Continuum: Second Listen, Review

It’s Invasion of the Time Traveling Body Snatchers! And if you’re wondering what a second listen is, it’s something along the lines of Garza from Liber8 giving Alec Sadler a message from his future self. A bit like John Connor from Terminator 2, sending a message in the form of cyborg Arnold Schwarzenegger, but will the message save lives or lead to more destruction?

I made a comment last season about Garza asking a captive Alec if she looked pretty, and how stupid I thought that was. Right off the bat, this episode reveals that she was his hooker in 2077, where he said, “You look very pretty tonight.” And who is providing security for their rendezvous? None other than Kiera. Wow.

Back in 2013, Alec has reservations about reactivating the CMR of Kiera’s dead partner, Elena, but suddenly it sounds pretty cool, so he does. Unfortunately, this is distracting him from Kellogg’s Ark project, which is why Alec got his lab in the first place. And guess who’s back? Homeless dude Jason, who may or may not be Alec’s dad. Emily is still around, so Alec admits he used the drug Flash and may have seen his father in a flashback. Jason has claimed to be a time traveler, but he’s the right age to be Alec’s dad in 2013…so, maybe he just went insane after leaving mom. Happens to a lot of guys.

Now that Agent Gardner and Kiera are working together, is it just me or does he now have this healthy, normal person looking glow? He suddenly doesn’t seem as creepy, even though he question’s Kiera’s tactics just like Carlos did in the beginning. Also, I was wrong about Travis being the body snatcher…it’s someone called Mr. Warren, a beneficiary of quite a few people with matching tattoos on their hands. The second body snatcher is unknown as well. And two witnesses about to testify end up dead from supposed “aneurysms,” but they seem to be brought on my super low frequencies. Like those vibes coming off of power lines that make people go crazy and kill themselves…

Not surprisingly, Emily is actually developing feelings for Alec, even though she’s essentially betraying him by hanging out in the lab. Garza starts giving Alec a peek into the future, and it’s not pretty. The message? She warns Alec about his future self, and it turns out that she is a very observant person, and this episode gives her the biggest speaking part she’s had so far. Oh, and she was sent back to kill the teen Alec Sadler, after delivering her message.

The scene where Garza is dangling Alec over a rail and discussing his future self was more emotional and tense than I was expecting. That’s something that’s been lacking in the last few episodes, so it was good to see the tension return. As I’ve said before, the second season has taken a darker turn, and the game has definitely changed. Right near the end, though, came a “shocker” I saw coming a mile away. Agent Gardner goes digging and ends up getting bumped off by the two body snatchers. The final scene? Someone using his cell phone to call Kiera.

Final review: I was really starting to wonder where this whole thing was going. Turns out there are still some interesting twists, and characters who seemed peripheral have a larger role in the story than I previously imagined. One of the best lines is Carlos asking Kiera, “Should I be jealous?” regarding her partnership with Gardner, and also Kiera saying, “Yes, HAL,” to Alec…one of few pop culture references that come up in the show. Even Alec knows what it means, despite the age of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Den of Geek Rating: Three and a half out of five stars.

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