Extant: A New World Review

For a while, when watching the latest episode of Extant entitled “A New World,” I thought we were going to get more of the creature-of-the-week nonsense we saw in last week’s double episode, and the transition into the better second half of the episode was slow in coming. However, once we started getting answers exposed and new mysteries popping in, the story started to deepen. The episode ended with several shocking twists, and I was left craving the final two episodes.

Honestly, Sparks and Anya on the run just isn’t all that interesting, and the guards all falling to friendly fire surprises no one at this point. The massacre does allow Kern and Molly to escape custody, though, as their guards run to save themselves (smart choice). While on the run, the two of them debate the motivations of the Offspring, and I find myself wishing for the dear departed Kryger to be the voice of reason. Molly is convinced her child is just scared and needs her help. Could she possibly be right? I’m just not feeling it, Molly!

Whatever the case may be, Molly missed her calling. Instead of an astronaut, she should have been a secret agent. Yasumoto bargains for the Offspring by telling Molly to retrieve the child if she wants her family to live. But how will she get the baby from Sparks? Luckily, he’s supposedly been having doubts about his actions and dutifully dispatches Dr. Mason, temporarily earning Molly’s trust. I’ll admit I totally bought the story of the wife running off with the child without him. It was a nice twist to have it all be a ploy to allow Anya to keep the Offspring under wraps while Sparks ran interference.

I also liked that Yasumoto didn’t fall for the hostage exchange with no Offspring present. Yasumoto realizes he would be dead for pointing his gun at Molly if they actually had the baby. Luckily John has skillfully broken into Yasumoto’s far-too-easily crackable safe and taken the final vial of yellow goo, giving them a bargaining chip. John also has secret agent skills and has discovered Yasumoto’s secret: that he will die soon without additional treatment.

I had surmised that Yasumoto might be older than he let on when he had a conversation about the age of the dinosaur bones with Ethan a few weeks ago. Turns out I was right! The unfolding of Yasumoto’s story of how he discovered the life-extending substance was one of my favorite parts of the episode. Completing Yasumoto’s character by showing us his motivation is a perfect thing to do at this point in the season.

We still don’t quite know the motives of the Offspring, although it appears no longer to be under the control or protection of Sparks and Anya. But Odin’s motives seem clear as he places an explosive device inside Ethan (another of several far too easy accomplishments in this episode). And Sparks finally shows himself to be still dedicated to the needs of the child in the end; therefore, we know his doubts were false and he pretended to assist in the capture.

But what about the guys who just docked with Seraphim? Are they under the influence of the creature or creatures from outer space? And why is Katie with them? Is it really even Katie? Whatever the case may be, this episode started mediocre and ended with a bang! Fortunately for Extant, final impressions linger in this case. Let’s hope the final two episodes deliver.

Want more Extant discussion? Join me and Dave over at Extant Podcast each week for episode analysis, predictions, and plenty of fan interaction!

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for all news updates related to the world of geek. And Google+, if that’s your thing!