Episode Title: “Aniqatiga”
Writers: Adam Lash & Cori Uchida
Director: Mike Rohl
Previously on “Helix”:
Welcome to day six of the suckfest known as “Helix.” The “Lost” that is utterly lost, and should have probably pulled over for directions somewhere around the pilot episode. In many ways it is a plague unto itself, using a reveal style that forces its audience to relive the same information that it already knows. Add in a dose of terrible characters and equally terrible writing and you’ve really got something… something bad.
Dr. Alan Farragut’s (Billy Campbell) obsession in this episode is level R. He wants Dr. Julia Walker (Kyra Zagorsky) back and he is willing to go down there himself and get her. A stupid plan, considering it’s a ward full of infected people. Accompanied by Dr. Sarah Jordan (Jordan Hayes), they approach the sealed doors, and it quickly becomes a scene right out of “The Walking Dead.” Hands fly through the door’s glass, and both doctors leave as rapidly as they came. The whole scene is used to remind the “Helix” audience that there is some horror here, but it becomes a cheap pop. Every horror scene on this show serves as more of a reminder, that what they’re dealing with IS scary, but a very poor reminder. It’s about as scary as a post-it note on your refrigerator to remind you of your doctor’s appointment next week.
Since last episode’s big reveals, Dr. Farragut has become a bit more tolerable. That’s not saying much, but the fire he has in trying to unravel the oddly shaped puzzle that is Dr. Hiroshi Hitaki’s (Hiroyuki Sanada) virus is fresh. Together with Dr. Jordan, it is revealed that the virus is acting as a delivery system to human genes, something that Dr. Doreen Boyle (Catherine Lemieux) had already figured out, and something that the audience has to relive yet again. They also run some tests on the virus that spiral out of control when it begins to replicate rapidly… kind of like that time Dr. Boyle did tests on… didn’t we already do this? They do learn that the virus can be slowed down by lowering the infected host’s body temperature after Alan decides to use a fire extinguisher on it.
Dr. Peter Farragut (Neil Napier) has become fully sympathetic at this point. Granted, most people would go to great lengths to save their family from their own vices, but the way Alan and the CDC team goes about saving Peter seems like torture. After the virus killed him, he was hooked up to machines to keep him alive. Since then, he’s been experimented on: first it was SODRA, and in “Aniqatiga” they subject him to a form of water-boarding that is supposed to lower his body temperature. The visual looks horrible, like a diver whose mask has been puncture and filled with water. How much more can they subject the guy to before the characters consider it torture?
Much to my dismay, Major Sergio Balleseros (Mark Ghanimé) still lives. He’s being held captive in a nearby town for information about Dr. Hitaki’s operation. His captor, Anana (Luciana Carro), believes that the base is linked to a group of missing children – yet more questions, pieces to a puzzle that don’t fit together at all. Oh, and Anana has a brother that looks exactly like Daniel Aerov (Meegwun Fairbrother). Later in the episode, Aerov refers to Hitaki as father, so could Hitaki also be experimenting with cloning? It’s possible, but the execution of these scenes don’t make me care, at all.
Hitaki’s pointless self-inflicted stab wound from last week has almost completely healed as of this week. It’s revealed that whatever gave him those eyes is a serum, which he injects into Dr. Walker. It cures her of the virus, and turns her into whatever Hitaki is. I say “turn” because we don’t know what it fully does yet, but I’m sure it will have further implications in episodes to come. Hiroyuki Sanada’s acting on “Helix” could be described as over dramatic to the point of deprecation. I’ve never been so off put by an actor’s style so much that I didn’t care about the reveals the character has made. That’s how annoyed I am with the acting!
Dr. Walker’s time in this episode is through a fever dream of hallucinations, as the injection she was given works its way through her body. It seems like at least one of the supporting characters is kept in stasis in every episode. Dr. Walker’s stasis is a trip through memory lane, where she doesn’t seem to recognize herself as a little girl. She’s transported to a cabin in the woods – no, not that one – where she spends some quality time with many of the characters on the show. Peter is there, along with Alan, Sarah, Hitaki… Balleseros. Needless to say, her hallucinations are lame. At one point, all the characters are gathered ’round a table at Thanksgiving. She’s given the honors of carving the turkey, and in predictable fashion, wait for it… wait for it… it bleeds black blood! Oh, “Helix.” Your horror scenes are so predictable and overdone at this point that I wish I could send it back and have my bill comped.
There is one point during the hallucination scene where Dr. Walker makes the statement that we can all agree upon: “I just want answers.” “Aniqatiga” should at least be given credit for moving the plot forward with minimal back treading. However, there is one big problem. Given the advancements that the CDC did make, those advancements made Dr. Boyle’s death completely unnecessary. Though it does make me wonder if Melissa McCarthy wrote a cease and desist letter for the character of Dr. Boyle.
“Helix’s” slow burn continues to hamper its development tremendously. The limited amount of information revealed, the relative boring nature of that information, and the show’s down right predictability make it one of the worst series on television. As ratings continue to fall, I patiently await the four words I’ve wanted to here since episode three: “Helix” has been canceled.
