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For once, we have more to commend with an episode of V than to complain about. Unfortunately, a decent episode of V only serves to illustrate how problematic most of the other ones are. It's a shame it took the writers so long to figure this out, but this story needs to move in order to work. More importantly, this story, like all stories, but especially for ones set in a wholly speculative universe (i.e., sci-fi), characters need to act recognizably human in order for the more fantastic conceits to work. An assassination attempt on Anna should have been Plan One since Day One. Why it took these characters so long to get to this point and why they even fought it when the opportunity presented itself is a mystery.

Sure, Erica's an FBI agent and Jack's a priest and that means they represent the law and order and morality points of view, respectively in any given ethical discussion. We get the idea of paying lip service to it, but if you want the viewer to believe that there is a war for the souls of humanity against an alien oppressor, then the so-called "good guys" need to sack up and start acting like it in order for the story to make any sense at all. This episode was the first in a really long time, if ever, where we felt like the stakes were high and things were about to come to a head.

But have things come to a head? Of course Anna wasn't going to be dead on the floor by episode's end; we knew that. But Marcus would have been a good death. Hearing he was alive at the end of the episode doesn't make it feel like the 5th Column accomplished anything. After all, V tech was able to resurrect Joshua after he pretty much evaporated, so we're fairly certain Marcus will be up and around in no time, being inscrutable in a perfectly tailored suit, as always.

We like that Father Jack may not be a church-sanctioned priest at all for much longer. It's about time some of these characters start paying the price for their involvement in the war. We know we keep harping on this, but Erica needs to go on the run. It's the only way the story's really going to keep us hooked at this point. All this chess-playing with Anna and with the FBI simply isn't playing to the strengths of the show's concept. We want a resistance that really acts like a resistance. We're not sure what to think of Mr. Erica's re-entry into the picture, but we do like that she immediately told him everything. It was a rare real-life and believable action on her part. We don't have a feeling either way as to whether they should get back together; we're just happy the writers seem to have ditched the flirtation with Father Jack.

As for Anna, who knows? Everything is always going exactly as planned, according to her. She appears to have won Ryan back into the fold, a development that fills us with ennui. She's supposed to be working on the survival of her species and the conquering of a planet and yet she seems to spend all her time plotting on an Alexis-level all these silly schemes with Ryan, Diana, Tyler, Chad, and Father Jack. Sure, it helps that she's focused on her fellow co-stars, but it doesn't make much sense from a story point of view. If all these characters are so damn important to Anna, start showing us why.

And a Diana-free episode is a barren, camp-free wasteland (although Anna's slutty party dress almost made up for it).

[Picture credit: ABC TV]

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Labels: Television, V Season 2, V Series