Helix Finale - To Live and Die in L.A. (Or in this case, the Arctic.)
It's been a few days since the season finale of Helix but the reverberations are still being felt across the TV viewing world like chasms cracking open the Arctic surface. (And swallowing Ilaria henchmen.) (Or is it henchwomen?)
When Spencer flipped the switch that led to the destruction of the Arctic Biosystems station it seemed to seal the fate of many of our Helix acting faithful. However, in the short and stunning epilogue we witnessed three of the characters that survived the carnage.
As noted in my previous post Dr. Julia Walker (Kyra Zagorsky) was plainly seen along with Dr. Alan Farragut (Billy Campbell) and Dr. Peter Farragut (Neil Napier). One could safely assume we will see all three in the next season of Helix that was recently announced.
But not so fast.
Helix showrunner, Steve Maeda, has recently stated only two of the aforementioned three are signed to reprise their roles leaving Neil Napier out in the cold and wandering the streets of Paris. (That doesn't sound that bad.)
Yes, Billy Campbell and Kyra Zagorsky will be back but they will be joined by the shirtless wonder himself, Major Sergio Balleseros played by Mark Ghanime. Sergio returned to Arctic Biosystems in the company of Anana and Tulok in search of Daniel "Miksa" Aerov. I'd like to think Sergio did this out of fealty or, dare I say it, love for Anana. But it seems he had an ulterior motive as well and that was the retrieval of the list of kidnapped Inuit kids that Hatake was keeping in his head.
Why is this important to the Major? Has he turned over a new leaf and is about to right the wrong he is complicit in for the children's disappearance? Maybe his love for Anana has compelled him to do so.
Or is it something else?
Finding the location of the missing kids, now presumably adults like Miksa, and securing their safety (read kidnap them all over again) would ensure his safety from any reprisal from Ilaria since he didn't always play nice with them. The "kidnapped" would also serve as useful chits as trade with Ilaria or perhaps Hatake in order to further Hiroshi's own research. Or for that matter, any research the CDC may want to conduct on them. (Although it was hinted at the CDC doesn't buy Alan's story.)
What of Anana and Tulok? As characters I fear for them. Tulok wasn't nearly as fully formed a character as Miksa. I think everyone had a lot of affection for the character of Daniel Aerov. I for one certainly did. Especially after his tragic sacrifice. Can this affection easily be transferred to Tulok? I'm leaning towards no but you never can tell. The character's saving grace may have been the reaction of Hatake upon seeing Tulok and he alternately sputtered out both "Daniel" and "Miksa." So Hatake may make it his life's work to either adopting Tulok or at least treating him like the son he just lost. Tulok was Miksa's brother! That's good news for Meegwun Fairbrother.
Luciana Carro's, "Anana" has a much steeper hill to climb in her survival chances. Let's face it, she may be more important dead. If Sergio truly had affection for her then her death would make a great motivator for him against Ilaria and Spencer. All the more reason to re-kidnap the surviving Inuits and hold them as bargaining chips. Anana's death would make powerful motivator for Tulok also. Can you picture this, Sergio and Tulok canvassing the world together, the perfect odd couple, united in their hate for Ilaria? I'd love it, Tulok's muscle and Sergio's guile. Woe to Ilaria and anyone that stands in their way.
Did Hiroyuki Sanada sign off on Hatake's death? It's possible. He's not signed for the following season and he already has a gig in the upcoming "Extant" with Halle Berry this summer. But if I was Steve Maeda I would lock this guy up toute suite. Despite his treachery Hatake proved to be a very popular character. As an example, check out the marvelous artwork submitted by Ingrid K. V. Hardy on her web page Rabid Horse. It is truly brilliant and it is testimony to the affection Hatake's character garnered throught the TV viewing public.
Sanada is the master of emotion also. His grief over losing Daniel was palpable and his passionate kiss for the now enfeebled Jane was touching to say the least. And let's not forget his devotion towards Julia. Will this be enough save his character? He did give up that list so that won't make Ilaria happy so there goes that leverage. Plus, let's not forget he betrayed Ilaria numerous times to begin with. So there is some good back story there especially in terms of revenge, both for Ilaria and Hatake. What would make Hatake's survival sweeter? Him having to act against the new head of Ilaria, his daughter Julia. The person he devoted his life to protecting.
Please, Steve Maeda, you can't pass up that juicy story line!
Would anyone be disappointed if we didn't see Robert Naylor's "The Scythe"? I sense not. But I could be wrong. As the helicopter took off he certainly survived and he would make a more than tempting target for Hatake, Alan, Sergio and Tulok. (And dozens of others I'm sure.) Still, he didn't strike me as that popular to bring back. Maybe in a guest role just to kill him off. Or, better yet, bring him back for an episode to kill off one of the aforementioned. That would really tick viewers off.
Hey, Spencer, you're useful after all.
Another juicy story line Steve Maeda.
Okay I'm running long her and I still need to cover what is up with with the impending Julia/Alan reunion. I need to talk about the new bad ass Bond, Alan Bond the equal to 007. And what about Neil Napier's role? We did see him, lots of questions there.
Yes, Candace Sutton too.
See you next blog!
I am going to miss your posts until next year!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Tanila, I'm sure there will be something coming along until then.
Delete"Kiss mt Bass" calendar girl... chuckle...
ReplyDeleteInteresting thoughts! I find it really difficult to believe that Hatake wouldn't be a part of the upcoming season. He is just too important. Perhaps the fact that Helix comes back only in 2015 will permit Sanada the time to do his extra-curricular activities, and he can be back to do the job we need him to do.
And what about those plants? They are toast now, literally, but were they really there ONLY for decoration?
A few quick thoughts on this show. I want to do a long-winded blog post as well on this, as it touches on a few other shows I watch, before I get all lost in that Continuum thing everybody keeps saying is so good... lol... First, characters.
The main thing that attracts me to this show, apart from the conspiracy aspect (conspiracy is like catnip), is the character aspect. The characters are surprisingly addictive. That surprises me because many of them are, honestly, overdone. At first glance. Several of them are underdone. At first glance. They are like turkeys - timing the roasting is essential, otherwise you end up with either dry meat or raw meat, which means failure.
This is, for now anyway, a relatively low-budget show, which is such a good thing. That often means fresh talent comes in, new ideas, and chances can be taken that others might not take. But sometimes it also means flaws where we are not used to seeing them (I could point fingers at a bunch of things but that another post entirely). Where Helix comes in, I find that certain characters feel like they stepped out of a 1960's tv show and are a bit flat and over dramatic, like the Scythe, his mother, Hatake (at first), and even the immortal dude who chopped his own throat.
But the neat thing happened. And I have a VERY strong feeling that this is due to the actors themselves most of all: with each episode, these "theatre" characters developed... Hatake was too "evil dudish" for me in the beginning, and then too sentimental. Over the episodes, however, it evened out and reasons for why he was the way he was began to make it much more believable. And his reaction to Daniel's death (once I got over my own reaction), was heartbreaking. I very nearly gave a standing ovation in my living room.
Jeri Ryan's character was very similar. And again, by the end, I bought it completely. I had dislike for the Scythe's character at first, first few episodes actually, but I know have confidence that I'll buy it in the end.
Sarah was a character I didn't care for, she felt useless and also flat. But now that she has had some play time, by golly, I could see HER as the head of Ilaria, no problem. She has the typical "I want to save the world and make it better" attitude that all good despots and dictators start out with.
I think Julia is a candidate for "double agent", and Bellisaros as the secret agent for the as-yet unnamed group of people who are unable to keep shirts in their wardrobe.
It would be easy to go on and on, but the team on this show is pretty amazing. It will be a long wait for it to come back.
Last note: the character of those plants has been very flat and under developed, and is therefore one of the reasons I am sure they will show up again, perhaps with an African Flytrap as their black goo leader. Wonder if the plant will be able to leave his leaves on....
Hi Ingrid,
DeleteI'm confident they will find a way to sign Sanada and we'll have him back for the next season. I do marvel at the amount of work these people put in. The keep going like Seventies rock stars.
You're right, all the plants are gone. Well, that was just research. As we know Hatake keeps everything in his head. I'm sure he'll return to his secret lab in the Hida mountains and start anew. Showrunner Steve Maeda says the Willis hypothesis is significant to the show so I'm assuming we haven't seen the last of the plants.
Nice cooking tip! Now I know to keep an eye on my Helix favorites like a turkey in the oven! They have roasted well haven't they? It's a great ensemble and sometimes a large cast can pull a show down. But not in this case. Lost managed to pull it off but eventually crumbled under the weight of it's own mythology. No worries for Helix as they are already off the island and we have no idea who made it save the three that have signed.
So, we have referenced Sixties TV and Seventies rock stars, what's next Eighties movies? There were some great team up movies from that era. Star Wars, The Breakfast Club, Indiana Jones, Back To The Future, let's see if they can follow that model.
At one point I could have lived without Sarah but not now. What if she becomes meglomaniacal in her pursuit of science? She could start a rival faction of the Immortals or break off completely to preserve humanity and bring Ilaria down.
Great feedback Ingrid and very funny too. Are you going to take your show on the road? Oh, that's right you're appearing in Montreal. I hope you got a chance to see the Ilaria building or perhaps a coffee at Alan's Cafe.
(I want to see a walking African flytrap pacing about Hatake's lab and playing with the Arctic monkeys. Maybe it will be a spinoff show.)
Lots to ponder. I would think Sarah's child (or could it be twins?) would be the same as Julia prior to Hitake "activating" her. Half human, half silver eye. She would probably be hiding the child from the silver eyes as Hitake hid Julia. Sarah could slide in easily as the next generation of Hitake, a scientist with a secret to hide that the silver eyes could threaten into working for them. I would think Hitake would be back, perhaps to pull Julia back from the brink.
ReplyDeleteMy guess is that there are different factions within the silver eyes. From the way Julia was shown in the final scene she looks to be heading up the not so nice faction willingly or as a double agent. So what happened to the previous big bad in charge? Did she oust him? or is he heading up a rival faction?
Oh I'm sure Scythe will return, but please spare us a redemption arc. He must die a fist pump death.
I haven't ever known where they were going with Sergio. His alliances shifted multiple times and it's hard to know what his moral compass is.
I'll be interested to see if next year is global in nature or if another secret Ilaria "Death Star" isolated base is the focus. Maybe in the middle of a desert this time. Maybe an island, maybe a space station.
I guess we'll have to wait and see.
Whoa, nice idea on the twins Lynne, I love it!
DeleteI'd love to witness the dynamic between Hatake and Julia. Either as rivals or partners. We could add Sarah into the mix as Hatake's "adopted" daughter and infuriate Julia. Then, yes, Hatake could pull Julia back from the brink. (Or push her over, nah, he's too loyal for that.)
Good question, what did happen to the previous big bad? Did Julia have Spencer knock him or her off? Are Julia and Spencer fast friends now? Or worse lovers? Ugh, I just did some black goo throw up in my mouth. Julia would have to be quite the Mata Hari too pull off such devious treachery. Gosh, I hope so. (Well, except the lovers part.)
"Fist pump death" for Spencer? Hilarious! Maybe Julia will have a secret blade inside her finger prosthetic and do the dirty deed.
As for Sergio maybe the writers like him as the wild card and we'll never know which side he is on.
I can see a secret base in the jungles of Puerto Rico. Do they have jungles in Puerto Rico? Hmm, it is a small island. Maybe they should move to the outback of Australia and ship Kangaroos to the frozen wasteland of Antarctica. Antarctica is kind of an island isn't it?
Thanks Lynne!
I didn't really think about this until I read some of the comments you all have made about Sarah. I really like her character. While yes, her acting may be flat from time to time, I think she adds a whole interesting dynamic into the show. You've got her in this love triangle, now she's pregnant with what we assume is Alan's baby, she's a silver eye, the baby, her love for science, how understanding she is...honestly I could go on. And then I got to thinking about the bits we were shown for Day 235, and the fact that Sarah will be pretty much 8 months pregnant at that point. And all Alan seems to be cared about is taking down Ilaria/finding Julia. How do you think that's going to affect Sarah?
ReplyDeleteHow do I think Alan's quest will affect Sarah? How about this question, does Alan even know he has a child? Of course this all taking for granted Sarah survived the ABS blast. Let's say Sarah did survive the blast, would Alan be traipsing about Paris obsessing about Julia and Ilaria if he knew he had a child and it's mother waiting for him at home? If I read Alan correctly, I don't think so. Alan seems to be a man on a mission so I'm guessing if Sarah did survive she didn't tell Alan she was pregnant. This gave him the freedom to chase about the globe.
ReplyDeleteHow is Sarah handling all this? If she is truly back at the homefront and or working with the resistance, I'm thinking she is working as the anti-Julia as I posited in my blog post. (If indeed, Julia has gone to the dark side.) Sarah wanted to make her mark on humanity and what better way than to fight the good fight and rid the world of the vector scourge. Therefore making it a better place for her child.
Then again, she could be heading up the North American offices of Ilaria.
As Ingrid noted not all the characters weren't fully fleshed out on Helix to start but as the season grew on they all became vital and quite frankly we'd like to see everyone back.
Thanks for the feedback Daniel!