HELIX (2015) – S02E06: ‘M. Domestica’ Review
Ah Julia, finally she gets some screen time and a push in terms of story significance. Episode 6 of Season 2 of ‘Helix‘ confirms a lot of the weird creepy things we’ve been suspecting through out the season so far. Basically halfway through this Season, things are getting to a head as back story is introduced, filling in details between Seasons 1 & 2, or maybe between the 30 years from Julia’s storyline and the CDC team’s on the Island. Regardless, the situation is fleshed out a lot more in this episode entitled ‘M. Domestica’.
The episode starts by focusing on Julia and her time at Ilaria. It’s hard to determine the time frame, whether this was right after she was captured in Season 1, or a time later. Or even if this is what happened to her 30 years ago while Peter & the crew were on the island. Regardless, things are cleared up, slightly. Apparently Julia has a thing with Mark Ghanime’s Sergio now, who is just hanging about at Ilaria it seems. Ilaria’s immortals plans to use Narvik, the virus from Season 1, to cull the human race to deal with problems like climate control, over population, etc. essentially genocide. Julia protests and is contacted by other immortals who give her information about a renegade immortal who shares her sentiments. She’s given a medallion with a picture of a tree, similar to one in Michael’s compound on the Island.
While Michael lies to everyone about Agnes’ death, we finally know the relationship between Michael and everyone else. Stephen Weber is amazing as basically the literal father of generations spanning hundreds of years. The way he is able to completely breakdown at the news of Agnes’ death in front of Anne, and compel her to have to calm him down, is an amazing performance of a psychopath. My theory about him being an immortal and responsible for fathering everyone is very accurate, as it seems that that is what Amy want’s to escape. On the brink of her 20th Birthday, this is when Michael will impregnate her with his child, and that is why Amy’s been conspiring with Landry to avoid this fate. Her plan: Have things get so out of control with the virus, that Michael loses his power, allowing her to escape.
As plans go, it doesn’t make much sense, because why wouldn’t you just try to sneak out with the CDC team? How are all this chaos, death and destruction going to physically get her off the Island? Doesn’t seem like she’s thought it through. But Alison Louder’s Amy is a shrewd bitch, as she further infects 80+ people as part of her plan, and then frames Anne, her own mother for the crime. It’s a fucked up situation now, seeing that Amy went from a minor part of the plot, to almost the main villain manipulating Landry to do her dirty deeds. Neil Napier’s Peter on the other hand is being tortured by Michael for the origins of Sarah’s immortality, which he delivers after some run ins with a few rats. Michael is intrigued by the concept of an immortal baby, and God know what he’ll do with Jordan Hayes’s Sarah now.
Amy also riles up others in order to refuse CDC help, freeing those 80+ infected and essentially forming a mob against the CDC. All hell is basically breaking loose on Season 2 of ‘Helix’, as we’ve got Amy running around screwing things up, while Michael is pursuing his own investigation for his own ulterior agenda, and Alan & Kyle try to contain the situation. In the mean time we’re all scratching our heads as to how the fuck this all ties into Julia’s subplot in the future.
Some pretty good performances this episode. Alison Louder is becoming a fast favorite of mine along with Weber. Both actors convey equal parts vulnerable and creepy, which, considering they play father-daughter, seems appropriate? My one issue this episode is more of a sociological one. Amy’s response to having her own biological father impregnate her seems to be one of disgust and revulsion, which is of course how she should be reacting. But keep in mind, this Island based society has supposedly been around for 500 years. Which is 500 years of women being fathered and impregnated by Michael and generations of women living their lives based on this being the norm. So why is Amy so repulsed by the idea? In her lifetime, she should have known no other alternative to be so negative about the situation. Obviously I’m not condoning the idea, but if a person has been raised to believe in a certain ideology as part of a culture that reveres that concept as a founding principle almost, no matter how disturbing it may be to the outside, they don’t just start having strong negative emotional reactions to the idea out of nowhere without any sort of external influence, of which there haven’t been any as far as we’ve been shown. Other than that, good episode.
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