Terra Nova: Episode 10 – ‘Now You See Me’ (contains spoilers)

Terra Nova: Episode 10- ‘Now You See Me’ (contains spoilers)

Creators: Greg Silverstein, Kelly Marcel

Director: Karen Gaviola

Writers: Paul Grellong

Starring: Shelly Conn, Jason O’mara, Landon Liboiron, Naomi Scott, Stephen Lang

Reviewed by: Matt Wavish, official HCF critic

This episode finally gave us some Dinosaurs, and brief as they were, it shows the makers haven’t forgotten about them. We see the return of the Slashers, but more importantly we get a very moving and altogether nice scene near the end where a cute little baby Dinosaur is returned to the wild after being nursed, and it is the whole Shannon family that get to do it. I don’t know, maybe it’s my strange, sudden enjoyment of this show that is turning me a bit weird to the point I am actually getting emotional over a badly CGI’d Dinosaur being reunited with its mother. The poor little fella sat there on the grass crying out, along comes its Mum and everyone is happy and all is well in the world, for a short while. Blimey, what the Hell is happening to me, I hated this show in the beginning!

Anyway, in more serious news this episode did actually have plenty of drama, and the more they concentrate on the human touch the better it gets. There is a superb back and forth between Jim and Reynolds as he asks about marrying his daughter. Jim puts on his best concerned Father impression and for a brief moment he appears to be deadly serious, but the look on his face as he walks off, proud of asserting his authority is priceless. Moments like these are becoming more frequent, and I like it.

Jim has been left in charge though, as Taylor has headed off into the jungle to find out just how close his son Lucas is to finding the formula to allow the future and the present to interact and, to Taylor’s annoyance, take Terra Nova’s resources. Taylor does find his son has made progress, but he also bumps into Mira, unexpectedly and in a shocking turn of events, Mira takes Taylor hostage! In all fairness it is a great storyline for this episode, the fearless, near invincible Taylor caught off guard and handcuffed. I can tell you that he looks really grumpy being lead through the jungle, more grumpy than usual and it makes for some great viewing as the pair head towards the Sixers camp. It is nice to see Taylor and Mira like this, clearly enemies, but with a mutual respect for the other, it is refreshing to see enemies actually tolerate the other, and it is clear had they not been put in the situations they are, they may have been comrades. The tides do turn as Taylor gets the upper hand and takes Mira hostage, but the dialogue between the two is exceptional. We learn a lot about Mira’s past, and of Taylor’s passion and it is terrific to see the pair side with each other to fight off some hunting Slashers. Could this be a hint to how things will play out?

Back in Terra Nova, Jim is hunting the spy and has his work cut out as he takes charge in Taylor’s absence. Jim does handle the situation well, although tells Taylor on his return he would not like to do this every day! Jim comes close to finding the spy after he finds a blood sample from the injured culprit. The sample is small, but he begs his wife to try and match the DNA, a task which will take 24 hours, plenty of time for the spy to destroy the evidence, and she does. Skye is the spy we find out, but not without reason. In yet another turn of events which continues to add story and depth to proceedings, it turns out the Sixers have Skye’s sick Mother and are keeping her alive on the basis that Skye reports back to them. It is a vicious circle for Skye, and being Taylor’s favourite, it is only going to end badly for both sides.

The show is leading to what promises to be an eventful and hopeful worthy climax as plots begin to come together and characters take centre stage. The double episode finale comes after the next episode, and to be perfectly honest, I cannot wait. I really hope the makers keep up this level of quality which they have been showing since episode 6, and a decent finale could well be the make or break point for the possibility of Season Two. Terra Nova did not have the best of starts, but it is certainly leading to a very positive and satisfying finish.