V – “Heretic’s Fork” (1.09) – review

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Ryan and Valarie are on the run with their hybrid baby, while the other Fifth Column members integrate an assassin they captured, sent by the Visitors to eradicate them. Erica has her hands full dealing with her son Tyler and Anna’s daughter Lisa, as the V commander rolls out her new live abroad program. Anna is quite concerned about Ryan’s “mongrel” child and sends a Visitor Soldier to find and kill the new family. Things are falling apart as the resistance fights to survive.

Most of this episode was filled with Ryan’s desire to keep his child safe and the interrogation of the Visitor, human assassin. Chad, reporter to the Visitors, went in for his televised surgery at a Visitor healing center. Anna of course wants a favor for healing Chad, and he complies, but is it for good or bad intentions?

Two things annoyed me while watching this episode. First, the Visitor Solider was too much like a Terminator for me, and it was a bit laughable. I really felt the super-soldier ruined the episode, and I could almost hear the Terminator  theme music in my head as he walked about. Ryan tells everyone how dangerous the Soldier can be, so everyone grabs shotguns and knives and gets ready to rumble…really?

Second, Tyler’s continued pining about trying to make Erica embrace the Visitors is just plain annoying. The same hat trick is used every time Erica wants to speak to him about the Visitors–cue Tyler putting on his bugged Visitor jacket. Please, writers, can we let that go?  You would think Erica could find a way to speak to Tyler without the jacket getting in the way. Erica also seemed to handle Lisa’s appearance at her house too well, and did not do much when Tyler said he was moving to the Visitor ship. Does the DNA thing regarding Tyler’s parentage really provide a basis for her being unable to control her son? I think something is foul, and there must be some sharks that need jumping around here.

This episode ends with Tyler’s tantrum, the Fifth Column members on a mission to save the others, and Ryan getting dumped by his pregnant girlfriend. I really like the new V show, but I found this episode lackluster and watched with it with a strong desire to see it end. The only redeeming part of this episode was the tension that is growing between Father Jack and Hobbes; one of them is going to have to change, for better or worse.