‘Continuum’ 2.09 Episode Recap and Review: Seconds

Julian is out of the frying pan and into the fire on this episode of Continuum!

As per usual, this week’s episode kicks off with a future-back, setting up the tragic tale of New Pemberton. As the story goes, about 40 years before Kiera’s time, the world was a little more post-apocalyptic. Folks who were in debt to the major corporations got sent to factory cities and turned into mindless drones. New Pemberton was one of those cities, but it got taken down in a massive attack by Theseus. Many died, including friends of Kiera’s parents. Thus did Theseus become the 2077 version of the Bogeyman.

Back in 2013, the VPD is in a new state of upheaval. Dillon rolls back in to get his office back, bringing with him the patronage of Mr. Escher and a serious new hardline policy on taking down Liber8. It’s a little scary when one considers the potential origins of the Corporate Congress, but it gives Kiera more liberty to take the terrorists out. (Creepy little baby steps, right?)

Dillon especially wants an eye kept on Julian now that he’s getting out of prison. That turns out to be easier said than done when Julian barely survives an assassination attempt before he even makes it to the car. His mom takes the bullet meant for him and tells him to run, which he wisely does. He’s picked up by the fanatical girl from last week, who takes him back to his new followers. They’ve fallen in league with Travis, of whom Julian does not approve. He bails, only to find himself back with Sonya and Lucas. Julian’s not keen on the light of fanaticism shining from Sonya’s eyes or the “either he’s on a Bluetooth or he’s lost it” vibe rolling off Lucas. He skedaddles and turns to the only person he has left, Alec.

Alec gets Julian off the street and they’re able to talk about the concept of choosing your own path, something with which Alec is rather painfully familiar. They bond and go see their mother in the hospital. Things don’t stay beer and skittles for long, though. Dillon’s taskforce, including Kiera, grabs Julian from the hospital and take him out to “have a little chat.” Through Kiera’s CMR, Alec can see Dillon’s boys torturing Julian, so he calls Carlos to get him to intercede.

Julian briefly escapes when Kiera decides to put Julian out of his misery (and the misery of the tens of thousands he’ll grow up to kill). There’s a three-person chase through the rain that ends in Julian on his knees while Carlos talks Kiera down. It’s a pretty fantastic emotional moment, with Julian swearing that he won’t become what Kiera thinks he will and Carlos saying that everyone has to have the chance to change. It takes a tense few minutes, but Kiera eventually puts the gun down.

Julian goes back to his followers. They’ve ditched Travis since Julian left. He tells his new friends to gather everyone, since he has a message to impart. Across town, Kiera realizes that she may have just created the evil version of Theseus that she knows, just by drawing a gun on a scared kid.

The future-back bookend shows a much older Julian leading an invasion force on New Pemberton. He has his people turn off the control chips on the drones, effectively killing them to stop the production of new control chips that, as we discover, carry the SadTech logo.

Oh, this one got dark. Well done, ladies and gentlemen. Did Kiera just create Hitler by trying to stop him?

I’ve had little to no sympathy for Julian throughout this series, but I really felt for him this episode. The poor kid had three different groups telling him how he was going to create this potentially terrifying future, and he hasn’t even made it out of high school yet. I really enjoyed the contrast of how Alec and Julian both handle this potential future knowledge. Do you think it’s easier for Alec because he knows for a fact that time travel exists?

I have to keep reminding myself that most people in 2077 don’t know about time travel yet. Kiera isn’t a Time Agent, just a cop. Therefore, I can’t expect the Hitler dilemma to have come up in basic training. Startling my neighbors by yelling “what if it’s a fixed point, Kiera??” may have been a little unnecessary. Not that I did that or anything. Much.

Best Quote:
Harris: “I always knew there was a glass ceiling. I just didn’t realize I’d be cutting my own throat breaking through it.”

Things to Ponder:

• Is Lucas going a little batty, or does Kagame have some secret posthumous communication system?
• Is the final scene of Julian destroying New Pemberton from the original timeline or the one that Kiera may have just created?
• On a lighter note, which reputable news source in the Continuum world posts their stories online as image files of their printed paper?