Continuum Season 2 Premiere ‘Second Chances’ Review!

Second Chances is the first episode of Continuum second season. Continuum is a sci-fi TV-series produced by Showcase, but Syfy channel will also air the episodes starting on June 7th. Continuum stars Rachel Nichols as from the future CPS Protector Kiera Cameron who has teamed up with detective Carlos Fonnegra (Victor Webster), a cop from the present. Together they fight the terrorist group Liber8 as it seeks to prevent a future ruled by corporations.

The plot outline of ‘Second Chances…
Following the events of the season 1 finale, Kiera decides to work on the edge of the law, getting support and resources from her friends at Vancouver P.D., while keeping their hands clean of her tactics. Alec is at odds over the death of his step father, arrest of his step brother, and the (still unknown) message from his future self. He moves in with some buddies, gets a job at a Memory Express hi-tech store, and refuses to answer Kiera’s calls. When Vancouver’s mayor is assassinated, Kiera works with her former police department partner, Carlos Fonnegra, eventually getting Alec to call her and help out. She vows to confront and destroy Liber8, and its growing band of 2013 followers, to preserve the future. We finally learn what message Alec 2077 sent to Alec 2013 – he regrets his part in helping the corporate-dominated future unfold, and only Alec 2013 (with help from Kiera and with Liber8’s 2013 societal influence) can rectify the problem.

Conclusion…
The first episode of Continuum’s second season is effective in giving it a new vibe. All characters seem to be shaken by events from the first season finale. The episode also brings back some of the violence of the first season but this time it seems to be better integrated into the plot (the shooting of Travis Verta and the mayor).
Yet, this episode is also confusing. Some of the facts that were known about Liber8 have been subtly altered to make them seem more menacing. The plot line where by Alec is shaken by the message from the future seems out of character and his scene with his mother seems rather forced.

Despite this and other slights I think this episode is very effective in getting season 2 started. If we were to compare it with Revolution’s return after the mid-season break than I think Continuum did a lot better. There were no cheats (helicopter with Gatling gun missing Billy Burke and Tracy Spiridakos) or random returns to status quo (Major Neville escaping), Continuum simply had to do a lot in 43 minutes that led to the episode having some issues. I do applaud the creative staff for keeping such a fast pace. It means this show can pretty much go anywhere it wants.

One storyline that was only touched upon was Kiera having nightmares in the 2077 timeline before the events of the time-jump. Kiera blames her CMR for them. Her husband Greg (John Reardon) seems to think that the older Alec Sadler (William B. Davis) is behind it as Greg views his flying mansion with suspicion. As such this plotline will offer us more possibilities of visiting 2077 and discover what exactly the older Alec Sadler wants to achieve with time-travel.

Score; 8/10. Good season opener that is a bit rough around the edges.
Source; http://www.showcase.ca/continuum/