Well that was … boring.
As far as season finales are go, V‘s was an absolute dud. (I laughed. I cried. I fell asleep briefly.)
Plot threads that seemingly led up to Red Sky‘s supposed season pinnacle, played out without so much as a hiccup. Though I wasn’t necessarily sad to see Val go, I did expect her death to have more significance in the moment. Instead, all we’re given is a blank look followed by a sad-looking Ryan. No screams? No tears? Of course not.
(More on Techland: Alien Princess in Her Underwear Ought To Do The Trick)
Even the demise (so we thought) of Fifth-column member Joshua was a bit underplayed.
Joshua: “Shoot me.”
Erica: “I don’t think I want to.”
Joshua: “Do it.”
Erica: “Okay.”
And that was that. Maybe its her excellent detective schooling that kept Agent Evans so cool, but I wanted to see her gut twist in desperation before she pulled that trigger. I wanted to see exasperation, an Erica who could barely keep it together. (It was actually Scott Wolf as news scum Chad Dekker who I thought really brought something to the table when he finally realized he’d been duped.)
(More on Techland: Chad Dekker, This is All Your Fault)
There are many other issues I’d love to take with last night’s episode, (WHY DIDN’T WE SEE THE ALIEN BABY?) but after watching the show’s final minutes, it was Morena Baccarin as V leader Anna who completely stole the show. Baccarin usually blends into the background due to the fact that her ruthless character is entirely emotionless, leaving her performance without much meat. But as Anna walks in to discover her swimming pool full of alien-lizard eggs destroyed, she lets loose with a panicked howl – her first taste of human emotion. And Baccarin absolutely nails it.
[vodpod id=Video.3655503&w=425&h=350&fv=configUrl%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fa.abc.com%2Fservice%2Fsfp%2Fembedplayerconfig%2Fid%2F%26amp%3BconfigId%3D406732%26amp%3BplaylistId%3D228990%26amp%3BclipId%3D261552%26amp%3BshowId%3DSH011580430000%26amp%3Bgig_lt%3D1274298998789%26amp%3Bgig_pt%3D1274299003091%26amp%3Bgig_g%3D2]
It would be a great call for ABC to tap into Baccarin’s talent by embracing Anna’s emotions. With more human emotion comes more rash decisions made by an already dangerous alien. (The consequences are endless.) Her 90-second display of damn good acting was so transfixing, I almost forgot what show I was watching.
More on Techland:
What Would Make ABC’s V Worth Watching Again?
Dear ABC, V Won’t Lure LOST Fans By Keeping Sci-Fi at Arm’s Length