Extant - A Stacked Deck

Aarrgh, are we ever going to see this Offspring?

Did Anya see the Offspring?  I guess not.  It seems Alan got the thing to the car before Anya could notice.  Either that or she's so intoxicated with young Katie that it didn't matter.

Does the Offspring need a infant car seat or is it riding in the trunk?

Once again the Offspring lurks unseen behind the furniture.  (Here is it's POV as Anya is "reunited with Katie.) So if it is small enough to hide behind furniture and needs help to the car, how big can it be?

We once saw it as a full grown adult while in incubation and it even was referred to as a full grown adult many times so what gives?

It also had a chance to "feed" on the poor misbegotten mechanic so wouldn't it follow logically that it is in it's adult form?

We did get one more clue as to the nature of the Offspring. It seems that there are "two types of feeding" that it requires.  One being the protein shakes that Sparks was off loading from the car and the other being the "circle absorption" method.  (My term.) 

Also, apparently, the feeding required to "project" Katie is the feeding of the "circle absorption" type.  It must weaken the Offspring necessitating constant feeding.  How many people is that going to take considering Anya's and Alan's obsession with "Projection Katie?"  The mechanics union is going to complain if too many guys don't return from the job!

By the way, did one else think Alan was going to sacrifice Anya to the Offspring?  He seemed a little desperate.  Yes, it wouldn't have made sense but I held my breath there for a few minutes.  Alan still would have had new evil Anya that would have done his murderous work for him.  I'm sure they would have found a way around that little character flaw.

Here is another thing that needs clearing up.

Is the Offspring trying to protect Molly or manipulate her?

Molly interprets the bird formation as a warning.  She tells Mason to stop the car and he refuses.  The birds attack the car and this allows Molly to escape.  Her freedom is short lived however as Mason catches up with her and then brings her to the Offspring location.

Which is where she was going anyway.

If the Offspring was trying to warn her away with the birds why have Katie tell Sparks the Offspring needs it's mother?

It's hard to tell if the Offspring and Sparks are on the same page or not.  Sparks wanted to take off without her but it seems he needed Molly to send a command to the Seraphim station to alter it's course.  Was that the Offspring's idea or Sparks'?

Either way this course altering seems ominous.

Here's a theory, Sparks told Anya he want to bring the gift of seeing your lost loved ones to everyone on Earth.    The Offspring apparently needed Molly to divert the station closer to Earth with Sparks' help.  How do these two things coincide?

Invasion.

Now with the station approaching Earth I'm thinking the Offspring has found a way of bringing the rest of it's species to Earth now that he is "on planet."  Sparks wants everyone to have a "space/spirit buddy" so everyone can enjoy the miracle so it fits.  The Offspring has found a way to bring everyone along and Sparks gets his miracle wish.

Note to Sparks, careful what you wish for.

Odds and Ends

I wanted to draw a connection between the incubated adult seen in earlier episodes and the incubated baby that survived Molly's car wreck.  Of course it didn't, but we often see themes repeated on this show.  Give the people what they want!

Nice Alice in Wonderland reference with the "Pack of cards" quote.  I've always thought this show was closer to that tale than the Velveteen Rabbit one.

Earlier in the episode, Yasumoto stood in front of the Samurai suit of armor when he sought to outmaneuver John and Ethan into staying.  As we see above, when John tried to turn the tables on Yasumoto he stood before the armor also.  Note the well placed chessboard too.  The strategy and tactics of warfare.

Alas, neither of those parties counted on a third party to outmaneuver each of them.  Do we really need the religious wild card this late in the game?  Or is this just a way of bringing the opposing parties together to fight for a common cause?

 

Red balloon warning!  Wait a minute, that looks more like a red ball.  Eh, I'm calling it a balloon anyway.  We have to stick to our themes!

Is it too wacky to think all those studs in Sam's ear mean something?  A constellation perhaps?

We finally get to the end of Molly's accident tableau.  Marcus is dead and she is giving birth to a child she will lose.

 

Hmm, the spirit/hallucination baby is pretty cute.  Too cute to abandon in in it's projection form?  Will Molly crack and accept her baby when it's Offspring partner comes to Earth or will she have the willpower to resist the temptation and stop the invasion?

C'mon Wednesday!