The V Series

This is my commentary for V episode 104, It’s Only the Beginning. This show originally aired Tuesday November 17th on ABC.

FYI – This was the second time I watched the episode. I originally watched it on Tuesday and recorded this commentary afterwards.

WARNING – if you haven’t watched the show yet, stop reading

0:00 — Georgie is lying on the ground in what looks like a parking garage. Eric is running over towards him with gun raised… pauses over the body… and Ryan draws his gun on Erica. WTF?

Flashback? Flashforward? We find out it is a flashforward to a scene later in the show.

0:01 — Georgie, Father Jack, Erica, and Ryan are continuing their meeting from the end of last show. It looks like their meeting at the church. Georgie says “He has been doing this a long time.” Georgie tells Erica the story of his family. Erica asks Ryan how comes he knows he so much about them… Ryan says “I’ve been doing this even longer than Georgie.”

Erica and Father Ryan want to recruit more people. Georgie says they don’t need to recruit more people they just need to get their hands on a V. Georgie wants to cut a V open and show the world who they really are. Ryan points out that would only cause a war and it would be a war the humans can’t win. (technology differences)

0:02 — Erica to Ryan – “You didn’t answer my question before. How do you know so much about the Vs?”

Erica stares at Ryan like she is already questioning his honesty…

Georgie steps in “You’ve got nothing to worry about with Ryan. He saved my ass at the warehouse. If it wasn’t for him I’d be dead right now.”

(BTW Isn’t it interesting that Georgie wants to cut open a V and show the whole world but he knows Ryan is a V and doesn’t ask him to be the guinea pig. I guess friendship runs deep between them.)

0:03 — Georgie and Ryan are walking outside. Georgie asks Ryan why he didn’t tell them he was a V. He thinks Ryan should trust them.

Ryan’s pissed! “I better not EVER hear you talk about skinning a V again!”

0:03 — Creepy V Leader (Marcus), Anna, and Dr. Joshua are discussing the death of Dale on board the V mothership. Dr. Joshua says they’ve never had a murder on any of their ships. Marcus says there are rumors of 5th column aboard the ships. Anna assigns Dr. Joshua the task of investigating the murder. (Lucky for him, since he was the murderer!)

0:04 — Erica is searching the FBI database for information on Ryan… He appears legit. Birth Certificate, drivers license, etc. No criminal records or known aliases though.

Tyler wants to talk to his mom but she’s too busy on the computer to notice. It looks like he has something important to share.

0:05 — There is a tv show on with Chad Decker talking to Anna about the V Medical Centers. Ryan’s girlfriend is sick… the foreshadowing is that she’s going to go to a V medical center but hasn’t told anything to Ryan.

On the tv show Anna is talking about an injection to help humans immunize themselves against a bunch of diseases like cancer, even aging but they haven’t cracked the common cold yet. They suggest humans continue to take their flu shots to help with the common cold.

0:07 — Tyler wants to talk to mom about the girl but then she gets an urgnet phone call from Ryan which thwarts Tyler. Tyler’s really pissed that she doesn’t have time to talk to him. (Maybe he’s better off.)

The four horsemen meet up to discuss the vitamin injection the V want to give the humans. (Ok I couldn’t think of a nickname for Father Jack, Erica, Georgie, and Ryan. Can you think of a better nickname for them so I don’t have to type all 4 names over and over!?)

They meet up so Ryan can give them the scoop on the vitamin injection. He says there was a underground group of V scientists trying to make an injection and that it is a lie. It isn’t a vitamin injection. Ryan isn’t sure what it is but he thinks it will be harmful to the humans in some way. Part of some bigger plan of the Vs. He knows the names of these V scientists and wants to try and find some of them.

0:08 — They find a guy named “Peter Combs” who was a lab assistant back in the day but know he is a big time professor of chemistry. Ryan wants to track him down and follow him so they can find the bigger part of the puzzle. Georgie wants to track him down and kill him.

0:09 — Woah.

Tyler is sitting down. It looks like he is talking on his cell phone because his hand is up to the side of his head but in fact he is at his therapist’s office. He’s talking about his issues with his mom and how he likes the V and she doesn’t. He talks about the V Peace Ambassadors.

Then we see the therapist. Guess who she is? Dr. Valerie aka. Ryan’s girlfriend! We hear early on that she was some sort of Psychiatrist or Psychologist or something but now we see how it’s going to come into play. She’s actually Tyler’s therapist!

They have a conversation about how the V are doing good things with the healing centers and Tyler offers to help Dr. Valerie cut through the red tape and get an appointment to see a doctor. (instead of waiting months.)

0:10 — Tyler’s V jacket is on the chair. We see Anna and Lisa in the mother ship watching the video feed. Tyler says he doesn’t care that his mom is a V hater because he is about to turn 18…

Lisa says to Anna “I thought it might take longer but I think Tyler is ready.”

Anna says “Good, bring him up to the ship. Tell him I want to meet him.”

0:14 — Creepy V Leader Marcus and Chad Decker are at a V healing center. Chad has agreed to do a show about the healing centers. (Anna would only do her last interview if he did the show.)

The V technology is amazing and we watch people being healed instantly.

Chad says “Wow, that is amazing.”

Marcus replies “And that is why we want to share our story with the world.”

(Of course if we believe Ryan then all this is a front for something else more devious and diabolical that the V are planning. This is a great way to win people’s trust. And if you watched the original series you have an idea of what I am talking about, right? Noms Noms!)

0:15 — Parking garage. The four horsemen are there looking for the scientist. Georgie is alone on the top floor and he isn’t answering his phone calls from the others.

0:16 — Anna wants to interrogate the other medical staff. She asks Dr. Joshua to get them all together. The Doctor and his assistant walk away and begin a private conversation…

Assistant to Dr. Joshua says “You have to get off the ship.”

Dr. Joshua, “I am not running.”

Assistant, “You are too important. The column needs you.”

Dr. Joshua, “You will carry on and so will the others.”

Assistant interrupts, “No! You cannot be sacrificed no matter what. I won’t let it happen.”

(BTW according to the official ABC commentary the writer wrote the scene so that Dr. Joshua and the assistant were lovers so I guess they will be showing gay V characters in the future. I hope this doesn’t bother you I guess it will give the news web sites and such more to gossip about.)

0:17 — Back at the garage. Georgie is stalking the scientist. Georgie has his gun cocked and loaded. He takes a shot and misses. The professor shoots back and Georgie is hit in the abdomen. The professor disappears.

Now we’re at our flash forward. Erica runs to save Georgie. Ryan draws his gun on Erica but first just over her shoulder to wound the scientist that was coming up behind her.

Ryan asks her to put pressure on Georgie’s wound and he goes over to the scientist. The scientist isn’t cooperating. “You can’t stop us, you filthy traitor.” The scientist then takes a capsule in his mouth. His body begins to burn up and turn to ash.

(I want to point out that when I watched the ABC commentary on episode 103 that the producer says it is ash on the floor at Cryus’ restaurant. That’s where I thought perhaps Ryan had captured Cyrus and taken him hostage to get information out of him. Now it looks like what really happened was Cyrus took a suicide capsule and his body burned and turned to ash. Of course we could later find out that Cryus made it look like a suicide but I’m beginning to think my theory was wrong.)

0:19 — Erica pulls her gun on Ryan and says, “You’re a visitor…”

Cut to commercial!!!! Argh!

0:23 — Ryan says “Everything that I’ve told you is true…”

Erica, “Except that you’re a visitor!”

Ryan, “I never said that I wasn’t.”

0:24 — Ryan’s girlfriend Valerie is at the V healing center.

Meanwhile Chad Decker sits in a lab chair to show the world how simple the V diagnostic system is. It looks like their doing a real scan on him just to show everyone how easy it is so more people will come to the healing centers. (I wonder what is going to happen…) Chad wants to get more access to the building but the V won’t let him.

0:25 — Father Jack is taking care of Georgie’s wounds. Georgie asks how come the priest knows his way around a bullet wound and Father Jack admits he was an Army Chaplin and did two tours in Iraq.

Georgie, “You and the blonde are full of surprises.”

Georgie, “You need to decide what you are, a priest or a soldier.”

0:26 — Erica and Ryan are having a heart to heart. She wants to know about the suicide pill and whether or not their are other V’s fighting against Anna. Ryan tells her about the 5th Column.

They do find a “shipping company” order form in the scientist’s briefcase. Since he was working for a university and getting everything through the school they figure this is out of place. They go investigate.

0:27 — Anna has a group interrogation of the V medical staff. One of the first things she does is makes Joshua’s assistant go to stand with the other assistants. She is mad that they couldn’t debrief “Dale” and that he could have provided invaluable information.

Anna, “Unless the guilty party steps forward to take responsibility I’m going to need to choose one of you to set an example. An innocent will suffer…. Last chance…”

The assistant steps forward. “Long live the 5th column!” calmly and cooly states the assistant.

Anna, “Joshua, as lead medical officer you will carry out the sentence. Skin him.”

(BTW The assistant’s name was David. We gotta give the guy his props as he is about to be skinned alive.)

More commercials.

(BTW – preview of Sherlock Holmes on the commerical. I’m a big fan of the books and the movie looks great! Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law look great as Holmes and Watson. The effects, the costumes, everything looks awesome.
IMDB site and official web site and unlike WB tv, WB movies knows how to do the interactive stuff. There is a 221B game you can play online with a friend.

0:32 –Tyler is with Lisa on the mothership. He sees Anna in the distance. He is in awe then he discovers that Lisa is her mom. (LOL. I would be freaked out too if I was him.)

Anna says she wants to get to know Tyler and Lisa leaves him with Anna.

0:33 — The Four horsemen are at the shipping company investigating the lead from the scientist.

Ryan sets off a security system called “protocol 9″ to get everyone to evacuate the building. (It’s pretty helpful to have a V on your side!)

0:34 — Anna describes to Tyler that she wants to get to know him simply because Lisa is quite taken with him and she as a good mom is just interested in her daughter’s friends and wants to get to know them because Tyler is such a big part of Lisa’s life. (It all sounds very human) In fact Anna says “I think it is universal instinct for mother’s to be protective of their young.”

Anna walks through a door onto a balcony overlooking a long chamber of glowing blue lightning. She says it is the engine room and Tyler is the first human to ever see this. (Damn she’s clever, in one fell swoop she’s made him feel special. I bet he likes her more than his real mom!)

0:35 — David the assistant is lying paralyzed on a lab table. Dr. Joshua brings a cart full of nasty looking medical devices up beside him. They are whispering to one another.

Dr. Joshua, “How could you do this? How could you sacrifice yourself?”

David, “You had to be protected. You’re one of Anna’s closest advisors. That makes you the best hope for the column.” “I can’t move my body.”

Dr. Joshua “I gave you something..” (Joshua takes pity and gives him something that should help relieve the pain of what is about to happen…)

One really important aspect of all this is Dr. Joshua doesn’t want to do it but David implores him, “My death will be meaningless if you fail now.” David also states that “That is why she is making you do it.”

I won’t get into the gory details but yes Dr. Joshua does skin his lover alive in order to keep the resistance movement alive. This allows him to protect the fact that he is a leader in the resistance and restores Anna’s faith in him that he would be willing to skin his lover alive.

0:36 — The four horsemen (Father Jack, Erica, Georgie, and Ryan) investigate the shipping company. They discover that there is a lab where experiments are being done on people. They also discover that the vitamin shot is actually a vitamin shot and that the V are slipping whatever the harmful agent is into the human’s flu vaccine!

0:42 — The four horsemen discuss how clever it is of the V to release a vitamin shot that probably is a legitimate vitamin shot. The various human agencies and governments will be so worried about the V vitamin shot that no one will bother to look at the regular old flu shot. That way they can slip in their drug/virus/agent undetected.

Erica says “They know exactly how to play us…”

0:43 — UH OH. Valerie gets her test results from the V. They found a heart condition that they can heal and ALSO…. duh duh duh…. They won’t tell you hear but I bet you can guess what it is!

0:44 — Back at the shipping company the V are back. They figured out the alarm was a fake. Ryan is going to set off the V security system’s failsafe and sends the others out of the warehouse.

Ryan gets attacked by a V and Erica returns to save Ryan’s life. As they leave a V jumps Father Jack who knocks him down in one punch. Go Father Jack! I’d go to your church any time!

BTW Commercial reminder – Lost’s last season starts Tuesday February 2nd.

0:50 — Creepy V Leader stops Chad Decker before he leaves… They V doctor tells Chad that he will die in 6 month from a brain annuerism (spelling?) The V say they can read the medical past as well as Chad’s medical future. They claim that his doctors won’t be able to see the annuerism. Only the V technology can and only the V technology can heal him. Marcus (creepy guy) says to Chad that there is a long waiting list but they can perhaps work something out.

(I’m skeptical! The V are trying to manipulate Decker. Isn’t it convenient that Chad can’t get a second opinion. His life depends on it. So does he let the V help them or not? In essence if he does they’ll own him. He’ll owe them his life so they’ll be able to constantly manipulate him.)

(Also note the ABC commentary on the episode says the V letters spell out real words on the sign. They read vertically not horizontally. Am I blind? I can’t tell what they say!)

0:52 — “Speaking of punches father, you’ve got a hell of a right hook. That V didn’t see it coming.” Erica

“You made a difference tonight.” Ryan

0:52 — “Our plan is beginning to take hold. Lisa is right. Tyler is the one.” Anna

Creepy dude delivers the news about the warehouse full of vaccine being destroyed. He shows Anna that a message was sent back to the mothership just moments before, “John May Lives”.

Word spreads throughout the ships. Anna implores Marcus to remind everyone that even with John May and the resistance they have Anna.

0:53 — (Why does Anna have to enter the bliss thingy naked? Not that I mind, mind you

Anna enters a big white light. Soft music plays in the background. A big build up. Anna looks like she is worshipping something or doing Yoga… she touches the surface and it radiates out.

Glowing white light shines down all over the ship. People stop what they are doing to look up and bask in the light. Anna’s voice rings out…

“No need for regrets for mistakes made yesterday. The past is gone. No looming fate. No uncontrollable destiny. No hunger. No sickness. No fear. No death. Nothing ahead. Nothing behind. Just stillness. Light. Warmth. The pain you felt. The pain you may have caused others is behind you. No looking back. No fear of what will come. Just the pulse of time. Invigorating. Soothing. Bask in my light. Take comfort knowing I am here. You will never be alone.”

Tyler, “What was that?”

Lisa, “A gift from my mother…. We call it bliss.”

0:56 — Ryan returns home to Valerie. She breaks the news to Ryan that she is pregnant!!! Uh oh! She even had it confirmed by human doctors.

(Ok, so do the V know that she was impregnated by a V? Won’t they come looking for Ryan and discover he is a resistance member? Does Ryan break the news to Valerie? Does Ryan run away? What will they do to Valerie and the baby?)

0:57 — Father Jack is back at the church rectory. He pulls out a box with a pistol, a folded american flag and some medals (looks like a bronze star was one of the medals – my dad has one so I know what it looks like, and perhaps a purple heart but I can’t tell that one, I only see the ribbon.) Georgie’s comments about deciding whether or not you are a priest or a soldier rings through his head…

Someone comes into the church. Their voice is masked. (like the old V show perhaps?) They want to talk to Father Jack. They are hunched over… he can’t tell who it is. The guy looks up and it is the bald V security guy from the warehouse. He stabs Jack! The old priest hears the noise and the bald guy runs off…

(Speaking of which is this the same guy that stabbed the resistance member in the beginning? Remember the guy that gave Father Jack photos of the resistance and died in the church?)

0:58 — Erica arrives home. Tyler isn’t there but she does have an email flashing. It was an instant message from Tyler’s buddy Brandon. “Can’t believe you were invited up to the V ship. I wanna here EVERYTHING!”

Erica rings Tyler’s cell but he ignores her.

0:59 — Cut to Tyler on the mother ship. Tyler says “it must be awesome to see space from one of these ships.”

Anna “Maybe someday you will…”

Anna with an intent stare and a glance up at space… “What you’ve seen today Tyler is only the beginning.”

The camera pulls out to the far reaches of the galaxy and we pulls in to show a fleet of V ships in space. It looks like they are heading towards earth. There are not just 29 but it appears to be hundreds of V motherships.

As the final credits come up… we get the word that V won’t return until March 2010.

Tags: episode 104, It's Only the Beginning, the bliss