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“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil:
for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.” Psalm 28
Synopsis
The Mutant X team mount a raid on Genomex, but accidentally set off an alarm and are trapped… but never fear, it’s only a simulation!
Back in the real world, Jesse is romancing his new girlfriend Toni, an ex-computer hacker gone straight, who is setting up her own internet bar, the Data Dive. Brennan helps to turn on the equipment, which includes the latest Proxy Blue broadcast. Interestingly, Proxy is talking about people with strange powers being pursued by an equally strange white-haired man.
At Genomex, a certain white-haired man is getting quite concerned about these broadcasts, and asks his new lieutenant, Kendra MacEvoy, to find a way to take over Proxy Blue. Kendra decides to employ her theory of social engineering, and masquerades as Toni’s friend on an apparent double date with Brennan and Jesse. Soon the GSA arrive, and take Toni captive after a brief fight with Jesse and Brennan.
Jesse immediately wants to rescue Toni, but the rest of the team believe that Toni has been in league with the GSA all along. This is only confirmed when they find that Toni has hacked into Sanctuary’s mainframe. Adam is concerned that the homing software Toni used can tell the GSA exactly where Sanctuary is.
However, Toni calls Jesse to tell him that Eckhart wants her to create an alternate version of Proxy Blue, which will broadcast the GSA’s party line. She also reveals that the key to the homing software is at the Data Dive. However, the GSA has already set out to bring all of Toni’s equipment to Genomex. Brennan and Shalimar hurry to the Data Dive, but find that everything has been taken. The Mutant X team now has no option but to go to Genomex to rescue Toni and the software.
Toni shows Eckhart and Kendra her new version of Proxy Blue, but secretly uses it to send a message to the Mutant X team, telling them when to stage the raid. Adam decides that in order to get into Genomex, they must use Eckhart’s weaknesses against him. The team manage to break in without setting off any alarms, and rescue Toni from the GSA guard, destroying the computer.
Back at Sanctuary, Adam tells Jesse that Toni will be kept moving around in the Underground, being hidden in plain sight. At Genomex, Eckhart isn’t so happy, but decides to be lenient with Kendra, seeing as the plan to takeover Proxy Blue has worked. Except that Proxy Blue then tells him that Toni has programmed her to wipe all of Genomex’s systems. With that, all the lights go out.
Themes in the Episode
Can someone leave their past behind?
Can a criminal ever change their ways?
The nature of truth, reality, political spin, and “social engineering”.
The dangers of letting your SO send you sexy pictures.
Plot Holes (Inconsistencies in the Mutant X Timeline)
None!
Creepy Moment of the Episode
A particularly uncreepy episode. The closest it gets to creepy is Eckhart’s appreciation of his underling’s appearance.
The Best Character Award
This episode is unusual in highlighting Proxy Blue as a character integral to the plot, and with a life of her own. However, the best character is Eckhart’s “number two” Kendra MacEvoy. Unlike most of the ill-fated lieutenants, she has some ideas of her own, and her obsession with social engineering becomes the focal point of the plot. Kendra also interacts particularly well with both Eckhart, who she may or may not be trying to seduce. Her complete disregard for conventional morality in her scenes with Toni, and her astonishment that Toni no longer regards her as a friend (after Kendra had betrayed, assaulted, and kidnapped her) is both interesting and funny.
Was it centric?
For plot reasons, the episode focused slightly more on the characters of Jesse (because his girlfriend is the center of attention) and Mason Eckhart than usual. However, the guest character of Kendra MacEvoy also featured strongly. The other characters were positively subdued, as Emma seems to spend most of the episode off in a corner playing chess, and Brennan disappears completely without explanation from one scene. Although Adam is strongly featured, most of his scenes concentrate on variations on a theme.
Unexplained Events?
Not so much unexplained as, well, see below…
Things We Noticed
~ An interesting start to the episode in “Genomex” for a change, except that it is soon revealed to be a simulation in Sanctuary.
~ The various simulations and the actual raid on Genomex fail to explain how the Mutant X team get past all the security guards, cameras, alarm systems, etc outside the main catwalk.
~ Does Genomex have such a large turnover in staff that no one questions why they suddenly have a new guard (Jesse)?
~ Not really a plot hole, but would the blinded guards really act like that? If you know there’s an enemy in front of you, and you’re suddenly struck blind, surely you’d think of something more dynamic to do than stand about waiting to be hit. And why did they close their eyes? If you couldn’t see, it’s not going to help if your eyes are closed!
~ Apparently the clothes the team wears in the simulation are simulated also. So, what? They couldn’t be bothered putting on the identical clothes they obviously have stored away somewhere for the final scene?
~ Since when does Eckhart watch Proxy Blue? Doesn’t he have underlings to watch TV for him?
~ The GSA want an “identical” version of Proxy Blue. So… they make one with a red background? Did they think no one would notice?
~ Kendra says they are having problems locating Proxy Blue’s website. Which is odd, given that it says “ProxyBlue.com” on the TV screen next to her.
~ Toni apparently knows all about Adam’s “know your enemy’s weaknesses” speech, even though she wasn’t there at the time.
~ The GSA took everything from the Data Dive Café… Except the espresso maker. Is the coffee that good at Genomex then?
~ The entire episode is about “knowing your enemy’s weaknesses”. But, after deciding that they should play on Eckhart’s weaknesses, the plan doesn’t seem to change at all.
~ In the first two simulations, the MX team set off alarms that Adam doesn’t know about. If he doesn’t know about them, how are they in the simulation?
~ Brennan knew Toni years ago when she was a criminal. Does this mean that he has known about mutants all along?
~ Toni’s plan to wipe all of Genomex’s files is a good one, except that presumably the GSA have backups.
~ If all the power is switched off, what happens to the mutants in the stasis pods?
First Appearance of
~ The Data Dive café, a little bit of the city that Mutant X never really seem to interact with much. Unfortunately it never even gets to open.
~ The Genomex simulation
~ Adam’s holographic poker game. Good to know our heroes are doing worthwhile things in their spare time.
Best Line:
Adam: “It’s another example of using your opponent’s weaknesses against them.”
Emma: “Oh please.”
Shalimar: “We’ve been hearing that since day one.”
Adam: “No no, I’m serious. In your case, your recklessness leaves you wide open. And you – you play so cautiously, I can read you like a book.”
Shalimar: “Yeah, well you know what I think?”
Shalimar & Emma: “He cheats!”
Proxy Blue: “We’ve been talking the past few months about sinister men and women chasing mysterious men and women with miraculous abilities through the streets. Well one of my regulars called in to describe what might be the ringleader in all of this. A white-haired guy who seems to pop up in a lot of these stories.”
Mason: “Miss MacEvoy…”
Adam: “Understanding your opponent’s weaknesses is important for everything in life.”
Emma: “So what are yours?”
Adam: “None of your damn business!”
Mason: “Well I hold myself responsible for allowing this to reach crisis proportions. Unless we find a way to take over control of Proxy Blue, this cartoon could destroy everything.”
Toni: “Hey Jesse. What’s up?”
Jesse: “Everybody’s just hanging out. Brennan’s reading, Shalimar’s cleaning up and Emma’s… Emma’s playing by herself and still getting her ass kicked.
Emma: “I heard that!”
Mason: “The media seem to be unwilling to let this story die. Everywhere I turn I hear about super-powered freaks pursued by brutish thugs led by a white-haired gentleman who looks like me. It’s all hitting a little too close to home.”
Kendra: “Same story, with an entirely different spin.”
Mason: “I love the fact that it subtly blames the victim.”
Kendra: “I thought you might like that, sir.”
Mason: “Miss MacEvoy. Take your hands off me.”
Worst Line:
Nothing that particularly sticks out, although the endless repetition of “know your enemy’s weaknesses” begins to grate.
Purist Reaction
4 out of 5 Wadjets
A generally good episode with two or three weaknesses. Firstly, the inconsistencies explained above. Secondly, the character of Toni, who neither appears to be a heroine we want rescued, or a genius cyberhacker we applaud for her cunning. Thirdly, the repetition of what is essentially the same scene three times. It would have been interesting with some unexpected and intriguing differences. As it is, it’s a handy couple of minutes to go and make the tea
Fortunately, the episode also has its strengths. Primarily, the strong roles given to the Genomex gang, and Kendra’s concept of social engineering. Mason’s commentary on her ideas almost sounds like Mutant X is trying to make serious points! Also, it’s about time that the elusive Proxy Blue was given a more prominent role. This is an unusual episode, relying more on brainpower and computer knowledge than action sequences. Unfortunately the supposed need to reiterate Adam’s masterplan every 30 seconds leads to the viewer wondering if it isn’t about time for Brennan to take his shirt off.
Character: Toni Quintana
Played by: Reagan Pasternak
Mutant ability: Psionic - telekinesis.
What happened to them: She was a criminal hacker. Then she worked in marketing. Then she was introduced to Jesse by Brennan, was kidnapped, and then rescued. Put into the mutant underground by Adam, to be “hidden in plain sight” and enjoy spa weekends with Jesse.
Double Vision: Nope! This actor doesn’t appear again in the series.
Character: Kendra MacEvoy
Played by: Joy Tanner
Mutant ability: Super strength. Presumably a molecular as she doesn’t seem to have “feral eyes”.
What happened to them: She used to be in marketing. Then she got a better-paid job at the GSA, where she tried to socially engineer Mason Eckhart and the Mutant X team. All her plans failed, resulting in a power failure at Genomex. Probably headed for a stasis pod, she was last “seen” clinging to Mason.
Double Vision: Nope! This actor doesn’t appear again in the series.
Character: Ledeker
Played by: Greg Bryk
Mutant ability: None shown. Probably “whining”.
What happened to them: Did all of Kendra’s hard work going through Toni’s discs. Whined a lot. Got knocked out. Probably whined some more.
Double Vision: Nope! This actor doesn’t appear again in the series.
Lonelywalker
Discussion of this episode
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The Sun Never Sets on PureMX.net
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