Last week the Raza crew tested the “blink” drive and landed…somewhere. Is it the future? Alternate universe? Let’s find out shall we?
The Raza tested moving to another sector of the galaxy using the blink technology they stole from Alicia Reynaud (Inga Cadranel). The ship is in bad shape. Android (Zoie Palmer) is trying to deflect power into the damaged areas. She reports that they only went 1.2 miles from their original position. However, they are getting a distress call from the station where they left Nyx (Melanie Liburd) and Devon (Shaun Lipos). When they reach the space station it’s destroyed! What the hell happened to Nyx and Devon? Further up, they see a battle going on. Android detects three ships. They are able to get a visual.
It looks like the Raza is going toe to toe with some big ships. Have they entered the twilight zone? Is this the future? Then they see the ship disappear! Blink! Two (Melissa O’Neil) is like what just happened? Android explains that they must have used a functional blink drive. Two orders Android to get them back but before they can go, they are attacked by the Mikkei Corporation. Two orders Five (Jodelle Ferland) and Android to turn off the blink drive so they can FTL out of there and the others will hold off Mikkei. The ships keep attacking but Raza starts firing back. Two eventually hales the ship requesting them to stand down. They are not enemies. They are cool with Commander Delaney Truffault (Tori Higginson). Truffault is like, “Um what’re you talking about? The Raza has attacked several outposts and other ships. We ain’t friends!” She will blast them if they try to leave. Two compromises and lets them board, especially when she mentions the blink drive. Two asks Five and Android their status. The blink drive is fried and they need about a ½ hour to switch stuff around to FTL. Two will try to delay as much as possible.
Android joins Two as she starts locking down the ship. The boys are going to stay hidden and Five will still be in the engine room fixing the FTL. Android has a theory about what may have happened. She thinks that they popped up in an alternate universe, which would explain the Mikkei hostility and the other Raza.
With that in mind Two decides to be upfront about that theory with Truffault. The Commander laughs off Two’s explanation and decides to still take the blink drive even though it’s damaged. They also reach an impasse when Truffault wants to take them to Central where her bosses will decide what to do with the Raza crew while Two is like nope. However, Truffault starts talking a different tune when she hears from her people that the other Raza just did another attack. The others come out of hiding into the navigation room where Two announces that in order for them to get home to their universe, they will have to go after the other Raza. That shouldn’t be too hard. No pressure.
Android checks with Five who is almost done fixing the FTL. Android updates her about the others researching their alternate selves. Five doesn’t want to know because it gives her a bad feeling. It turns out that in some ways she is right because when Six aka Kal (Roger Cross) checks his alter ego he finds out he died. Six watches a video of the other Kal reporting about the Raza crew when Portia aka Two shoots him dead. So this makes me think that Five in this universe didn’t make it onto the Raza to save Six. Ouch.
Two has been watching news reports about the attacks against Mikkei Corp. Commander Neiman (David Richmond-Peck) from Ferrous Corp is denying that they are part of the conspiracy, placing all of the blame on the Raza for being anti-corporate. There is the thought that Ferrous may have hired the Raza against their competitors. Another interesting piece of news was a recent attack by Portia against Dwarf Technologies killing the CEO, Alexander Rook (Wil Wheaton). The news report mentions Marcus Boone (Anthony Lemke) and Portia but not any of the other crew members. Four (Alex Mallari Jr) enters asking what she has learned. They are just as popular in that universe as their own. Four knows what his alter ego Ryo has been up to. Apparently he managed to become king of his country. Four has the idea that he can pretend to be Ryo to bait the other Raza.
Speaking of the other Raza, Marcus Boone reports to Portia Lin that he “spaced” some prisoners. That turns Portia on so they make out a little bit when Four, masquerading as Ryo, video calls them. He entices them into a mission and he will send some coordinates since there are spies in his court. Portia and Marcus take the bait. When they arrive we see double!
Two takes Portia’s coat, because it looks awesome! Three and Two make it onto the other Raza and they immediately go to the engine room to get the blink drive. Unfortunately, before they can get to it the ship blinks. Two and Three head to the bridge, where they see Wexler (Ennis Esmer), Tash (Jessica Sipos), and last but not least Jace Corso (Marc Bendavid). Two tries to subtly order them to go back to the space station but Jace and Wexler got a call from Neiman anxious for them to handle issues with a mining colony so that’s where they blinked to. Wexler asks if Two is coming. Reluctantly she goes, leaving Three with the other two.
Portia and Marcus get locked up in the cell by Four. Portia seems to have already figured out what happened but Four doesn’t want to know. Android tells hin that Truffault is calling. She asks for an update. Four comes clean about the other Raza blinking somewhere. The good thing is Two and Three as far as they know are still on board and Four has Lin and Boone locked up. Truffault is on her way there to them.
On the mining colony Two lets Wexler know she will be doing the talking. Wexler reminds her that he always does. Two confirms that they are repping Ferrous Corp to the miners. The miners want independence and are willing to kill for their freedom and may get started by killing the messengers. Two wants to just talk for now. One of the miners leads her and Wexler into a room.
Back on the alternate Raza, Three is walking around lost when Tash summons him for a quick booty call. She gets a little rough with him too! He tries to rebuff her by thinking 20 minutes won’t be enough time when she busts his balls by saying that would be a record for him. Dang girl! He tries to make it up to her by saying they can pick this up tomorrow. She headbutts him as a response and calls him a loser!
On regular Raza, Four goes to the cell again to talk with Boone and Lin. She goes in on her theory that they didn’t make adjustments to the drive prior to testing it. Things like temporal displacement was not thought about which is why they are in the alternate universe now. According to Lin they tore a hole through space time instead of going from point A to B. Four seems to contemplate it. He asks how Ryo from that universe got his throne back. Lin and Boone mention with the help of his buds. They continue with how they helped Zairon defeat a corp fleet that backed out of an agreement. His brother Hiro helped out and some others he could still trust but Ryo killed him when he wanted to introduce a democratic process. Portia figures that something is holding him back.
Two is trying to talk to the miners when Wexler shoots them dead. He leaves the female leader alive and Two manages to keep her that way when the make it back onto the Marauder. Wexler is wondering what the hell is wrong with her. Wexler hales the Raza and tells Corso to proceed with nuking the planet as a message not to mess with Ferrous Corp. Two orders Corso to stand down. They can figure it out without more death. Corso cuts her off though. Wexler is wondering what happened at the space station with Ishida because “Portia” is acting strange. She punches him a few times so he doesn’t keep prodding.
Corso in the meantime still sends the nuke but Two tries to stop it. She’s misses shooting the missile out of orbit. The mining colony is gone. Three runs into alternate Android, who tells him about the nuke being launched. Three is too late but he thinks the Marauder was still on the planet. Three and Jace start fighting. Three manages to win that round but gets punched by Tash. Corso has been gunning for “Boone” and “Portia” for months and she was the only reason Boone was still alive. She holds a knife to Three’s throat when Two walks in. She tells her Wexler is unconscious but before she can explain Tash goes on the attack. In a well-choreographed fight scene, it’s an even match until Two starts blacking out again. Not now! Tash manages to get her on the floor. She’s about to stab Two but Three wakes up and is about to charge when Android stuns her. Android’s excuse was it’s her job to protect the crew from harm, even from each other. Two thanks her.
On the regular Raza, Five is staring at the camera footage of Boone and Portia. Six tells her that she’s the reason Two and Three are not like their alternate selves. Without her mind wipe, Six got killed. As Five is contemplating those implications, Android reports that a Mikkei ship jumped out of FTL and a shuttle should be arriving shortly. Four has Android lock the ship down while he and Six greet the shuttle. It’s Truffault for the preemptive double cross. She stuns both Four and Six. Android is forced to shut down while Five gets taken away.
The alternate Raza blinks back to where the regular Raza and the Mikkei ship is located. When Two calls, Truffault answers. The new deal: the lives of the crew in exchange for the drive. The alternate Marauder goes to dock at the regular Raza. Truffaults men report that they no longer have control of the bridge. Two announces that the alternate Android is on the Marauder so now she has control. She even takes out some of the Mikkei ship’s shields to make a point. Truffault is defeated just like that. Portia and Boone are brought out to go back to their ship. Both alternate and regular Android see each other. Alternate Android is glad that the regular one is back up and running. She will be returning to her crew because she is loyal to them, especially Portia. Portia was the one that made her what she is. Alternate Android leaves on that note. Interesting tidbit there.
Five puts the blink drive in. It’s time to go back to their universe. They make it! Yay! However, they brought someone back with them. They managed to escape on a similar Marauder that FTL’ed out of there. They go back to the space station to pick up Nyx. In the mess room, Five tells Three that Nyx waited for Devon for hours and he never showed. Three assumes he moved on. Five is wondering why he wouldn’t at least say goodbye, he wasn’t answering his comms either. Three points out that they never really knew the guy. Two wakes up to her hands shaking again. When she tries to get up she collapses. We end the episode with that cliffhangar!
More Thoughts!
Wardrobe has been killing it this season with these trench coats and just the outfits in general! I didn’t blame Two at all for keeping the coat.
I didn’t feel comfortable with Tash having one of my nicknames. She was borderline abusive towards Three. Hey maybe Boone likes it that way but her treatment seemed excessive. Although the fact that Boone is banging both Portia and Tash was freaking crazy! It was only a matter of time before something went off between the two women and I think that fight scene proved that at least from Tash’s point of view.
I thought it was really interesting using the alternate universe as a way to reveal that Portia was the one that programmed Android to be quirky. I always liked Two and Android’s closeness and the reveal gives their friendship more weight. I think that the Raza brought back the alternate Jace Corso back with them. That would be one way to make sure Marc Bendavid sticks around on the show. Jace would be able to pick up where the dead Jace left things.
I feel like I didn’t get nearly enough Portia and Boone in this episode but Melissa O’Neil, Anthony Lemke and even Alex Mallari Jr did such a great job acting like their alter egos in the universe they were in. I also wasn’t surprised that Four took the opportunity to learn how he got his throne back in the alternate universe. Considering how much he’s hearing news reports and what he asked Nyx’s brother it wasn’t a stretch that he would find out more. It would’ve been nice to get a brief scene with Six and Portia and Boone considering the woman shot his alter ego to death. I think that would’ve had very entertaining dialogue.
I’m loving Commander Truffault. Tori Higginson just brings the swag and spiciness to Truffault that you can’t help but like. I’ve enjoyed the power play scenes she does with the Raza crew and the chemistry she has with Melissa O’Neil is on point ever time she’s on the show. That scene where she stunned Six and Four reminded me of Men in Black with the “Forget Me light.”
Poor Devon, still bleeding to death and no one knows. So is this the end of Devon? Are we going to see him again?
That’s just my two cents. Let us know what you thought of the episode in the comments!
