Earth: Final Conflict - 1st time watch thread

[The Habs Fan]

Second Wave

The Taelons decide to leave earth following what appears to be an imminent Jaridian invasion.

This seemed to be a pretty important episode until near the end when the Jaridian fleet turned out to be an illusion, but it still was interesting seeing what would happen if and when the Jaridians finally attack.

What happens is, the Taelons basically leave the humans to fend for themselves (and be destroyed). Once again, I'm left with the impression that the Taelons are the true villains of the E:FC story, not the Jaridians. Or maybe both sides are bad. In any event, both sides seem to regard humans and the planet Earth with some importance as the Jaridians originally sent a message to Earth as well warning humans about the Taelons. Of course, the Taelons intercepted this message before it could reach Earth. But would things truly be any different if the Jaridians were in control of Earth as the Taelons are now? I don't think so. Earth can't do anything about their importance to both races as the Taelon/Jaridian technology is so far advanced. Instead, Earth is reduced to innocent bystander status as these two heavyweights battle with each other. So I can't foresee a happy outcome for Earth unless both races kill each other off at the same time somehow.

But enough philosophizing, time for me to complain about more Resistance members making their debuts in this episode (when they should have been introduced in a previous episode). Though that bearded guy seemed familiar. Wasn't he in Sandoval's makeshift prison with Lili in the 2nd episode of Season 3? Maybe I'm misremembering. If he was, then I guess the writers should be commended for bringing back one Resitance member we've seen before, though they ended up killing him off this episode.

But this episode was not about the lack of recurring characters, instead it's a big "what if". And that part of it worked.

RATING: 4/5

 

[The Wormhole]

I like this episode for its opening scene, shit hitting the fan on the Taelon mothership as everyone reacts to the presence of the Jaridian fleet.

I honestly don't remember if the bearded guy was in Sandoval's prison, but even if he was, he definately wasn't in any episodes in between these two. That's kind of my problem, we see him and Liam acting like they're best friends who go way back even though this is the first time we see them together. Unfortunately this sort of "new guy with a history" becomes very common in the show, with an upcoming episode focusing on a newly introduced character who apparentally has intimate history with everyone. Oh well, every TV show has it's idiotic WTF moments at some point.

 

[hyzmarca]

Second Wave

The Taelons decide to leave earth following what appears to be an imminent Jaridian invasion.

This seemed to be a pretty important episode until near the end when the Jaridian fleet turned out to be an illusion, but it still was interesting seeing what would happen if and when the Jaridians finally attack.

What happens is, the Taelons basically leave the humans to fend for themselves (and be destroyed). Once again, I'm left with the impression that the Taelons are the true villains of the E:FC story, not the Jaridians. Or maybe both sides are bad.

I think you're being a bit hard on the Taelons, here. The fact of the matter is that the mothership wouldn't last five seconds against a real Jaridian war fleet. The Jaridians have always had a massive firepower advantage, while the Taelons relied on the speed that ID travel gave them to stay safe. That's the entire reason the Synod is based on he ship instead of their homeworld (which I'm pretty sure no longer exists by this point). They lost that advantage when Sandoval gave the Jaridians a Taelon shuttle. Now it's only a matter of time before they're completed wiped out.

Note, that a huge chunk of their work on Earth has been an attempt to slow down the Jaridian advance (the entire point of the volunteers is to have bodies to throw at the Jaridians) and turn the sol system into a fortress (like with that magma cannon). But eight years isn't really enough time, even if they put the entire planet on a full war footing (which wasn't possible because they were busy being all vaguely friendly yet dangerously mysterious). They assumed that they'd have decades before the Jaridians could reach Earth.

At this point running away is the only sane thing to do.

 

[The Wormhole]

Second Wave

The Taelons decide to leave earth following what appears to be an imminent Jaridian invasion.

This seemed to be a pretty important episode until near the end when the Jaridian fleet turned out to be an illusion, but it still was interesting seeing what would happen if and when the Jaridians finally attack.

What happens is, the Taelons basically leave the humans to fend for themselves (and be destroyed). Once again, I'm left with the impression that the Taelons are the true villains of the E:FC story, not the Jaridians. Or maybe both sides are bad.

I think you're being a bit hard on the Taelons, here. The fact of the matter is that the mothership wouldn't last five seconds against a real Jaridian war fleet. The Jaridians have always had a massive firepower advantage, while the Taelons relied on the speed that ID travel gave them to stay safe. That's the entire reason the Synod is based on he ship instead of their homeworld (which I'm pretty sure no longer exists by this point). They lost that advantage when Sandoval gave the Jaridians a Taelon shuttle. Now it's only a matter of time before they're completed wiped out.

Note, that a huge chunk of their work on Earth has been an attempt to slow down the Jaridian advance (the entire point of the volunteers is to have bodies to throw at the Jaridians) and turn the sol system into a fortress (like with that magma cannon). But eight years isn't really enough time, even if they put the entire planet on a full war footing (which wasn't possible because they were busy being all vaguely friendly yet dangerously mysterious). They assumed that they'd have decades before the Jaridians could reach Earth.

At this point running away is the only sane thing to do.

As interesting an analysis as that is, you have to admit, from the humans' perspective the Taelons look pretty crappy. After all, Taleons have arrived on Earth with grandiose promises and the moment another alien species shows up the Taelons are all "Crap! Gotta go!"

 

[The Habs Fan]

Second Wave

The Taelons decide to leave earth following what appears to be an imminent Jaridian invasion.

This seemed to be a pretty important episode until near the end when the Jaridian fleet turned out to be an illusion, but it still was interesting seeing what would happen if and when the Jaridians finally attack.

What happens is, the Taelons basically leave the humans to fend for themselves (and be destroyed). Once again, I'm left with the impression that the Taelons are the true villains of the E:FC story, not the Jaridians. Or maybe both sides are bad.

I think you're being a bit hard on the Taelons, here. The fact of the matter is that the mothership wouldn't last five seconds against a real Jaridian war fleet. The Jaridians have always had a massive firepower advantage, while the Taelons relied on the speed that ID travel gave them to stay safe. That's the entire reason the Synod is based on he ship instead of their homeworld (which I'm pretty sure no longer exists by this point). They lost that advantage when Sandoval gave the Jaridians a Taelon shuttle. Now it's only a matter of time before they're completed wiped out.

Note, that a huge chunk of their work on Earth has been an attempt to slow down the Jaridian advance (the entire point of the volunteers is to have bodies to throw at the Jaridians) and turn the sol system into a fortress (like with that magma cannon). But eight years isn't really enough time, even if they put the entire planet on a full war footing (which wasn't possible because they were busy being all vaguely friendly yet dangerously mysterious). They assumed that they'd have decades before the Jaridians could reach Earth.

At this point running away is the only sane thing to do.

I never thought of it that way hyzmarca. Makes sense to me!


Essence

Renee discovers that her younger brother is a victim of Zo'or's plot to harness human emotions.

Zo'or with his plans. It seems like just yesterday I was watching season 2 where every episode seemed to be about another one of Zo'or's plans to conquer humanity. Or was that season 3? Anyway, here we have Zo'or trying to obtain emotion.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't the Taelons have emotion? They certainly don't strike me the same as Vulcans.

Despite my problems with the plot of this episode, I still thought it was good. I liked the whole beginning in Bosnia. I thought the actor who played Renee's brother did a good job as he carried most of the episode by himself.

But most of all I liked seeing the Da'an addiction storyline return. I was worried that plot point would be a one off, but here we have Sandoval once again manipulating Da'an with Kryss to get what he needs.

RATING: 3/5

 

[The Habs Fan]

Phantom Companion

While on-board the Taelon mothership, Renee is taken hostage by a mysterious being that haunts the lower parts of ship.

This episode reminded me a bit of Andromeda, surprisingly in a good way! I'm pretty sure it was mentioned before that the mother ship was a kind of living organism, and this episode built on it a bit by having the ship take a protector for itself. Again, I'm a bit annoyed by the fact that this protector is another good friend of Liam's who I'm pretty sure we haven't seen before this episode.

I think someone posted a while ago about the Taelons shown on the bridge who seem to not care about Zo'or's evil schemes. I always thought that was weird too. This episode addresses that problem in a slightly different way by having the ship rebel against Zo'or. Why it chose this episode to rebel rather than a more suitable time in a previous episode remains a mystery.

The baby Taelons was an interesting twist. How do Taelons procreate? They don't seem aware of the embryos in stasis inside the ship so is it through thought or something similar? I did find it a bit confusing when Malley mentions that Da'an was the last Taelon to have a child: Zo'or. But if that's the case, who is the parent of the Taelon offspring inside the ship?

RATING: 3/5

 

[The Wormhole]

Again, I'm a bit annoyed by the fact that this protector is another good friend of Liam's who I'm pretty sure we haven't seen before this episode.

He most certainly hasn't. What's even more annoying is that not only is he a good friend of Liam's, he's also well known to everyone else. All the other visiting Protectors remember him, he was apparentally a decorated hero during his time serving the Taelons, there's even flashback scenes (old footage he watches in his "lair" or whatever) and yet he was never on the show previously.

The questions raised by the existence of Taelon babies are effectively swept under the rug after this episode.

 

[Lindley]

Strange. I have absolutely no memory of that episode.

 

[MacLeod]

Perhaps you mind decided it was best to forget the whole episode. I found a lot of E:FC unmemorable once they got rid of Boone.

 

[The Habs Fan]

Dream Stalker

Liam and Renee investigate a serial killer who murders people in their dreams.

This episode doesn't really make a whole lot of sense. How exactly are people killed through other people's dreams? Not just killed, but slashed?

I guess it's possible that "Speed" murdered the people himself while at the same time controlled the dreams of those he framed, but you still have to take a big leap of faith.

The investigation is interesting and it's nice seeing Street again (she hasn't appeared in the last few episodes), but overall this episode is easily the weakest of the season so far.

RATING: 2/5

 

[The Wormhole]

All I really remember from that episode is the weird lightsabre-like dagger which I think becomes a regular weapon in season 5.

 

[The Habs Fan]

Lost Generation

Liam and Renee discover that a baby is born with a CVI implant.

This episode turned out much better than it sounded, but it still missed that something that turns a good episode into a great one.

Sandoval has his hands in another nefarious scheme (though Zo'or may be involved as well), this time genetically engineering babies with CVIs (or should I say CNI?) It sounds more like a Zo'or plan as I don't see how Sandoval can manipulate this to suit his own purpose, but it's never confirmed that Zo'or is involved.

The growing infertility rates of women in the north-east United States is an interesting storyline and I like how the Taelons may have been causing this on purpose.

I also like the choice to make Renee infertile as it's a good problem for her character, though I don't like the ending with Da'an offering her the cure and Renee refusing it (because it's Taelon technology). I would have preferred to see no cure available and Renee forced against her wishes to be infertile I think that would have been a much stronger ending. Instead, now she knows that there's a cure on the mother ship any time she wants it, or any time the writers decide to give her a child.

RATING: 3/5

 

[The Habs Fan]

The Summit

Liam is implanted with a neural surveillance device to track Da'an, who leaves Earth on a mysterious final journey.

That should read as "final" journey since Da'an is not dead or off the show. Although I have to admit that for a second I thought he would be permanently transformed into an Atavus. (You never know with this show).

So I guess this is kind of an answer on how to save both races (Taleons and Jaridians). They have to merge into an Atavus, the species they were before splitting into two distinct races. I guess this kind of makes a bit of sense, though I seem to remember the Atavus in season 2 as a kind of prehistoric caveman type. This Atavus seemed more intelligent and it looked different as well. Reason for this or just a retcon? I suspect the latter.

I enjoyed seeing Federov again. I think it was a great idea to bring him back to the show and to use his space station as the secret meeting place between Da'an and the Jaridian. We already know that Federov and Da'an have a friendly relationship so it made sense.

I also liked the plot twist of implanting Liam with an implant to track his movements. Although Street's technobabble solution was way too convenient and easy.

RATING: 4/5

 

[The Wormhole]

I seem to remember the Atavus in season 2 as a kind of prehistoric caveman type. This Atavus seemed more intelligent and it looked different as well. Reason for this or just a retcon? I suspect the latter.

This is a pure Atavus, consisting of both Taelon and Jaridian DNA, while the Atavus of season 2 lacked Jaridian DNA. It's a bit messy of an explanation, but it sort of works. Unfortunately, future episodes make the situation even more messy.

 

[hyzmarca]

Well, the original proto-taelon atavus were batshit insane and hyper-violent because of the Shaqarava. They couldn't control it and they couldn't control themselves, so they needed the Commonality to maintain their sanity.

The Jaradians found a way to deal with their violent impulses without closing the Shaqarava,suppressing their emotions, or joining into a partial hive-mind. The Jaridian method had it's own problems, though and they lost something important.

 

[Isadorabelle]

I'm so happy to see that this thread is still active. I just encountered it earlier today and began reading from the first post. I was surprised/happy that one was from 2011 and so recent.

I grew up with Trek and got into EFC. After some unpleasant experiences, I lost all interest but over the past month or so I've gotten into it again. I forgot how much I enjoyed the show, but then again I am a fan of Gene Roddenberry as a whole.

I'm looking forward to reading more of your episode reviews!

 

[Isadorabelle]

Hijacked

When a reporter comes aboard the Mothership, Liam comes under suspicion as a saboteur and member of the Resistance when the ship is hijacked and sets off on a course for the Jaridian homeworld. Things become more complicated when the reporter videotapes Liam using his shaquarava.

This is a tough episode for me to review. On one hand, there is some pretty good action sequences and more Jaridian stuff. On the other hand, I could completely skip this episode and not miss anything.

I think part of the problem with this episode is how easy everything is resolved. Liam is proven not to be the saboteur because of the video the reporter recorded. Actually, the reporter character as a whole felt like a plot device who's only purpose in the episode was to prove Liam's innocence. With that said, I did like the little twist that the Liam in the video was not the replicant but was actually the real Liam downloading the latest Taelon passwords for Augur.

I didn't really like the technobabble solution at the end with how they got out of dead space. The action was great, but it felt way too easy.

RATING: 2.5/5

Highjacked isn't one of my favorite episodes, but I did like the end. Well, specifically I liked the interaction between Zo'or and Da'an. I'm really character-oriented, so it was nice to see Da'an not just 'forgive and forget' Zo'or going off on him.

I'm enjoying this thread thus far. I look forward to getting caught up!

 

[The Habs Fan]

I'm so happy to see that this thread is still active. I just encountered it earlier today and began reading from the first post. I was surprised/happy that one was from 2011 and so recent.

I grew up with Trek and got into EFC. After some unpleasant experiences, I lost all interest but over the past month or so I've gotten into it again. I forgot how much I enjoyed the show, but then again I am a fan of Gene Roddenberry as a whole.

I'm looking forward to reading more of your episode reviews!

Thanks! Please feel free to post your thoughts on the show as I watch the final season and a half.

By the way, I'll try to review the episodes faster soon. (I've been very busy the last few months).


Dark Matter

The mothership is damaged when a piece of dark matter collides with it.

This is an excellent episode for the character of Sandoval. Over the last few seasons, I've been a bit confused as to Sandoval's motives for his actions. At times, I wondered why he'd be so opposed to the Resistance when his objective seemed to be very similar: to rid Earth of the Taelons.

But this episode perfectly shows his motivation. He hates the Taelons for what they did to his wife and his birthplace. But he would like to take the Taelons out his way, with him in power at the end. Sandoval, despite having honourable motivation for despising the Taelons, also has a bit of selfishness and greediness in his character. I never truly saw Sandoval as a villain before this episode, but now I finally understand.

Sandoval is able to take control of the mothership in this episode after a piece of dark matter collides with the ship, rendering all of the Taelons immobile. Of course, his plans for world domination are foiled by Liam and Renee.

Speaking of Liam, he is now fully human since he had to use his Kimera energy to destroy the dark matter. It was nice seeing Ha'Gel again, but why did Liam lose his power after using it? Hasn't he used this power before (like in the first episode of season 2)?

Despite some minor plot issues, this is a very good episode.

RATING: 4/5

 

[The Wormhole]

Dark Matter is one of three episodes from the fourth season that really showcase Sandoval.

And don't worry, the status of Liam's Kimera abilities will be explained better later on.

 

[Morpheus 02]

To me, season 4 really seemed to go back to a lot of where season 1 was going , especially in developing Sandoval. If only season 5 could have continued that momentum...by the end of Season 4, i was looking forward to season 5