titanic. After ten years they have food and energy, and their expeditionary teams continue to make exciting discoveries. That seems to do the job, and the waiting game begins.

Meanwhile, Mitchell's son Linus recites Tyger, Tyger as his mother Karina comes in. His father returns home just as she happens to be checking her phone regarding a message that says Mitchell Hoban update. 

He's reunited with his son and advises Karina that they're nearly ready to break away from the colony and establish their own settlement. Mitchell asks her to trust him. He's excited to explore the planet beyond Forthaven. When she goes to leave he gets more agitated, asking her if she'd ever betray him. No one can find out what they're doing.

She's a bit too vague for his satisfaction, saying she only wants to do what's right for Linus. When she's gone he goes through some of their belongings and finds buried in Linus' things a psychological profile on him that describes Mitchell as suffering from multiple personality disorder. 

Rumour of the ship's arrival spreads, leading Tate to make a public announcement about the transport's troubles. Stella is especially concerned but is optimistic because she's hoping her family is on board.

Karina and her friend Fleur are local security and on patrol. They come across two men appearing to be in the midst of a deal of some kind. One of them is Tipper, a local black market dealer. They all share some friendly and flirtatious banter, but Karina is going to write them up with some violations. But then the white sands begin to swirl and an approaching white out rushes through before they have much time to find cover.

The cloud of dust ends just as abruptly. Karina is okay, but as she turns to get  up a figure walks up and bashes her head in. Fleur finds her and takes her to the hospital. Stella is alerted and updates Tate about the situation, and Mitchell now appears to be missing. Both Stella and Tate are aware of his plan to break off from Forthaven. Karina was a spy after all.

Tipper is also a suspect, so is interrogated by another member of security, Cass Cromwell and Fleur. Stella arrives to use a process called deep brain visualization that will tell if he's lying or not, so he agrees, avoiding her having to get a warrant. The machine allows Stella to see his memories, and it's apparent that he's innocent.

Karina's condition is unchanged. Cass is one of the few willing to defend Mitchell. He hasn't always been so unstable, and reminds them he did a lot for them in the early days. He and Fleur are tasked with finding him, so first go to see a man named Jack Holt.

Jack has no sympathy for Karina, as she was always spying on Mitchell. He's told to advise them if he hears from Mitchell, but after they leave we see he's hiding there. Mitchell will head out to the lake and orders Jack to follow him out there with the rest of their group. The weapons ban is a sign that the government is on to them, so they need to go ahead with their plans now. Jack's not entirely sure the time is right.

Meanwhile, Tate makes inquiries about the passenger manifest on behalf of Stella. But she appears to have some issues herself. She's off using her brain machine to relive memories of her husband and daughter. Later, she arrives at a bar where Tipper is hanging out, advising him that he was cleared of any suspicion, and, oh, by the way, do you want to go somewhere? 

Cass and Fleur debate the idea that Karina might have been spying on Mitchell. Fleur is very much a pacifist and holds the ideals of Tate and Stella, so there's no love lost between her and Mitchell. But Cass still holds some loyalty to him.

Mitchell has showed up at Tate's office for a confrontation about his wife's spying. Tate says she did her duty. Mitchell accuses him of being in love with his wife, and admits he did, and she's far too good for him. Then Mitchell reveals that they are still out there, beyond the fence, brooding after he spared them from Tate's executions. One word from him, and they'll destroy Forthaven.

Mitchell is about to kill Tate when Cass comes in. He backs away, gun drawn, telling Cass he's never breathed a word about whatever it is he knows. He backs out, opts to shoot one of the staff, and runs off. This time, he's heading to the school, where he throws the teacher in the closet and runs off with Linus (who is still practicing Tyger, Tyger).

After causing such a ruckus, Tate orders Cass and Fleur to go off in search. He won't confirm that Karina was spying on Mitchell, despite Cass' questions. Then it's off to Jack's, where Cass and Fleur tell him they'll close down his base of operations if he doesn't help. Jack says Mitchell is their leader, and has too many followers to be stopped.

But Jack does go to meet Mitchell and Linus outside of town to talk. Jack doesn't think they're ready for this yet, but Mitchell continues to act erratically and will hear no opposition. With new doubts, Jack returns to Fleur and asks for some assurances before he cooperates. He tells them there's a secret place by a lake where Mitchell's planning the new settlement, so she and Cass leave to find them. 

Tate goes to Karina's bedside and it's obvious he has some feelings for her. Stella comes in and he reveals that Mitchell said the others are still out there. She seems to think he's lying.

Tate returns to command to continue his chat with the captain. He admits his children were killed by a disease called C-23 when they first arrived, a virus that created a halo around the heads of its victims. His wife couldn't come to terms with it and died. He's happy to hear more children are arriving on the ship. But they had to make tough decisions to cure the disease—quarrantine and that sort of thing. Things aren't perfect, he muses.

Stella admits to Tate she's been using the DBV on herself to remember her husband. Apparently that can be dangerous, and he warns her to be careful. Then she admits to picking up Tipper at the bar. It's his turn to fess up and says her daughter Lily is on board the ship, but Daniel isn't. He didn't want to tell her given the tenuous situation.

Cass loses some of their supplies in a bit of a mishap on the trail so they decide to set up camp before nightfall, but they hear strange noises and then someone attacks them when they're sleeping, but they scare them away. They don't know who it could be, given there shouldn't be anyone else out there.

Cass and Fleur arrive at the lake. Mitchell greets them, concealing his weapon. Fleur tells him Karina likely won't recover, but Mitchell won't come back with them. He says they all tried to start over again in a new home and messed things up again. There are things about Tate they don't know. Then He pulls his gun on Cass, and challenges Fleur (a pacifist)  she'll have to stop him from killing him. And she does. She shoots him. 

The captain gets his final shield updates. They attempt re-entry. But that isn't enough and it looks like the ship isn't going to make it, so the captain releases the emergency shuttles, and all contact is lost.

Cass buries Mitchell as Fleur looks after Linus, while above them they realize the colony ship is breaking up in a fireball. Linus sees the falling debris and recites his poem. Karina dies. Tate tells Stella there are survivors, as they've detected the escape shuttles coming down. And Julius Berger, an architect of the evacuation program on Earth, was also on the transporter. Both are pensive about what it will mean if he's survived.

As an escape shuttle enters the atmosphere, panicked passengers prepare for impact, and one in particular seems unusually calm.

The Verdict:

The premiere did a great job setting in motion plenty of storylines and establishing a lived-in world for Forthaven and Carpathia. There's a lot of stuff going on beneath the surface implying some sinister goings-on in the past when the colony was being established. 

There's very little to critique given it is the beginning, and the show is finding its footing. But I found the whole Tyger, Tyger bit with Linus to be more annoying than anything, given it didn't really have much of an impact (despite him reciting it every five minutes).

Mitchel is dead?! I'm not sure what the story is with him, as I thought Jamie Bamber was a regular, so his death came as quite a surprise.

Tate appears an idealist, but there's a lot of ominous talk about bad stuff that went down in the early days, and he seems willing to make harsh decisions if necessary—very Machiavellian despite the pacifist veneer. Stella comes across somewhat the same way, but a little more easy going (as taking home Tipper attests too). It's interesting to consider the fifteen year stretch of time since leaving Earth for these colonists. The fact that Stella would leave her family for that long in the hopes they would join her in the future speaks to quite a long range view of things. But a lot of them would be scientists and valuable members of society to warrant passage on the first transports.

Cass, Fleur and Jack all seem likable, and a lot of their time is spent chatting about the old days on Earth and what might have happened back home (given they have all left people behind). It is ten years in, so that's a lot of history to have built up together in a very intimate survivalist setting.

It will be interesting to see if the writers keep Outcasts out of hard science techno babble, or address some of the key questions about where Carpathia actually is—it can't be any farther than five light years at the maximum, but that limits its star system possibilities. Lots of questions—what are the white outs? What was the story of the mystery disease? Who attacked the camp? Who are still alive that Mitchell didn't kill? What's the story on the DBV machine and Stella's reliance on it? Will we see some of the native fauna?

Ultimately it looks as though Outcasts is first and foremost a character drama, and this premiere proved it's on the right track with that. The destruction of the colony ship shows it's got a very dark tone, as well. I'm definitely sticking with the series if it maintains this level of quality.