After Jeri Ryan’s spectacular entrance as Constance Sutton, a cold-blooded corporate genocidal murderess, Helix was in need of a brief break from last weeks fast paced events. Bloodline offers this break by first concentrating on giving every character some time to deal with the latest revelations. After this has been accomplished the second part of the episode moves into a higher gear for the confrontation between Hatake and Sutton, which I can spoiler, does not disappoint.

Bloodline

Julia, Allan and Sarah are discussing Julia’s recovery over lunch. She states she has done every conceivable test but no trace of Narvik-B remains in her system. Allan and Sarah remain skeptical and Julia plays a prank on them by reenacting the chest-burst scene from the movie Alien. Aerov informs Allan of a vector attack in the food storage depot. Allan surmises it is a new method by the vectors to attack those uninfected and orders the food destroyed. Julia meanwhile shows Sarah what has happened to her eyes. Constance Sutton informs her second in command not to interfere with the vectors to add some pressure to Allan to come up a cure for the pathogen.

Aerov meanwhile guides his sister Anana through the base. Anana asks him to come with her back home but he refuses. Allan meets up with Hatake who is being held in a makeshift prison. Hatake warns that Sutton wants Julia and that Allan needs to keep her save. Sutton manages to capture Julia and she also forces Allan and Sarah to continue working on the cure. Anana and Aerov check in on Balleseros, who convinces Anana that he has also been kidnapped from his parents. Anana develops sympathy for Balleseros but Aerov remains highly skeptical. Unbeknown to both Balleseros has managed to steal a pin from Anana and uses it to free himself from his restraints.

Sutton meets with Hatake who is being held in his office. She questions about why he thinks Julia is so important. As Hatake is un-forthcoming she threatens to torture Julia to find out. Sarah and Allan agree that the situation has gotten completely out of hand and conspire together in their laboratory to make a bomb to kill Sutton. They are continually observed by Sutton’s men but manage to get the ingredients nonetheless. Julia meanwhile escapes and coordinates with Allan to take the base back from Sutton. Julia frees Hatake who promptly injects her with a sedative, but he does promise her to help Allan.

Aerov and Anana split paths at the bases entrance. He says he can’t come with her because he needs to clean up the mess he has made. She reminds him that he can always come and find his family. Allan lures Sutton and her second in command into the laboratory. He tells her they have fund and cure and convinces her to look through the microscope herself. Her second in command senses that something is wrong and manages to pull her away from the blast just in time. Sarah and Allan manage to escape but Sutton quickly informs them over the PA that she will kill his brother Peter is he does not give himself up.  Balleseros meanwhile attempts to escape the base on a snowmobile but is stopped by Anana, as Sutton’s special forces try to capture them both he gives himself up to allow time for Anana to escape.

Sarah convinces Allan not to go without a plan and shows off a sound cannon to him. With Hatake they coordinate an attack but the vectors instead take away Peter. Hatake, Allan and Sarah manage to slip away only to find that Julia has been taken by Sutton again. Hatake left a picture with Julia showing that he is her father. Sutton now knows why she is so important to him and prepares to leave the base as soon as possible. She informs Aerov that a second strike team will come later to eliminate the entire base. Aerov informs Hatake of Sutton’s plan and he manages to stun Sutton men. In the final showdown between Sutton and Hatake they reveal they have known each other for a very long time and may have once been lovers. Hatake tells her he can’t go through with Ilaria’s genocidal plan to take over the world. After a brief struggle he strangles her to death.

Aerov and his men are seen rounding up the remnants of Sutton’s force. Hatake tells everyone on the PA that everything is returning back to normal. Julia and Allan discus all the recent revelations and Julia confesses that she thinks she is completely lost. The final scene of the episode shows Hatake and Aerov outside the base at the cryonics storage depot. Aerov states that he can never forgive Hatake for stealing him from his parents. Hatake then quietly places Constance Sutton’s head in one of the cryonics pods. Hatake and Aerov walk away as the pod disappears beneath the ice.

Conclusion

Last week I had criticism about Daniel Aerov’s sudden about-turn against Hatake. This week his character seems less rash and more thoughtful and brooding with lines such as ‘I am going to fix this thing, whatever it is’. As such he seems well placed to pick up all the pieces at the research base after Hatake and Sutton’s showdown. Hatake may think he is back in charge, but I am doubtful that those around him will allow that to continue. After Jeri Ryan’s entrance last week I was very sad to see her gone after just two episodes. Granted her character was a bit over the top, but at the end her motives were just about becoming clear. I doubt it is the last that we see of her, this is Helix after all. However, Helix does establish that it is a very unforgiving show.

After this two-part story arc Helix is slowly creeping towards the end of its first season. With only four more episode to go and with the next one about the missing vectors I can only assume that the remaining three episodes will deal with Ilaria’s second wave as announced by Sutton. Some viewers are already predicting that this season will be Helix’s only one. I doubt it as the ratings have not only stabilized they have also picked up a little bit. However, that may have been due to Jeri Ryan drawing on her Sci-Fy fan base. This episode proofs that the shows creators can juggle various character storylines with ease, though I wonder if that will also be the case for the season’s rest without revealing too much. The risk of this show burning though its credibility is always present.

Score; 8.4 / 10. A great episode but I was sad to see that Jeri Ryan already made her departure.

Source; http://www.syfy.com/helix

Helix will be back with a new episode next Friday entitled ‘Level X’. See the trailer below….