Yesterday, Variety dropped the news that after a single season revitalization of Project Greenlight, a show that was created with the intention of giving a young filmmaker their first real shot at the big time, the series would once again return to the abyss of cancellation and well, it's news that honestly doesn't sit well with me.  

Sure, the show faced plenty of criticism over the years. After all, every single movie made on this series never once became a blockbuster or ratings darling and well...the emphasis has always been on drama over the art. But hey, it's a reality television show and drama is what keeps us watching and I'm as guilty as anyone over that since season four was quite engrossing when it came to the battles between Jason Mann and his production team, but what really bothers me about this particular cancellation is that at its core, this is a show that stood for something more than drama and entertainment...it was a flat out beacon of hope.

I know that when this show first premiered in 2002, I was glued to it because of the fact, at that point in time I was just discovering my love of screenwriting and filmmaking, and to see an unknown get to put together a film with the support of two Hollywood players, well it absolutely invigorated me to pursue my dreams further. If this guy could get a break off his work alone, why couldn't I and I know I'm not alone in that. Project Greenlight served as an inspiration to so many burgeoning writers and directors, reminding them that they only need one good opportunity to prove themselves and one has to wonder how many people this show has directly influenced to pursue a career in filmmaking.

But more importantly, and all drama aside, this show really did provide people with an in depth and up close look about what it is like to make a motion picture. Over the years we've seen people pour themselves into these projects and dedicate themselves to an idea and that was damn inspirational to say the least. Not to mention, I for one applaud the fact that the films made on this show haven't been successful because learning about failure is a huge deal when it comes to the film business as well. This series really showed everyone how hard it is to put together a movie, and how not everything will always work or go smoothly and that putting together a true Hollywood blockbuster hit takes effort and care from every single person involved. 

Now there was some mention of the fact that perhaps Project Greenlight may eventually return on either Netflix or Amazon and I certainly hope it does. Because eventually, the series is going to get it right and a powerful story that everyone can love will come out of it and that will undoubtedly inspire another wave of filmmakers to do something fresh and original and that's what the movie business is always in need of, wonderful and powerful stories that are unlike anything we have ever seen before. But in the event another season of this show never sees the light of day, at least we have four incredible seasons of this show to celebrate those special moments when a handful of people were given their chance to chase their dreams.

It's been one hell of a ride on Feed the Beast this season, and a philosophical one at that. Every single week we've been privy to a tiny examination of the human condition on this show and last night's episode decided to have a little fun with its explorations for a change by not outright tipping its hand as to what we were learning about our characters and in turn ourselves. Because for a better part of the hour, it seemed as though Pride, and the dangers that come with it was our focus...but that simply not the case.

The real meat and potatoes for 'Be My Baby' revolved around one thing...the need to let go of the negative things we hold on to, and the the dangers that come from not doing that because holy cow, everyone suffered last night for keeping their pain so close to the chest and the results from that choice were ugly to say the least. Take for example...The Tooth Fairy. Our intrepid gangster has always lived in his father's shadow, trying desperately to please him and make him proud and well...by not being his own man and staying true to himself, he suffered for it greatly last night by suddenly becoming a vengeful son of a gun who went on a murdering spree in the hopes of making dad proud. Granted, he's a gangster and bloodthirsty as is, but it's clear he wanted to do business differently as the head man and it's sad to see a man who is capable of good things, especially considering we discovered he's madly in love with Dion, fall like this.

But the most spectacular collapse of the night came by way of Tommy and T.J. as their anger and fury over past events came to a boil last night. Tommy's breakdown was perhaps a tad more subtle, since his constant preoccupation on Rie and Dion's affair finally sent him into forgetful mode, forcing him to miss both grief group and picking up his son, and it also put him on a scary path where he began to question whether or not his son was truly his. Thankfully he steered clear of digging any further on that before it went out of hand...but T.J., well he put the hurt on his bully like no other as we finally found out that his plan was never to empty six rounds into the kid; it was to bring him down by planting that gun in his locker for the police to find and take the little punk to jail. It was a stunning move on sweet little T.J.'s part, since he seemed incapable of doing something this malicious and ugly. But, he has been pushed to his limits and well, this is the end result of months of bottling up his powerful emotions...

Oddly enough though, only one character truly figured out the importance of letting go of the past to move forward in life and that was Detective Giordano and ironically enough, his story turned out to be the most tragic one of the night. Faced with hurting his daughter and possibly dragging others into an outright war with Patrick's family over his vendetta with the Tooth Fairy, the old gumshoe simply hung up his fury and anger to focus on his family and well...it was clearly a case of too little, too late because once Patrick caught up with him...things ended in horrific fashion and that was quite the heavy way to end this episode. All the pleading, all the kindness that Giordano sent Patrick's way meant nothing. There was no stopping the Tooth Fairy on his mission for redemption, and that cost the dear Detective his life and who knows what kind of repercussions will come from this since Giordano was the only person willing to stand up to the guy.

Perhaps the most fascinating aspect about this episode however, is that for the penultimate story before the season one finale...there was no epic build up. Sure there are a few unresolved plot threads but television shows are often preparing us for a shocking finale, one that leaves our jaws dropped and that simply was not the case here. Outside of Patrick demanding a third of what Dion owes him...everyone was simply left broken and adrift in life and that's quite the bold move storytelling wise. So at this point, all we can hope for is to see how everything gets resolved when it comes to Aidan's decision to end his life and what will happen next for T.J. and his bully and of course, what consequences arise from Patrick's killing spree. Either way, it should make for one different and incredibly interesting season finale, until next week.

Sometimes in life, we simply snap. Issues at home or work begin to mount up, and despite our best efforts to keep a cool and level head, we simply cannot. Our tempers take over and we let loose, blowing steam in whatever direction we can. Often times this means something as simple as telling someone off or letting loose with a rant or a tantrum and that's usually as far as it goes. But when it comes to Preacher, well when folks snap on this show...the results are ugly to say the least.

'Finish the Song' is an episode that saw so many characters finally unleash their inner fury in ways that many of us never quite expected. Granted, life hasn't been easy for anyone in Annville as of late so it should come as no surprise...but to see people go as far as they did last night, well, it made this particular story a little on the scary side. Take Sheriff Root for example. This is a lawman who has spoken time and time again of how tough the world is, how much the random acts of violence disgust him and well...last night he decided to become a statistic of his own and cross that line in stunning fashion when he came face to face with the badly injured Seraphim in the bathtub of the hotel room that belonged to our two Angel friends. At first it seemed as though he would do the right thing, but somewhere in that moment, all the fury that's been building within him boiled over and he granted her wish for death by strangling the life out of her. Granted we understand that she will be just fine...but wow, to see the Sheriff do this was absolutely jaw dropping.

However since so many people went off the deep end last night, there was one character that truthfully, pulled off an even bigger shocker than the Sheriff's decision...Emily. Yes, the sweetest gal on the planet, the one who serves as Jesse's impromptu conscience also crossed a big line last night when Tulip pulled her in for an important favor...having her help feed the ailing Cassidy in an effort to heal him, while she went off to Albuquerque to deal with the man that double crossed she and Jesse.  It seemed like no big deal at first. All she had to do was toss an animal or two behind the door and let him feast away but instead, she made a phone call to her brand new boyfriend the Mayor, asking for his help and when he showed up...she tossed him into that bedroom with Cassidy and let the poor vampire feed. You read that right. Innocent and mousey Emily, the gal who rarely raises her voice and wants nothing more than to serve God and the church and do right in life...totally let a vampire eat her freaking boyfriend without a second thought. 

How, or why she came to this decision, at the moment we simply don't know. Perhaps there's a darker side to Emily none of us ever knew existed or...it could be she wasn't good with the fact that the Mayor more or less muscled his way into her life whether she liked it or not, creating a case of one good person pushed to their limit and if that was why she did it, she was in fine company since the Cowboy's story was also a focus last night as we were finally witness as to what happened after he discovered his beloved wife and child had passed away...he returned to Ratwater and dealt with everyone that ever harmed him. But there was more to his story last night than just showing us how skilled he is at murdering folks...at long last we know now how he fits into this crazy story about a Preacher possessed, since our two enterprising angels made a voyage to Hell...to find this man and enlist his help in returning to Earth to kill Jesse and free Genesis so they can take it back where it belongs. 

Every single plot line is coming together a mere week before the season finale and the show deserves some serious credit for getting a touch philosophical when it comes to Hell, and the notion that it is nothing more than the worst moment, or moments of your life put on repeat for you to live over and over again is pretty terrifying to say the least. But beyond that little tidbit, this was one intense and dark episode. To see so many characters just crack like this was out right incredible and one has to wonder just how all of this will tie together come next week seeing as how Jesse now has the phone and angel hands with which to call God Himself and invite Him down to a church service that will no doubt be packed to the brim. Will the Sheriff and Emily confess their new founds sins at this service? Will the Cowboy arrive to make things interesting? We'll just have to tune in to find out, either way, it should be one hell of a season finale come next week.

The season has gone by too fast and just like every one of our other favorite shows, we have had a ton of action and death leading up the grand finale. With what we have seen so far, it seems like there will be no way for Pretty Lake to survive and with a plan to get the inoculated out of the town, there may be no one left to take care of the younger kids that cannot take care of themselves. It will be a slippery slope, but Wiley will need to get more of the vials filled with the cure before she can leave, especially since she will not go without her son.
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Adam has been picked up by Crane and his assassin and forced to hand over all of Liam’s notes before they go any further. Pulling out his flash drive, Crane sticks it in his computer and tries to open a file when he sees emails being sent out to news outlets. Adam explains what has been sent and there will be more than that if the people of Pretty Lake are not guaranteed safety. Although it is out of his hands, Crane agrees to Adam’s demands and promises to get Minister Miller to back off of her plan of extermination, just as long as he gets the research before it is sent public.

Wiley and Mark are taken hostage by Renee and her men and thrown back in the cell where they find Ronnie waiting for something to happen. When Wiley tells him the plan, Ronnie cooks up one of his own and when he finds out that Mark killed Renee’s brother, he has the perfect set up. Yelling for Renee that he has found the killer, Ronnie holds a knife at Mark’s throat and is ready to kill him for his former lover. After admitting to being there when Eric died, Mark is handed over to Renee, but with a knife in his hand that quickly finds its way to her throat. Being able to escape the cell, Wiley, Ronnie and Mark find the left over vials of the cure and are ready to make their way back into town, but Ronnie has some unfinished business. Admitting that he has feelings for Renee, Ronnie wants her to join on their adventure outside of the fence and even though she is hesitant, this might be her only way of escaping.

While only a few vials of the cure still exist, Wiley goes to John’s house to pick up her son. Injecting the boy, she is ready to make her way to the fence to be extracted, but John does not want to let the young boy go. Even though they had made a pact with each other, Wiley will leave with her son, or die in the process. Wishing mercy on her soul, John lets the young mother go and goes on with his everyday life.  While at the bar, Mark sits and waits for Stacey to come back. Giving her the shot and driving her to the extraction point, Mark has to come clean once again, he did not get inoculated and will stay in town until the bitter end. Although Stacey does not like this plan, she now knows that what the two have between them is really love, why else would a convict give up his own life for hers. As they sit and wait to be taken from the town, they contemplate what will happen after they make it back to the real world.

The government is losing its grip on Pretty Lake, since now there have been two escapes from the fence that they know of, but the next one should scare them to the bones. As Adam has been able to secure his way out of town, he knows that there is little he can do to stop things from happening to his friends, but will do all he can to make sure that the town will be safe going forward.  Even though he does not know what he has on Liam’s laptop, he knows that it is valuable to the right person and with that, he may be able to find out how deep Horatio is involved with the government, along with what has happened at Pretty Lake.

Being able to take Liam’s place in the transport vehicle, Adam is able to get away from his guard and make his way into the next town. Calling on his friend Daisy to help him crack the code on Liam’s laptop, she is frightened to know that he has come straight from Pretty Lake. Knowing that he cannot hurt anybody with the virus since he is not infected, he is ready to deliver his message to the world about what has been happening in his town. Even though Daisy is hesitant to listen to the message, much less help her old friend, she knows that it is the right thing to do and starts to work on Liam’s laptop. Getting a call on Liam’s phone, Wiley thinks that he is calling to check up on the progress, but when it is a voice she does not know, she realizes she is the reason why wheels have been put in motion against the town once again. Seeing that Renee is still alive past her twenty second birthday and recovering quickly from the gunshot wound, she wants to report that the cure works, but needs somebody on the outside to relay the message. Finding where Liam was hidden away, Wiley frees him only to lock him away again after talking to Adam about the government’s plan for the town. Returning to the lab to see that Renee has fled and taken the cure with her, Wiley has to call upon her human side to try and reason with the former compound leader and try to get at least a few of the elder kids in town inoculated for their next escape attempt.

Ronnie has relaxed the rules in the compound and now is eating better than ever. Seeing that his partner in crime is not well and now taking advantage of the system that has held the group together, Lamar knows he made the wrong decision. But all is not lost as Renee comes back to the community and is ready to take her spot at the top back and with the cure in hand, she has life to offer to anyone that helps her take Ronnie down. As the next mutiny begins, Ronnie is rushed into a holding cell where he can live out the rest of his days, but little does the group know that he has the cure in his veins as well and will live to be an old man.

Minister Miller and Dexter Crane are concerned that the cure has not worked, and now without being able to find Liam, the Minister is ready to take the next step of action. Needing to destroy the town and all evidence of the virus, the extermination order has been put in and Pretty Lake is on the clock once again. Even after finding all of the communication between the Minister and Crane, Adam is not able to convince the woman that the cure actually works. Trying to get Horatio’s leader Crane to listen to him, Adam has all of the cards in his favor, but Crane does not respond well to threats and has a game plan of his own.  Wanting to at least save his friends and everyone that has helped him, Adam finds out that the people that have taken the cure should be allowed out of Pretty Lake, so when speaking to Wiley, the two know exactly who they want to take out. 

Just as things are starting to look up for the little town, everything falls apart once again, but now seeing that the cure does work, a lucky few will be able to leave with their lives.  Seeing wounds heal quickly and tumors disappearing, the cure is very strong and even Chuck recovered from his injuries. Adam’s attempted power play against the Minister did not work at all and she does not care about what gets out in the public eye, but the head of Horatio, Crane, still has to save face and will do anything to get his hands on Liam’s work, especially if the cure is working.  With a hitman roaming the streets of town, Daisy is in danger of being his next victim and has to find some place to hide. I liked how we finally got some technology in the show, computers still exist, just not in Pretty Lake. Renee and Wiley are at a stand off because Mark wanted to take a shot and kill Renee, now the war over the cure is sure to follow, just hours before the inoculated will meet by the gate and claim their freedom. Only one episode left now and dang, this story is starting to get deep, even the elder kids are questioning if they can leave all of the youngins all alone to die.

I’m not going to say anything new about the comedy troupe Monty Python. Frankly, their work has been basic comedy currency since their first appearances on The Frost Report (1966-67), At Last the 1948 Show (1967), and Do Not Adjust Your Set (1967-69). Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin redefined the genre of sketch comedy with Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Their stream-of-consciousness transitions, deconstruction of television’s boundaries, and surreal melding of film, live studio performance, and animation mark the Python team as innovators of the medium of film itself. Now this is not going to be a Series Retrospective in the traditional sense; I believe it would be counterintuitive to attempt an episode-to-episode recap/review style analysis of Flying Circus simply because that sort of examination is ill-suited to breaking down what “happens” when we watch this series. Rather, I will try and break down individual sketches, devices of the series, characters, and themes in each episode that I find particularly interesting.  

Series 1 Episode 1
Whither Canada

Sketch List
Famous Deaths with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Italian Lessons
Whizzo Butter
It’s the Arts
Picasso on a Bicycle
The Killer Joke

It’s difficult to express what was going through my mind the very first time I watched “Whither Canada”. I had seen Holy Grail and thought I had a vague sense of who the Monty Python team was and what they were about. I was mistaken. I could not process what I was seeing on the screen. There were men in drag, and pigs, and vaudeville music playing in the background as Victorian era artwork was made to dance and stretch in and out of frame…and more pigs. It was clever, it was zany, it was incredibly silly, and I had never seen anything like it. To this day, “Whither Canada” remains my favorite episode of Flying Circus and the Killer Joke Sketch encapsulates a lot of what I love about this series.

The premise is a simple one: what if a joke was so funny that it was lethal? However, it is the extreme to which this premise is pushed that makes the sketch remarkable. Not only does this sketch create a world in which jokes can be lethal, but it takes the premise so seriously and examines this world so closely that it makes you laugh. The sketch poses questions that would arise in the world of the killer joke and answers them matter-of-factly:
 
Q – What precautions would the police have in place when removing a killer joke?
A – Naturally, the sound of somber music played on gramophone records and the chanting of laments by the men of Q Division.
Q – How the Military go about using the joke in warfare?
A – Translate it into German.
Q – How do you translate a Lethal Joke?
A – With a team of translators working on one word each in “joke-proof” conditions.
Q – How do interrogators get information from POW’s in a world of “Joke-Warfare”?
A – They tickle them.
 
It is not only the seriousness with which every character in this sketch treats joke-warfare that makes us laugh, however. There are a few sight-gags towards the end of the sketch that create a dissonance in tone, but manage to elevate the sketch rather than take the audience out of the world of Joke-Warfare. The first of these sight-gags comes during the interrogation scene wherein John Cleese is questioning the POW played by Michael Palin. Graham Chapman is dressed as a Gestapo Officer named Otto standing off to the side wearing a sign that labels him “A Gestapo Officer” (even though the audience could have assumed Chapman’s role in this scene based on his uniform alone). Further, Otto claps his hands as Cleese badly mimes slapping Palin. Chapman returns in a later scene in which a Commanding Officer is listening to the most lethal jokes their team of German scientists can devise. Here Chapman has not changed out of Otto’s costume but his sign has been flipped around now showing the label, “A Different Gestapo Officer”. These sight-gags call attention to the audience’s willing participation in the sketch. Of course Otto is a Gestapo Officer, of course in a comedy sketch all of the violence is staged, and of course Chapman’s appearance in a later scene despite the death of Otto in the previous one shows us that he is a different Gestapo Officer; these are all elements of the sketch that the audience would accept as a part of their willing suspension of disbelief. The audience has agreed to take the world of Joke Warfare just as seriously as the sketch does.

It seems absurd for the creators of the sketch to have so fully committed to their own premise only to undermine that commitment with these silly sight-gags; however, the sight-gags show that the sketch is also a commentary on the relationship between the television viewer and content creator. For the world of the sketch to work the sketch must take its premise seriously and so must the viewer. As the Killer Joke sketch unfolds both sides of that relationship are fulfilled as we accept that this is how a world of Joke Warfare would work because it is presented so matter-of-factly. The sketch draws attention to things that the audience would have blindly accepted no matter what the opening premise of the sketch was; if a man is wearing a Nazi uniform in a WWII interrogation scene, it stands to reason that he is a Gestapo Officer; if someone is slapped in a scene, obviously there is no actual contact made, and if an actor who’s character dies in a previous scene reappears in a later scene, conventionally, we assume that he is a different character. The sight-gags appear silly but they are in line with how silly the whole premise of the sketch is, and the sketch points out that if we are presented with something as silly as the killer joke in a serious way, we will suspend our disbelief, and that’s funny.

Analysis aside the sketch is hilarious; it nails the war documentary genre, the tendency of the armed forces to weaponize anything, and watching the team kick the bucket while laughing is delightful (Cleese’s Woody Woodpecker cackle is particularly funny). Though the German Translation of the Killer Joke:
 
“Wenn ist das Nunstück git und Slotermeyer? Ja! Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput!”
 
...is gibberish, the response you get entering it into Google Translate shows the staying power of the Killer Joke premise and the impact Monty Python still has today.

In this era of comic book adaptations, where we as the audience expect our television shows to be cerebral, enthralling and all around kick ass week in and week out, sometimes we and the showrunners lose sight of one particular aspect of storytelling that is equally as necessary as an engaging and detailed story arc...having fun. Yes, that may sound silly, but once in a while a show simply needs to let loose and shower us in mindless entertainment, and thankfully Preacher is a show that hasn't lost sight of this because last night's episode; 'El Valero' was full of hilarious and touching moments where nothing major happened in the plot, but all that matters is that we had a good time. 

In fact perhaps the only real sense of meaning or 'secrets' that were revealed in this episode came by way of finally unmasking Odin Quincannon's disdain for religion as a whole. It turns out that many years ago, his incredibly large family took a skiing trip to Vail, one where Odin was missed because the business was his priority. But by not being there, Odin also missed out on the freak accident that befell his family that just so happened to kill every last one of them. It led to the show finally filling in the blank as to what happened the night that John and Jesse stopped by QM&P and left in quite a hurry; Odin had a crisis of faith and a moment of insanity when he tore open a cow, and the corpse of his daughter to show John that he found no soul or spirit...just meat and that the town's preacher should denounce God at Sunday's service because in Odin's eyes, God simply does not exist.

But that wild opening...was just the beginning. What followed next was an hour of hilarity, action and excitement and at a long last a penitent Jesse who is clearly not doing well with the fact he sent Eugene packing to Hell. In fact, a self induced specter of the young man began to haunt him throughout the episode as his guilt continued to grow, prompting Jesse to call in the two angels in the hope that they can bring his friend back from the Abyss, leading to an arrangement. They bring back Eugene, Jesse hands over Genesis and everyone is happy. Except Genesis that is. Turns out this strange little being that has the power to control men's minds wants nothing to do with being put back in that can, it wants to be part of Jesse and it's staying there until further notice. Yet despite those two sobering moments, I made mention of the fact that there were laughs to be found this go round, and all of that came from Odin's 'siege' of the church.

It turns out that a large group of armed men are no match for Jesse Custer and their repeated attempts to get the Preacher to leave the church ended in side splitting fashion since let's see, Jesse was able to smack them around with little to no effort, and he was able to shoot the guns from their hands from an incredible distance and injure them in slapstick fashion and oh yeah...he even shot Clive's manhood clean off. That was one of the show's bigger running jokes last night and actually, it worked on so many levels just because hey, no one saw it coming and well...it was hilarious any way you slice it. In addition to that gag, the town coming to see what else Jesse was going to do to the QM&P gang, combined with some of Odin's dialogue and actions along the way, there was plenty to be smiling about when it came to this chapter in Jesse's story. But despite all the chuckles, some sobering moments occurred as well this week and they will no doubt be issues that carry forward. 

The biggest one, is that there really is a sense that the town has given up on Jesse. For all the good he's done, all the help he's tried to provide, everyone was more than happy to line up and see the mess go down at the church, and see him off when he was finally put into handcuffs by the Sheriff. It was a strange sight to see, and well, a sad one to say the least. Not to mention, Emily seems quite swayed by the Mayor's sales pitches and ready to walk away as well. But...all of this is Jesse's doing. He's the one who pushed his friends away, who let Pride cloud his mind. Now it's up to him to put all the pieces of his life back together, and despite his stupidity, it's safe to say we're all pulling for him to make a miracle happen. But while we wait to see Jesse fix his own mess and if Eugene can make it back to earth safely...at least we know now that Cassidy is okay-ish, it's a shame he had to eat that dog though. Until next time. 

As tensions start to mount again in Pretty Lake, revenge seems to be on everybody’s mind. Still with no adults to keep an eye on the kids, the elder children are forced with taking care of everyone else, but that may not be enough, especially when they are looking for someone to punish. It is hard to believe that there could still continue to be battles within the fence surrounding Pretty Lake, but when there are no rules, there is nothing to stop it.

After hearing shots outside, Wiley, Chuck and Liam head out to investigate and see Gord lying on the sidewalk. Bringing him into the lab, Liam is not able to save the one of the elders still in town and Francis is beside herself. Even after fighting with her brother, she never wanted him to die, but now she has been left alone in Pretty Lake to fend for herself.  Even though she has a friend in Harrison, it will not be the same, but they are both battling their loss of older siblings. While in the lab, Liam gets a text on his phone saying that he will be extracted within twenty four hours, so he had better be ready. When Adam returns to the lab, he is able to get Liam to confess to a little more about what he knows, but he still does not reveal everything.  But now, Liam will not have a chance to save the town unless he is able to prove that the cure actually works. Needing to find someone that is about to turn twenty two within his remaining time in town may seem impossible, but with Wiley’s help, they are able to pinpoint two people. Finding that the first one has already passed, the two are forced to find Renee who has a few more hours before her official birthday.

Ronnie is getting the cold shoulder from his new lover at the compound and does not understand why. Being warned not to trust Renee, he continues to be persistent and finds out another one of Renee’s secrets, she is hoarding food in a trailer packed to the brim with processed food, and since she has failed to mention this to everyone else in the community, Ronnie decides to take matters into his own hands. When telling one of the other leader figures, Lamar about the find, the two are ready to take over the compound, they just need Renee to hand them the keys. When Liam and Wiley show up saying that they have a cure, Ronnie offers two options for Renee, to step down and get the cure or die. Wanting to see tomorrow, Renee decides to step down and leaves the compound to see if the cure actually works. With Renee out of power, Lamar and Ronnie have taken control, but Lamar is starting to see how unstable Ronnie really is and may not live very long to regret his decision. While Adam is still searching for the truth behind what Liam is actually doing in Pretty Lake, he decides to put a new plan in the works. Making up a video of what is really happening in the small town run by juveniles, he will need to find a way of getting it beyond the fence. Chuck is on his own now and cannot stop the voices in his head from blaming him for all of the deaths that have taken place in Pretty Lake and turns to the bottle once again. While the voices quiet down, he is in no shape to move, but decides to get up and take a walk. Not getting too far, Chuck falls through a glass table and nobody knows of his fate.

While heading back to the orphanage, Francis spots the surveillance camera and gets the idea to check out the footage. With Harrison’s help, she is able to see the woman that killed her brother, but also the stranger that dropped off the backpack that has a killer after her. Harrison knows the face and heads to the bar to find Mark and find out what really happened. While Mark only wants to make things right again, he heads off to the compound to end Renee’s days before she is able to kill Francis. But Francis has the same idea, and after teaching Harrison how to shoot, the two are ready to take the fight to the compound as well. Seeing the kids arrive with rifles in hand, Mark lets off a couple shots and forces them to leave the area.  Confronting them, Mark knows that there is nothing he can do to keep them from following through, but he wanted to take the shot to kill Renee and not have one of the kids live with regret over such a tough decision. Upset that she was not able to follow through with what she needed to do, Francis has no idea that she will get a second chance at revenge, whether she wants it or not.

Damn. That is really all I can say about this episode. You get to see Ronnie lose his mind, but violently this time when trying to beat up the ghost of his brother. Adam is ready to leave the town and show the world what is happening inside of the fence and since he is not able to get infected, he may be Pretty Lake’s only shot at being saved. We don’t know what happened to Chuck, but the blood coming out of his body after falling through the table does not look good, so we may have lost another elder child in the town. Wiley and Liam are able to form a little bond and it looks like Liam has a little crush on the young mother and promises to come back for her after it is proven that the cure works. But this episode was all about Francis and she may be the death of the town since she was finally able to take a shot at Renee and hit her, little does she know that Renee might be the only one that can prove that the cure works and now with a bullet in her gut, she may not live long enough to show the results. Yikes, it is all becoming too real and I do not want to turn away as this season has not had even a moment to let you catch your breath.  

Nothing ever seems to go right in Pretty Lake, even with the best laid plans. You never know what is going to happen when new faces arrive and old ones decide to haunt you. It may have nothing to do with the loss of adults in the town now, especially since some of the kids have stepped up into their own type of leadership roles. With food still running lean, there may be nothing that the group will be able to accomplish unless they are able to escape the fence and make it back to the real world, but that seems like a battle they will not be able to win.

After waking up, Wiley feels refreshed, but needs to find food for her son. Not wanting Adam to join her, she makes her way to the orphanage to see if they have any formula, but of course they are out as well, but Gord has an idea. Since visiting the Mennonites on their side of town, he knows that one of them is equipped to feed a baby. Making her way to the edge of town, the car breaks down and Wiley is forced to walk the rest of the way in the freezing cold. Being taken in by John and his family, the leader of the household makes it clear that she cannot stay, but her son may weather the storm with his family if Wiley allows it.

Gord is still looking for ways to keep the town going and maybe a miracle will help.  Thinking that he will be able to grow some produce in the orphanage, he gathers all of the kids and starts the seeding process. Even though this may not be enough to keep them all fed initially, it would be good for the future and since there is still power running through the building, the heat will keep the plants happy and safe from the elements. While Adam and Chuck are still having problems believing that Liam is in town to help them, they decide to secure him in the building and make their way to Art Carey’s old lab where the virus started.  Looking for Art’s assistant who was the only survivor in the town over the age of 22, she must have some sort of records about what kept her alive.  Being able to hack into the system, the two find nothing that can be used and Adam believes that the government cleared the place out before they got there.  Searching all of the computer drives, Adam still comes up empty handed, but all is not lost with the venture as he is able to find a Satellite Phone under the assistant’s desk and sees that she was in contact with Liam when he was still on the outside. Having to put the pieces together, Adam will have to make the decision if Liam is actually there to help the town, or try to kill everyone within it like the last group of doctors attempted a month ago. 

Ronnie has to deliver the bad news to Renee about her little brother, but when he makes it to the address that she has given him, he finds himself surrounded by men with guns. Being taken inside of the installation, Ronnie finds out that Renee is not only part of a group that can live outside of the system, but she is also the leader. Being given a chance to stay, Ronnie will have to pull his own weight and work hard to keep the food coming his way. While Ronnie is working, Renee is trying to find out who killed Eric, and with the patrols being sent into town, they get a hit, Francis, who is carrying the dead boy's backpack.  Making her way into town to get the kid that killed her brother, Renee is met by Gord who will do anything to keep his sister safe, but when shots are fired and Renee flees the scene, Gord is left with a couple of gun shots to his torso.

I think that the episodes are getting better as they move on and this being the second season, it now officially has me hooked. I am really loving how the characters are changing to adapt to their new situations and coping with their losses. Harrison is the biggest surprise to me right now, as he was ready to kill someone over the loss of his sister, now he is just being able to be a kid again with Francis’ help. I don’t think I have ever seen the kid really smile, but he finally did. Stacey and Mark are in the middle of a blow up over Eric’s accidental death and now Mark is ready to leave town or worse, take out the only person that can put him at the scene of the crime, Ronnie. He really wants to come clean about what happened, but after Stacey had made her rounds and found out that nobody around town even knows that the kid is dead, she will do anything to stop him, since now she is involved.  But the biggest storyline that left me speechless in this episode was not Wiley making the decision to leave her child with John and his family, but that the serum actually shrunk the tumor in her stomach and is making her better. I did not see that coming and now everyone will want to jump on the bandwagon of the super drug that Liam has with him, but I am with Adam on this, I think they will all be falling into a trap once again.