Continuum: Family Time Review

Every Hero Has an Origin Story

Reviewed: 2012-07-30 by Tyler Olson

***The review below contains minor spoilers.***

This week, in a very tense and adrenaline filled episode, we finally get to see the true nature of this series. It isn't a cop drama, or a time-travelling adventure. This is an origin story for a superhero!

In the shadows of every superhero, is the often uncredited real hero, and in this series that hidden hero is Alec. After the war against the corporations turn his family farm into a war zone, Alec finally steps into the spotlight to save the day, including the hero with the fancy suit. Perhaps the tragedy of his stepdad's unwarranted run-in with a police bullet, he will take a more active role in going after the bad guys. Perhaps even go so far as creating his own suit? Alec even has his own arch-nemesis, which I will get to later.

Kiera finally has her super-suit on again, and it's back in black baby! After everything she has had to endure without it, she almost seemed fit to put it on. There were still a few things that needed to be done for her truly to earn it, but surprisingly they were both covered nicely in this episode.

She has been keeping secrets from her partner Carlos for far too long, but even with all those unknowns, Carlos continued to support and cover for her. It is a shame that she waited until he was on his deathbed for her to tell him the small bits that she revealed, but it's better late than never, right? The main question is if she will tell him more afterwards? Telling him she's from the future isn't as important as Carlos learning the truth about Alec and Matthew, so I would love it if he was included on what is happening in the present at least.

What Kellog told her is the second part that she really needs to address. I love that they are both finally getting together outside work, but his message was the really important part. He may have said it for his own selfish reasons, but if Kiera is really going to be the hero, she needs to admit to herself that there is no going back. With all her toys, she needs to focus on saving the present to make the new 2077 better than it was before.

Kiera already has enough villains on her plate, and now she has a new one to worry about. The worst villains are almost always people who were close to the hero, and you can't get closer than a brother. Julian may not be her brother, but there is no denying that Alec's relationship with him is going to take it to a higher level. I always expected Julian to join Liber8 eventually, but never in such a confrontational scene as this.

Is this when the true villain is created for the series, or will someone close to Kiera take up those reigns? We still don't know what Alec has learnt from his future self, and Matthew has always been shady, so there may be even more betrayal coming.

Even though most of the action was in the present, we can't ignore the future. Apparently Matthew didn't want to be part of Liber8 in 2077 either, but his sister dragged him into it. If it wasn't for her, he likely would have never been thrown into the past with the rest, and Kiera's chances for success may be very different . This also explains why Kellog has such different views than the rest of his former friends, and why he turned his back on them so quickly. I have a nagging suspicion that his sister's death may be part of the reason why Kiera keeps going back to him. Does she feel guilty for what she did? Does he even know that it was her that killed his sister?

On the topic of the death of Matthew's sister, apparently the law enforcement of 2077 has a lot less red tape than the present. In present day, if a cop discharges a gun in public, even if it isn't at someone, there is a load of paperwork and often an investigation to follow, but not in 2077. Two, possibly unarmed, suspects in a crime fleeing though a building apparently warrants a barrage of missiles into that building, regardless of the collateral damage. They didn't even think it over and just pulled the trigger. I'm all for letting our brave protectors do their job, but here was a line way back there that they should never have crossed!

This was an amazing episode. The action was intense, the tension kept me on the edge of my seat, the characters fit the situation very well, and the story was well thought out. The only part which I felt needed more attention was the cast. The actors playing Julian and his friends just didn't invoke the feeling needed during a hostage situation. I really never cared for Richard Harmon's past work either, but none of the others pulled of the roles either. It was a very minor problem that plagues most other series, so I'll look past it. It definitely didn't help my feelings about Richard though.

Next week is the season finale already. With the buildup in this episode, I am expecting big things next week. I just hope it doesn't disappoint.