Sanctuary – Recap & Review – Untouchable

photo: syfy

Sanctuary
Untouchable

Original Air Date: Oct 21, 2011

Tess – TwoCents Reviewer
tess@thetwocentscorp.com

It’s hard to play a game when you don’t know the rules. It’s hard to play a game when your adversary is the one making up the rules. It’s hard to play a game when you’re not in control.

What to do? Simple. Create your own game and your own rules. Play your role and your adversary’s. Think as one and then as both. Know their moves as well as your own. You will always be one step ahead. And if you lose? Start again. Isn’t that right, Magnus?

Down memory lane

First we had to deal with the Cabal. Those guys were trouble. Remember what they did to Ashley? It certainly wasn’t fun. Then we had to deal with Adam Worth. I don’t know about you, but I think he was worse than the whole Cabal group together. I mean, while the Cabal people liked to talk and threat a lot, Adam Worth was the kind of guy that preferred actions and experiences to words and promises.

Who do we have now? He seems to go by the name of Addison.

How did he get into the picture? I don’t know if you remember, but one of the first things Helen Magnus commented on after returning to the Sanctuary (not talking about the tea thing) was the path that the abnormals were taking on the surface. Even though they were coming from different places, they seemed to be following some sort of pattern. If there was music, I would say they were doing a Flash Mob (quite a metaphor, huh?). All walking at the same pace, at the same time and in the same direction.

So much control and perfection had to mean a strong leader. But how could one person be leading all those abnormals at the same time?

Easy-peasy. All we need is an abnormal who can see things before they happen and be able to communicate and control people using his mind. Yes, there is such a being. Or shall we call him weapon? To be honest, the label we give him will depend on who’s looking at him and why.

For Helen Magnus, he is a being. For Addison, he is a weapon. Helen wants to safely take him home. Addison wants to safely use him as a weapon. They both send teams after the abnormal.

Can you see a friendly relationship coming out of this?

Right. Thought so too.

To the infinity and beyond

I think we all know who won the race, right? If you voted for Helen Magnus, consider yourself a winner. If you didn’t… well, why are you watching Sanctuary? Just kidding… not.

Anyway, thing is, even though Addison isn’t quite aware of the fact that Helen Magnus did indeed win the race against him, he isn’t happy with the situation. You see, he sent an heavily armed team after the abnormal. What he was not expecting was the abnormal to have power to make his people shoot each other. While that bloody mess happened, Helen was able to figure out that the source that had told her that she could find the abnormal on that market in Jakarta had been the abnormal himself. Confusing, huh? I feel your pain. Actually, I think Addison feels your pain. Or at least he did… for a while.

What am I going on about? I will explain.

When hell broke loose and the abnormals came to the surface, some of the organizations that worked with the Sanctuary Network became rather worried and started asking question. Not finding Helen Magnus present to answer them, they quickly went from an worried state to a panicking one. And panic leads to what? Bad decisions. And so they ended up killing a lot of innocent beings. Feeling that heavy weight on their backs, they decided they needed someone else to blame. Who’s the easiest person to blame? The one who’s not there to defend herself. Helen Magnus.

Instead of instantly cutting all the bonds linking them, they decided they should send someone to the Sanctuary to make an evaluation. Yes, I’m talking of the not-so-happy Addison. Once inside the building, Addison and his team asked for access to all the information and research available on the network. After making sure that Henry had left enough for them to play with but had cloaked the most important things, Helen basically told them to make themselves at home. And they did. Oh yes, they did.

Thanks to what they called archaic security system, Henry was able to catch them trying to access the documents he had hidden. They were going too far and trying too hard. Evaluation? I call it digging. They were looking for answers about what exactly had happened to the abnormal that would give them the power to run the world.

I guess they got tired of looking for Addison is seen trying a more direct approach later on. He actually asks both Helen and Will, at first together, straightforwardly.

That’s when the storytelling session begins.

At first, when together, they tell a version of the story, a version in which the abnormal dies. Then, after informing Helen and Will that the being who had been killed was 100% human, Addison decides to interview them separately. First Helen and then Will. They both tell the same story, this time adding the fact that the guy who had given them the information about the abnormal’s whereabouts was actually the abnormal. That’s when Addison decides that going after Will alone might work. He actually tries to bribe Will by saying that the people who hired him would be more than happy to keep giving Sanctuary the money if Will decided to take charge of the whole thing. That’s when Will tells yet again the same story, but this time adding yet another new detail, he actually tells Addison that Helen was able to talk to the abnormal and convince him to go back home. Using that information, Addison attacks Helen directly, telling her that her lie is a capital offense, meaning, more than enough to take the money away.

Check-mate? One would think so. At least till the moment Addison leaves and closes the door behind him. That’s when Helen says, “I thought it went rather well, actually. Wouldn’t you agree?”. While Will answers with something like “hell yeah”, Henry is looking at them incredulously. I would consider that the best reaction on this episode but I would be ignoring two other amazing ones…

First, Henry’s face when he learns that the abnormal didn’t really accept being taken safely back home. Helen tells him that she had to shoot him and then shows Henry that the abnormal is actually on the Sanctuary. Apparently the whole visit was a game… a game that Helen had been more than ready to play. They were looking for a way out but they needed the organizations to think that it had been their idea to leave them with no money… just to avoid having them come after the Sanctuary Network at full power.
The second reaction has to do with something else…

Unexpected visitor

Guess who’s back? Erica! She is back and she comes bearing news! And BABIES. That’s right, Erica is pregnant. And even though it seems to be something rather recent, the hormones are already driving her mad! During the episode she tries to attack Addison quite a few times before going all ninja on Henry as well. Apparently the whole time that Erica spent at her aunt’s clinic taking the pills to control the transformation process is now showing some creepy side effects. Luckily they have Magnus to help them. To do so, she comes up with an idea to delay Erica’s pregnancy, leaving her and Henry with about two years to decide what to do for, according to Helen, the Sanctuary is no place for children.

“There are changes coming that the world is not ready for.”

Are you ready?