TV Review: HELIX – 2014 (Episodes 5 & 6)

The SyFy Original Series HELIX from Executive Producer Ronald D. Moore is slowly but surely picking up steam. After a rocky start, Episode 4 dropped many brilliant little nuggets of intrigue and mystery that one assumes they will build on later. My Review of the first 4 episodes can be found here, but now let’s take a look at Episodes 5 & 6.

At this point with Episode 5, Alan finds Doreen’s dead body, and after a less than emotional reaction, further investigation leads him to believe that Balleseros is responsible. Him and Daniel, Hatake’s watchdog, basically ransack his room and find the satellite phone and figure out that he’s the douche going around blowing things up and killing people.

Sarah is taking care of her very own pet infected, and helps her commit suicide by the end of this episode. This girl annoys me. Despite being shown as the green rookie, bright and supposedly the smartest of her age, she continuous breaks so many medically ethical rules that it makes me question why Alan chose her to be part of the team for any reason other than eye-candy, and the fact that he knows she wants his jock.

“let’s take this outside…”

While Hatake is in Level R chumming it up with Julia and the gas mask lady, Jay, after intentionally stabbing himself. Hatake’s reasons are still mysterious, and it doesn’t make any sense why he’s down there in the first place. But Peter did mention last episode, in a brief moment of zombie-lucidity, that Hatake was more interested in hearing stories about Julia than anything else.

In the meantime, Balleseros is looking for a mysterious doctor that no one knows the whereabouts of, only to discover that he’s a frozen head, a la FUTURAMA. His yet-to-be-revealed bosses want the head, and he’s gettin’ it. After a much needed bout of fisticuffs between Daniel & himself, Daniel turns on his bad ass mode, and ice picks Balleseros, strips him and leaves him to bleed out and die on the ice. Which he obviously doesn’t.

Despite it’s awesome-ness, there are still a few things about HELIX that bug me. The whole brotherly love between the infected Peter & Alan trying to save him is bothersome. Unless Peter wakes up super quick to provide some answers to this whole shit-storm, beyond vague one liners about their repressed childhood, I don’t see the point of dragging out his death / zombie-ness this long. The performances also leave lot to be desired, but here’s hoping the inexperienced actors grow with the show.

“I’ll do anything to keep him alive… even if it kills him…”

Episode 6 reveals how Jay is nothing more than a Julia’s hallucination, which is predictable, but at the same time doesn’t make any sense, yet. After being treated to some kind of meds by Hatake, Julia then spends the rest of the episode hallucinating about her childhood home, with everyone on the base as figments of her imagination. We’re teased that the origins of the base and the story have to do with her childhood. “You already have all the answers” make believe Sarah tells her. This whole thing was uber cliché. The little girl was obviously her younger self from the jump, so it’s silly for her to go through all these logic loops to get to that same conclusion minutes later. How do you not recognize yourself at 8-10 years old? Was she so deprived as a child, that no one ever took any pictures of her?

A new sub plot is introduced through Balleseros. Apparently the locals nearby the base have had children go missing for decades now, and the hottie law officer involved, believes that Hatake is responsible. Add to this that she’s got a brother who’s the twin of our very own Daniel and you’re got messed up written all over this. If anyone recalls, Daniel revealed that Hatake adopted him from an early age. If ‘adopt’ means ‘stole’, that is. Missing orphans and little girls ominously humming while roaming the hallways in an atmosphere of death and carnage, is always pretty damn creepy, and a staple of horror genres.

I’d be held captive by her anyway…

Another creepy turn of events happens when, in a moment of emotional weakness, Alan turns to Sarah for comfort, and they totally end up doin’ it. Sadly, Alan seems just as dis-interested in her after their romp, than he always was before, even after robbing the cradle. Poor Sarah, usually it’s the younger girl who has to fake it with her older man.  I’m gonna call it right now… her and Balleseros hook up in the long run. Mark my words.

Speaking of Balleseros, Hatake and him are working for the same people, and with the Balleseros not being there to update them, Hatake fears that their mysterious over lords might come and check on their investment themselves. It’s been implied that Hatake has been tasked with delivering the virus to someone, but who and why are yet to be revealed. The episode ends with two choppers from an Ilaria Corporation coming to the base, and Hatake doesn’t seem surprised.

The cliffhanger ending is Julia finally waking up from her delusions, completely cured of the virus, but with the same brightly white eyelids that Hatake was revealed to have earlier. So basically, Hatake has the cure for this virus, which he’s used on himself and Julia now, who he’s had an interest in for a while, and who has apparently been to this base as a child, and holds the key to everything.  I wonder if there are any super powered side effects to this bright eyes cure?

laser vision? x-ray vision? soul piercing stare?

I’m also making another wild ass prediction: Hatake is immortal. Julia is his daughter. For whatever circumstances, she was on the base with him as a child, but had to leave with her mother, which is why we never hear of her father. Hatake’s interest in her seems innocent and almost, fatherly, especially considering he mentioned that she reminds him of his daughter. The actress Kyra Zagorsky who plays Julia, can pass for a half Asian too, if need be. So there it is.

Next week we’ll get to see the evil corporation’s clean up crew lead by Geek Goddess Jeri Ryan come to the base and create havoc and upturn the status quo. Now HELIX truly has everything going for it.