Helix - Vade In Pace - Review: "You Were Just Keeping Alan's Chair Warm"

Review Guide:
Episode 2.01 San Jose - Advanced Preview & Review
Episode 2.02 Reunion - Review
Episode 2.03 Scion - Review
Episode 2.04 Densho - Review
Episode 2.05 Oubliette - Review
Episode 2.06 M. Domestica - Review
Episode 2.07 Cross Pollination - Review
Episode 2.08 Vade In Pace - Advance Preview & Review
Episode 2.09 Ectogenesis - Review
Episode 2.10 Mother - Review
Episode 2.11 Plan B - Review
Episode 2.12 The Ascendant - Review
Episode 2.13 O Brave New World (Season Finale) - Review

Helix - Vade In Pace - Recap/Review

Last episode we witnessed the tragic events that hit the Abbey when Michael killed off nearly his entire clan, some backstory on Michael,and saw Sarah struggle to overcome the loss of her baby.

"I came looking for you once, Michael, 30 years ago" Julia

This episode finally revealed Julia's true intentions, why she came to the island. I initially thought she came there for Michael, even though she did, she was really after Sarah's immortal baby. Julia has said that she came to the island 30 years ago looking for Michael but was unable to find him. Since the 30 years is tied into the CDC timeline she must have either just missed the CDC team or when she got there got turned away by someone claiming Michael had gone. If she was actually searching around the Abbey she would have found Michael like she did in the present.

Julia says the child holds the key, well the stem cells, to curing the new disease that is killing the immortals. Whilst we still don't know what she was doing within the 30 year gap between timelines, the disease can't be that deadly or must have a slow effect on immortals given that most of them are probably still alive, including Julia, who is infected. Since the disease that is attacking immortals is a fungus, it's most likely that it never got cured by the CDC team. Of course, I'm just assuming there related.

Michael this episode got what was coming to him, in both the past and present. It was quite ironic after years of putting people into the pit that he'd get thrown in there himself. The showdown between Michael and Amy did come this episode, but it wasn't what I was expecting. I'd expected Amy to kill Michael, but instead showed him mercy, except really it wasn't mercy as an eternity in a pit is far worse than death. He did deserve that after years of tormenting and manipulating people.

What was more surprising was his death this episode. After he'd just got freed he gets his head removed by Caleb. I found everything a bit rushed, after Julia's entire goal was to find Michael, then find the baby. It seemed a bit absurd to have him die, as it effectively means her mission was for nothing, because I don't think she can find the baby without him. I'll admit when Michael was leading Julia to the Cliffside I had thought that he was taking her to Caleb's cave, which would've confirmed he's Sarah's child, sadly that didn't happen.

I'm still hoping we find out who Caleb is, as it's starting to drag out a bit too long now. He knows how to kill immortals so he has more knowledge than a common civilian, so there is not an explanation that would make sense if he weren't related or had some involvement with either Ilaria or Alan or Sarah. Also, where did he go? He has been absent for a while after leaving in the middle of the night with Hatake's sword. He's a very curious, and interesting character that needs to be explored. We hardly know him, and yet he has played such a big part in Julia's story this season.

"I'm not leaving this Island" Alan

Not much progress was made this episode with the CDC team, it felt more like an episode of mourning than anything else, a filler. The little progress that was made was related to the pathogen. One of the men Sarah shot managed to survive even though it takes 2 days for whoever becomes infected to die. This is because he had something inside him; he had been taking something from a tree with Red Sap. Whatever it could be is unknown, but it managed to keep him alive.

This could potentially be a breakthrough for them as if the man managed to survive longer than a usual infected they could somehow reverse it into a cure. Whilst I don't think they will ever make a cure, because of the on goings in the present storyline I'm glad they’re making progress. Who knows maybe they do find some form of a cure, and perhaps the cure isn't manufactured to cure immortals, which would explain why Julia's not cured.

The virus has spread to another island, and Sarah claimed it was the bees. Whilst it's possible, it doesn't seem that likely. There has to be another reason why another island fell victim to the virus. The reason I say that is because of the amount of people that are infected. The victims have to be either stung by the bee or consume the honey, since its believed that the bees are the carriers. Surely after 5 or so people come down with symptoms they would start to realize its the bees and honey, they wouldn't need to be a scientist to notice the similarities in the deaths. If it is the bees then there must have been another hive somewhere on the island,as the previous one got destroyed.

Now that Michael is gone we have lost our main villain for the season, whilst I have no doubt Amy can make a good enemy she won’t fill Michael's shoes. She is smart, but not as smart or cunning as Michael. Her end goal did become clear to us, and it was revealed she took the baby out. Her intentions are purely selfish, she doesn't care for anyone in the cult, but they are all oblivious to it. I'm hoping if the cult is to survive that Anne will take over, because she cares for each and every one of them. She is the most decent of them all and would make an excellent leader.

Something that was troubling me, how did Michael's picture go on the wall so quickly? It doesn't look like they have a camera nearby so how do they get these pictures up on the picture wall. They look way too good to be hand drawn.

Another thing is where are Olivia and all them followers she had with her? Have they all died, If they did it wouldn't be too much of a surprise as they were never going to get better on their own, were they.

Additionally, when we saw the opening scene with all the dead bodies, there seemed an awfully large amount of people, considering there wasn't that many people when everyone gathered in the hall previously. It seemed a bit unrealistic that the numbers keep changing, just a little something I keep noticing.

Summary
It was a good episode. It was far from the best episode, but it was still an enjoyable instalment. The episode did feel like a bit of a filler episode with limited things happening though it does set us up nicely though for the next episode. We saw what happened to Michael, and why Julia came to the island. We also saw the CDC team gain another lead that could solve the outbreak, maybe. All in all, it was another great episode.

As always, thank you for reading! Let me know in the comments what you thought of "Vade In Pace"

About the Author - Robert Fruin

Robert is a sixth form student from the United Kingdom, who is currently studying IT, Media and Business Studies. Robert is a huge fan of the ended ABC series LOST, he has seen it many times over and has even visited some of the filming locations for it. Robert mainly watches drama series such as Game Of Thrones and Person of Interest, but has a soft spot for the comedy The Middle. Some other shows he watches are Grey's Anatomy, The Walking Dead and The 100. Some other interests include Cycling, Kayaking and Photography.Robert is currently reviewing Aquarius, Black Sails, Helix, Intruders and Z Nation. Feel free to connect with him on any of these social media sites.

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