Helix - The Beast Within.

As Charlie Brown would say,

I think we all knew Doreen wasn't long for this world.  (Especially, if you checked her IMDB page.)

 

But I think her death at the hands of Major Balleseros was bitter indeed.

Murder, mayhem and betrayal stalked the most recent episode of Helix, "Single Strand."  It was the discovery of that "single strand" that ultimately led Major Sergio Balleseros to eliminate Doreen.  He was playing her for a patsy and using her until she confirmed the findings he needed to know.

I think when he said to her, "I like you too" he meant it.  The two seemed to have real chemistry and certainly they were thick as thieves with the little secret they kept from Dr. Alan Farragut.  United with the same goal and seeking to help others, Doreen and Sergio made quite the dynamic duo.

That ended.  (No more snarky quips like that, "Fox Mulder crap" from her!)

As the viewing audience, we had the right to suspect Sergio and as the episode proceeded we got further confirmation that Dr. Hatake and he were working together.  As Sergio noted to Hatake, the virus that was created did not come, "as advertised" and as promised to "our employers."

 

The betrayal continued as Dr. Hatake, with security man Daniel in tow, met with the three, "not so wise men" and extended an olive branch to them in order to get the oxygen scrubbers back on.  Like Sergio, Hatake was willing to murder the people that trusted him in order to cover up his machinations.

But what is it exactly they are covering up?

We learned a little more about the virus this past episode thanks to Doreen.  She discovered a genetic message that was, "a massive splice job" in a "completely unidentified single strand" that stood to change people, "from the inside out."

Super humans?  Super soldiers? (Very X-Filey.) Super mystery!

I like the byzantine nature of this show.  Not only does the plot have many twists and turns but the facility itself seemingly goes on forever and contains many secret rooms, alcoves and stairwells.  An architecture that lends itself to the paranoid and claustrophobic nature of the show.  I half expect a Minotaur to be guarding the labyrinth of pathways or like in Dante's Inferno, lay in wait near the seventh circle of Hell.

Doesn't it follow logically that we'll come across a beast of such nature in this show?  If the virus looks to change people from the inside out and perhaps convert them to some sort of super human or soldier then shouldn't we expect to see one of our characters converted into such a man/beast?

 

I have a candidate!  Let's face it, Daniel is a bit brutish already and he'd make a perfect Minotaur to guard Hatake's secrets.

 

Then again, if we are looking for a super soldier then why not start with one that has the makings already?  (It was certainly beastly what he did to Doreen!)

I suppose if we are going to pursue the metaphor of the beast guarding the gated secrets then Hatake should be the prime suspect.

He doesn't even have to transform himself into some sort of zombified freak much like the one he stared down as he proceeded along the hallways.  As posited before, he may have already infected himself, applied the SODRA cure and survived the consequences.  He has just chosen not to reveal himself.

Speaking of reveals, Dr. Julia Walker found herself not to be alone in her own private circle of Hell.

We meet the lovely, "Jaye" who along with Julia has been separated from the rest and left to fend for herself.  She seems resourceful and every bit the survivor such as "Newt" from the Aliens movie.

It is along with Jaye that Julia discovers one of the real mind benders of this series.  We know Hatake is interested in Julia and we learned from the temporarily cured, Peter, that Hatake has a bit of obsession for her and he relays this on to Alan.

What is the nature of this obsession?  Has Julia been there before?  As what, a child?  How long has this facility been around???!!!

Evil can take on many forms in this show.  Not the least of which is the murderous bent of some of it's characters whether the have been infected or not.  How much further must we descend into the depths of Hell before we find out what is really going on?  The advertising for this series reminds you of the consequences when one attempts to play God.  Perhaps that is a bit of a canard in and of itself.  As Doreen noted, the single strand seeks to manifest a trait.

Maybe it is not God that we'll find at the end of the maze but the Beast that is already within.