The third episode of extant initially tries to put on the brakes after last weeks episode pulled the veil on much of the mystery. Molly got the definitive news that she has become pregnant on the space station alone. She has also confronted her superiors at the ISEA about and her friend Kryger is also definitively alive. Extant needs to put on the brakes otherwise the show will easily burn itself out. Imagine how long it took for Lost to even show who The Others were. Yet, some have compared Extant with Lost. A comparison I can’t make. This is Extant S1Ep3 Wish You Were Here Review

Extant S1Ep3 Wish You Were Here Review

Wish You Were Here starts off by showing what happened before Molly took her 13 month stay on the space station. She and her husband had been trying for years to conceive a child without success. While this backstory is important we had already guest as much from the previous episode dialogue. What is shown in this episode feels superfluous and it doesn’t manage to increase the suspense by just explaining that it is impossible for Molly to conceive. Luckily the episode doesn’t stay stuck on past issues. Molly’s boss within the ISEA Alan Sparks promises his deputy to distract Molly with a clever lie as to how she got pregnant. He tells Molly that there has been a covert operation in the medical center of the ISEA that has been performing unsanctioned experiments. Molly doubts him because it doesn’t explain the appearance of her long dead boyfriend. Molly rebuffs Sparks request to undergo more tests at the ISEA. Sparks makes a heartfelt apology for everything that has happened but Molly doesn’t seem interested.

Meanwhile is performing mischief in the garden while his father John told him not to go out. Through a trap he manages to catch a pigeon. John takes Ethan to his first day at school. Quickly John is approached by concerned parents who doubt Ethan should be around their children. One father in particular states that Ethan is nothing more than a toaster with hair. Molly manages to defuse the situation. At John’s research laboratory assistant Julie argues with another researcher about Ethan being in danger from other children. All such subtle references to the movie Artificial Intelligence makes it easy to guess what will happen next. I cannot help but feel that executive producer Steven Spielberg may be exerting too much influence on the show.

Molly is contacted by Dr. Barton, her friend at the ISEA. Barton denies that the medical center would do anything unethical leading to Molly doubt Sparks’ explanation. Molly confesses to Barton that she has yet to tell any of this to her husband. Molly decides to find Kryger to try and learn more about what happened on board the Seraphim. In his trailer she discovers a weird drawing before she is called away. Sparks tries to contain Molly inquisitive nature by trying to convince to turn herself in for medical tests. Meanwhile Molly starts to hallucinate the presence of her long dead boyfriend Marcus Dawkins. For now the people around don’t realize a thing. John uncovers a pigeon in a box in is laboratory. Ethan admits to putting it there. John warns him that he won’t get the same chances as other children will have. Ethan states that Molly has been keeping secrets. When confronted Molly admits to being pregnant. She didn’t tell him because she was afraid he wouldn’t believe him. However, at her birthday party she finally admits to seeing both Kryger and Dawkins. The people there thinks she has a mental breakdown. However, only then does it dawn to molly that Sparks has been deceiving her. Sparks shows up at her home and she willingly goes with him, but during a confrontation in his car she escapes. Barton calls up John to tell not to go with Sparks. Frightened John takes Ethan away from the home. Sparks show up at the home with a armed squad but he cannot locate them.

Conclusion

As I mentioned Extant had to put on the brakes somewhat during this episode. As such we saw a little bit too much of Molly breaking down under the pressure of keeping her secret. I was pleased that the ending put an end to that necessity. Extant was little too heavy on the cartoon bigots in this episode. I know that they often show up in such shows but it did make me almost tune to another channel. Extant will always be heavily based on drama, that won’t appeal to every viewer. However, at times the main characters are simply too unlikable to be invested in. It isn’t until the end of the episode when both Molly and John are on the move that I see two characters worth watching. Dr. Barton played by Camryn Manheim has been a exception from the beginning. She is just a pleasure to watch. Extant can also ditch The Stepford Wives setting for me, it just doesn’t work. Try Gattaca. This was Extant S1Ep3 Wish You Were Here Review

Score; 7 / 10. A mediocre episode of Extant I which the characters just get underneath my skin.

Source; http://www.cbs.com/shows/extant/