for FAVORITE CHARACTER [ Nikola Tesla ]
With a bigger budget and some gut-wrenching twists
in score, season two of the SyFy hit series
Sanctuary
pulled out all the stops for an action-charged
CGI-filled adventure into the unknown. Building on
the foundation the first season created and forging
into new and daring territory, it is a fun filled
experience for fans of the league of extraordinary
individuals known as “The Five.”
Six weeks have passed since the Cabal kidnapped and brainwashed Ashley Magnus
(Emilie Ullerup) into acting in liaison with their devious plans to control
abnormals worldwide. Her parents Dr. Helen Magnus (Amanda Tapping) and John
Druitt (Christopher Heyerdahl) are desperate to find her. Helen is exhausting
her resources abroad in an attempt to learn what the underground rumblings are
from the Cabal while attempting to juggle her emotions and keep John aware of
their relationship boundaries. John is hoping to atone for 100 years of
murderous behavior without slipping back into his former “Jack the Ripper”
habits. Helen has left the North American Sanctuary in the hands of her young
protégée, Will Zimmerman (Robin Dunne), whose authority is frequently challenged
by the ingenious, immortal Nikola Tesla (Jonathon Young), a vampire inventor who
has managed to quell an all-out abnormal outbreak but cannot convince the
Sanctuary’s housekeeping resident Bigfoot to take the cure.
Bigfoot’s choice is impacted by his desire not to depart from the natural ways
of his ancestors, a decision that weighs heavily on his best friend and resident
werewolf, Henry Foss (Ryan Robbins). When the group at last discovers a lead on
Ashley, they follow the clues to a young assassin-for-hire, Kate Freelander
(Agam Darshi). Her reluctant information helps them discover the Cabal’s evil
plans for Ashley...
I figured after the tremendous season finale last year that the stakes would get
upped and they were. The same sarcastic team we know and love has returned, but
with more financial backing and a truly terrific premiere. Then came a death
that changed the focus of the show forever and completely devastated the fans.
I have mixed feelings about this season because in some respects the
writers failed to build continuity and in others far exceeded my expectations.
There is some excellent material to work with and many of the hour-long
installments feature outstanding plot lines, but I felt that the Cabal was dealt
with far too quickly and was also disappointed that John Druitt disappeared for
most of the season only to make a one-time reappearance (the same transpired
with Tesla). A lot of the fans absolutely hate Kate Freelander. I don’t but I
can see why other people would. These complaints aside, it’s a solid series
about a group of interesting characters that the audience comes to fall in love
with over the course of the season. Major risks were also taken: death,
insanity, alternate realities, and loss. It also has a great guest appearance by
Michael Shanks as a death-dealing abnormal attempting to atone for past sins and
a vampire-filled episode in which much fun is had while Tesla attempts to
contain a problem he created by “tampering” with human DNA -- with often
hilarious results.
Amanda Tapping turns in an extraordinary performance in “Pavor Nocturnus,” which
sends her forward in time to an alternate version of reality in which she faces
the potential consequences of her own intended actions. Audiences are treated to
the full spectrum of emotions out of her and also have their hearts launch into
their throats during one nail-biting scene guaranteed to send Helen Magnus fans
into cardiac arrest. Most of the series rests on her shoulders but her costars
do a magnificent job of keeping up the action and humor while delivering more
than a handful of hilarious quips. There is one rather boring episode (“Hero”
has to grow on you) but among the better ones are “End of Nights” (the
premiere), “Requiem” (dealing with grief), “Next Tuesday” (in which Magnus and
Will battle a sea monster in a downed aircraft), “Penance” (with Shanks),
“Sleepers” (Tesla’s fantastic reappearance), and "Haunted" (the truth about
John's illness). Some of the more delightful additions are references to famous
events and experiences Helen has had in history – in one episode she remarks
that a bottle of wine was given to her by Winston Churchill, in another she
claims to have been pulled out of the North Atlantic by none other than Molly
Brown the night the Titanic went down.
The content this season is on par with the first – there are occasional gruesome
crime scenes, autopsies, and half-eaten monster corpses, along with brutal
shoot-outs (between humans and abnormals, and humans and humans – several people
take bullets) and the occasional zombie (they attack and swarm people).
Explosions rock buildings. In an attempt to take out a handful of super-charged
abnormals, Helen and her companions combat them with electrical shocks, water,
fire, and machines intended to interrupt their frequencies. There is a lot of
hand to hand combat, with characters being injured, knocked unconscious, or
slashed open. Druitt features chest wounds after being sliced by a vampire. A
man and woman have a scuffle in which he knocks her to the ground and kicks her;
she winds up electrocuting him to death. A vampire bites a human and kills him
while attempting to “turn him.” Half a dead, partially eaten cat is seen in
“Hero.” Language is occasional and sticks to mild profanities and British
vulgarities.
Sensuality is mild but does contain several instances of partial nudity and some
innuendo. We see Claire (the Invisible Girl) twice in an undressed state in the
first two episodes; it is implied through banter and playful tossing of clothes
and she and Will are intimately involved. In the season finale, Will
communicates on a supernatural level with an abnormal who takes the form of a
beautiful woman. The camera shows a lot of upper chest while she is bathing, and
gives us glimpses of her breasts from behind. Helen mentions having been invited
for a romantic weekend with a work associate. Helen is attacked by two men and
has her clothing torn off (we see her bare back), but then we learn it is so she
can be sprayed with disinfectant. Tesla makes several veiled, suggestive remarks
to Helen when he encounters her tied up.
I think this season had the potential to be magnificent but certain cast members
were under-used and the episodes were not as popular with their fans as
expected, so it winds up merely good. I have no genuine complaints but hope that
with a third, twenty-episode season coming up in the autumn, they will spend a
bit more effort on continuity and exploring more of the main characters. If I
might make a suggestion – implement John Druitt and Nikola Tesla more often.
Their sarcasm, quarreling, intelligence and charisma with Helen make for far
more fun than the antics of the “children.”
