Colony: Somewhere Out There
January 15, 2018 9:21 PM - Season 2, Episode 2 - Subscribe

Will teams up with Devon to find Charlie. Bram moves out of the zone and proves smarter than his teacher. Jennifer makes a play. Katie burns some bridges. Maddie takes a step.
posted by nubs (9 comments total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Thanks for the post nubs! I was meaning to do recaps for them, just haven't gotten around to it. Will try to do 01 and 02 next couple of nights.

What frequency of posts do readers here prefer?
posted by porpoise at 9:32 PM on January 15, 2018


Well, everyone seems a little deeper in this episode. Jennifer (what is it with this show and the actors all being on other shows I watch? I see her, I think Episodes; I see Josh, I think Lost; I see Sarah, I think Walking Dead; I see Proxy Snyder I think of a whole bunch of shows) isn't in a good position, but then it doesn't seem that anyone really is regardless of their "power" level - even those at the top have to watch their steps as we see with Maddie and Nolan.

Buying more into the theory that the "Raps" refers to the Rapture - or, at least, that's what they are playing on; they are selling the idea of some sort of transcendence or something to get the elite buy-in. But what has to be sacrificed to get there?

Maybe we get an idea with the Santa Monica Bloc, where the Occupation has left most of it to warlords - with the deal being that they provide a monthly quota of people for purposes unknown. Whatever the Raps are promising, it would appear to require human labour (or something) to get there.

Found the bit with Will going back after Solomon rather predictable and annoying; and, of course, all he is doing is creating a power vacuum that someone else will fill (dare I hope Will takes over and tries his hand at benevolent dictatorship or leading a revolt? The answer to that likely depends on whether he finds his transit pass back). And it's a direct reversal of what Solomon said to him - "why don't I just kill you and take what I want?", which is an attempt to morally compromise Will for the audience, I guess, but I would have rather seen how far Will would have gone morally to save Charlie without resorting to killing the bad guys.
posted by nubs at 9:35 PM on January 15, 2018 [1 favorite]


I was meaning to do recaps for them, just haven't gotten around to it. Will try to do 01 and 02 next couple of nights.

What frequency of posts do readers here prefer?


Oh hey! I just realized this was back on Netflix and saw someone had done ep 1 (and I know a lot of people have seen this season already) so I figured I would carry on. I watched both 01 and 02 tonight, but I'm not going to be binging too much this week, so I'll be crawling along catching up.
posted by nubs at 9:37 PM on January 15, 2018


Oh, ha! I think I mis-remembered a different show where <foreign>network was at odds with a Netflix/Amazon release or something. The cable/streaming release discrepancy isn't isolated.

Looking forward to recapping this episode tomorrow night.

Totally forgot that you posted all of these for s1 =) Thanks!
posted by porpoise at 10:27 PM on January 16, 2018


* 1969: in a smokey back room, a reel to reel tape plays a recording between an astronauts and ground control (Houston) and a strange background sound, which turns out to have mathematical structure - possibly a message
* "We need to send some kind of response."


* Katie tries to bribe her way into a detention facility, discovers that Bram had been transferred... possibly to the Factory
* suffering the indignities of a security screening lineup into a green zone, visits Madeline,
* Gracie enjoys the attention Lindsey, wants to stay to 'finish her lessons' instead of going home with Katie
* Katie leaves the ration lines empty handed due to shortages, returns home to cook water
* Which is being surveilled by hidden cameras, lots of cameras, everywhere - observed by Jennifer McMahon


* Jennifer is called into a meeting with Dan Bennett, an Occupation installed management type at the FBI, who questions her about Will and Carl Weathers Beau
* Broussard is a top priority for the FBI
* The Hosts (Raps) are looking to recover "an item"
* Dan tries to recruit Jennifer using the threat of a humiliating demotion as her motivation to remain loyal
* Jennifer returns to her single detached house in a ritzy suburb to find her block cordoned heavily by law enforcement, and a swarm of redhats tossing her place
* "Find anything?" "Naw, it's clean." "We're done. Have a good night."
* Jennifer has a sad over a photo of her, a man, and an adorable dog caught in an endearing pose


* Bram is in a prison bus, a neighbour plotsplains "This is it. They're taking us to the Factory."
* Bram meets a telegraphed-in romantic interest
* The prisoners are decimated to instill fear - those unable to labour are culled, common practice in Nazi labour and concentration camps
* The Occupation's preferred self-address is as the "Authority"
* Bram is at a "Labour Camp and Distribution Center," who's mandate is to ensure that supplies reach their correct destination
* LC&DC is the penultimate destination to the Factory
* "Remember, we are always watching."
* Shuffling in line outdoors towards someplace, Bram experiences a Rap surface-to-orbital vehicle establishing capabilities from resting-on-the-ground to 1 second, gets a truncheon in the guts and an angel to help him walk it off
* Angel saves Bram from a beating, invites him to eat with her friends
* Prison Guard Jenkins makes an example of an inmate - Alan is skeptical
* Bram and Alan recognize each other


* earlier, Madeline asks her husband Nolan Burgess to try to find Bram and to get him out, is blown off and reminded about her initiation ceremony tomorrow, and how important that is for Nolan to belong to the "Circle"
* later, Madeline calls Katie to tell her that Nolan had gotten Bram transferred into a LC&DC
* LC&DC depots are outside of the walls
* Katie realizes that Gracie is full on brainwashed (The Greatest Day), and that Lindsey and all turncoats and sympathisers must be eviscerated
* Nolan, flanked by redhat bodyguards, turns a corner and runs into Katie
* Katie petitions Nolan, Nolan blows her off
* Madeline visits Katie at her home, and is pissed - the sisters are conflicted over loyalties
* Madeline is initiated into "The Greatest Day"
* She is left alone, turns and walks to pick up a small box, has a mind transferance event
* "Nolan" and "Madeline" hug


* Jennifer McMahon shows up at The Yonk, Katie serves her (on the house, and one for herself)
* shakily: "Whats with you and Will and the whiskey? Why can't you drink something that doesn't taste like lighter fluid?"
* Jennifer pressures Katie on Broussard, regardless - Katie plays a tight game


* Devon patches Will up, Will concedes that he took a job with the Occupation to snag a pass to look for Charlie over the wall
* Devon's all good on helping Will try to find Charlie
* Devon and Will banter about old times, the plan is to do a mercenary snatch job as a ticket to see Solomon
* She sends him up alone and unarmed to meet some guy named Jacobs, is met by someone trying to cave his face in with a sap
* The commotion is enough of a distraction for Devon to walk in and tase everyone, she and Will snatch the former pre-school teacher
* Chit in hand, Devon and Will get shown to Solomon, who looks and acts like a '90s SoCal douchebag sans faux puka shell jewlery who isn't fit enough to surf
* Will flashes Charlie's photo, offers a transit pass (which Solomon's guards missed finding the last time they met, after kicking Will's ass) as payment
* Solomon baits Will (what is it with assholes and their need for gratitude?!), implies that Charlie's been abused (later, possibly sexually)
* Will finds Charlie, as part of a kid gang in the middle of beating down and robbing a defenseless woman
* They scatter, Charlie stares (with Solomon in the background, unbeknownst only to Will), Will hugs Charlie
* Will, Charlie, Devon "subtly" debriefs Charlie over dinner, "Did Solomon hurt you?"
* Charlie: "I'm fine!"
* Devon ELI5 to Will what they just did (send someone to the Factory)
* Devon throws shade at Will over the Armenian thing
* Will wakes to Devon catching Charlie trying to run away (after stealing a bunch of stuff)
* Charlie is seriously traumatized, Will. Is. Pissed. "I can take care of myself. I'll be right back. You'll be safe here with Devon!"
* Will returns to Solomon's antechamber and does a short tactical pistol FPS sequence to reach Solomon (there are at least a score of traumatized kids), the boss fight is mostly melee
* Will kills Solomon with his hands, retrieves his pass, offers the onlooking kids security - all to be denied when the kids scatter
posted by porpoise at 8:59 PM on January 17, 2018


The poster art was interesting, taking strong cues from the Cultural Revolution. I can't decide if its clever or lazy. The current Trumpist environment also borrows pretty heavily from CR; anti-intellectualism, in-group identification, propaganda, physical intimidation/ fear. Apparently its an effective strategy at controlling certain kinds of societies, and the Raps are taking advantage of that. Curious to see if other Colonies are run along different lines? Like are there redhat uniforms used worldwide, or just in the US? Just in LA?

If I was Peter Jacobson (Alan), I'd have at least a couple of those posters saved/duplicated.
posted by porpoise at 9:00 PM on January 17, 2018


Heh, I meant to make posts for this show but forgot way back when.

I'll keep up the discussion as you guys watch!

It just struck me that Helena Goldwyn is also Captain Ava Lafrey on Ghosted.

The scenes with Charlie here was hard. I know it's not like Will, but I was cheering for him when he killed Solomon.
posted by numaner at 9:33 PM on January 17, 2018


Captain Ava Lafrey on Ghosted

Ah! Thanks, that's where she was familiar from (but possibly, for me, from 'Sons of Anarchy').

The Charlie story arc is poignant and truthy; I'm usually put off by child actors, but this has been a little truer to (my) experience. I completely respect his PTSD and mal-conditioning, but Charlie's still really freaking annoying.
posted by porpoise at 10:31 PM on January 17, 2018


Found the bit with Will going back after Solomon rather predictable and annoying; and, of course, all he is doing is creating a power vacuum that someone else will fill

Eh, it's clearly a personal revenge thing. Will obviously doesn't care about bloc politics, he's just killing somebody who hurt his boy. Trite, maybe, but it makes sense in character.

The bigger problem with Will's plan so far: he only has one transit pass. He has no way to get Charlie out of Santa Monica, and he has no well-connected people who owe him a favour now that Snyder's been demoted.
posted by tobascodagama at 2:37 PM on January 28, 2018


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