Invasion 1.12: "Power"

Written by Reed Steiner and Becky Hartman Edwards
Directed by Lawrence Trilling

In which Russell and Mariel try to track down Underlay and the children as the area once again loses power, but Jesse and Larkin begin questioning everyone’s motives…


The promos for this episode made it seem a lot more exciting than it was. The whole episode was indeed devoted to a message that Underlay needed to send to Mariel and Russell, but the manner in which that message was delivered was a lot less interesting than I had been expecting. The very end promises a more explosive confrontation in the future, however, and that sparks my interest.

The triangle between Russell, Mariel, and Larkin is getting rather interesting, and not just because the truth about the “aliens” is out on the table. The writers continue to use the “alien” situation as an effective commentary on extended family dynamics. Mariel is in the middle, and Russell is her connection to her old life (her human side). Underlay makes it very clear that the children are the prize, the pieces in play.

Underlay is actually very smart about it. He doesn’t do anything overtly threatening to the children, and his excuse is about as airtight as it can get. But he delivers a clear message by showing Russell and Mariel how easily he can turn their world upside-down. His offer at the end of the episode is very interesting move. He give Russell what he wants, further reminding him of what he stands to lose. And Mariel gets to see what it’s like to be without the children, thus pushing her to accept her new reality.

This is what makes Underlay a compelling character. He’s something of a villain, especially since he’s preparing his “alien” brothers and sisters for a revolution, but he’s also got a point. The only way that things will go well is if both sides learn to live together and find common ground. Whether or not that’s possible is the key point in the conflict. Sometimes it just doesn’t work out, and that possibly remains with this family.

So Underlay all but ensured that Russell and Mariel would be placed in a compromised situation in terms of what they know and how they react. But it also seems as if Underlay has some problems of his own, beyond Jesse’s curiosity and Kira’s petulance. There’s the threatening phone calls, which at this point, could mean anything. That means that there are still some complications left to introduce between now and, say, episodes 14-15, when the season usually begins ramping up to the resolution of a season arc.

Writing: 1/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4

Final Rating: 6/10