TERRA NOVA: Occupation & Resistance – RECAP

Looking back on Terra Nova as a whole reveals a rather frustrating narrative built around a sloppy mythology and over the top family values… and dinosaurs. Way back when the pilot aired in September, I was pumped for the direction I assumed this series was headed: a colony of humans traveling back in time for a second chance at life, only to find themselves at odds with the unfamiliar flora and fauna when their old ways of living affect the new world. That’s seemingly what we got in “Genesis”, with even more vague promises of some bigger issue involving the Sixers what the true purpose of Terra Nova is. Flash forward to the finale and are given the impression that the series delivered on everything to it set it would. This is of course a lie.

What came in between the pilot and the finale? Allegedly we got the what was supposed to be the middle of the story, but in reality were several trivial episodes that added extremely little to the overarching plot. Occasionally we were given little gem moments, like learning more about Lucas and Taylor’s complicated relationship, but more often than not we had to endure weird amnesia episodes and teenaged dating. And what about all the dinosaurs? Those were pushed into the background 83 percent of the time, only being utilized to their full potential when it was a big enough moment, like in the finale.

If I may be a little more specific; now that I’ve trashed the season (possibly series) as one cohesive unit, let’s take a look at how this finale was handled. It was good. Flat-out good. I rather enjoyed the three-day time jump after the Phoenix mercenaries sent the suicide bomber through the portal. It was a quick and easy way to suddenly put the Terra Novans at a severe disadvantage. Out of nowhere Terra Nova decided to be the kind of show it should have been from the beginning. Yes, there were problems, and the whole family thing still drives me crazy, but there was a general excitement to Occupation & Resistance. It might have had to do with this being a good old fashion little guy versus big guy scenario (who doesn’t love those?), but at least things escalated to a point I could get behind.

Once Jim Shannon was back on his feet and plotting with his family and Taylor on how to defeat Lucas and the Phoenix mercs, things became a lot less interesting. The little rebellion was completely comprised of the main characters and two or three people we’ve been introduced to, while everyone else was just extras. How could we have spent an entire season at Terra Nova and not gotten to know more of the people living there? Aside from a couple of soldiers and the guy in the wheel chair, there wasn’t a single familiar face, and that depresses me. There was so much opportunity to expand this colony in a meaningful way. We could have had heaps of go-to characters. A good example of this is FX’s American Horror Story, which revolves around a haunted house. In that series, the house is filled with well over 15 ghosts that pop in when needed. Those ghosts help the show feel rounded, which is something Terra Nova lacked. It never felt like there was anyone important other than those main characters, and that’s a serious fault.

Things picked up again once the full on resistance was going down. My favorite moment was Jim traveling to the future with the dinosaur and letting it tear apart Weaver and those other goons. It became a rather humorous scene when Weaver told one of the goons the coast was clear only for the opposite to be true, making that goon dino-food. All of this was high-octane action and suspense, and it almost had me hoping for a second season. But then the end happened and all those ill-advised thoughts vanished.

The mythology of the show has been something of an after-thought much of the time. There were long stretches of zero development in terms of answering lingering questions. The whole Somalia story was first mentioned in “What Remains” (Episode 3), and wasn’t brought up again until last week. Now the show wants to introduce an even bigger mystery, “What’s in the badlands?” after finding an old wooden ship’s prow and figurehead. No one seems to know how it got there, and with communication with the future (seemingly) permanently cut off there’s no one else to ask. Should a second season be commissioned, I do not want to spend another 13 episodes being led through a bunch of meaningless storylines while the actual interesting stuff is pushed to the side. If they want to go all mystery on us, then go all the way. Let your freak fly Terra Nova! Don’t hold back at all. Forget about Maddy and her homework. Let’s explore this prehistoric land and get down and dirty in its mysteries.