Helix 2×8 Review: Vade in Pace

Another week, another Helix episode that states the obvious yet doesn’t truly answer any questions. And yet I still can’t stop watching, because trust me, there’s just something about this show!

I have to admit that I kept hoping that they would just forget about Sarah’s “baby” – or at least push it aside – but unfortunately “Vade in Pace” brought it to the forefront. Thankfully the baby’s existence, both in the present and [supposedly] in the future, was used to make some sense of certain mysteries. The problem is, I don’t believe that it was necessary to use the baby to essentially show Amy’s desire to be immortal. (Hence my previous comment about this episode stating the obvious.)

“Vade in Pace” also explored several one-on-one relationships between the main characters. After their sexual encounter in season one, Alan and Sarah seem more like caring but slightly uncomfortable exes, while to me it appears that Sarah and Kyle will be exploring something more than friendship – possibly sooner rather than later. On the other hand, I can’t help but find the interactions between Peter and Anne forced and unnecessary. Something is probably developing between them, but unlike Sarah and Kyle, I hope that something doesn’t happen anytime soon.

While Sarah was busy searching for her baby and the rest of the CDC were dealing with the soldiers who showed up to evacuate the island, Amy was taking care of things the way she knows best – lying, manipulating, and just generally being creepy and power-hungry. I really was interested in where they were taking her character during the brief time when it looked like her motivation was based on her not wanting to become another one of her father’s wives; now she’s acting like just another person who is greedy for immortality, and unfortunately that negates much of her previous development.

Speaking of immortality, thirty years in the future Julia is still hiking around the island, and though we learn that she did in fact go searching for Michael in her past (which is the present for the CDC crew – confusing, yes, I know), nothing else about that search is revealed. However, she does find the “monument” in which Amy sealed Michael…and she releases him. He claims to know where Sarah’s baby is, but we’re left wondering if that is in fact the case when he uses his supposed knowledge to lure Julia to the edge of a cliff, where he then attempts to push her to her death. Thankfully she is saved by Caleb, who shows up and slices off Michael’s head with Hatake’s sword.

The thing is, there really didn’t seem to be a reason for Julia to have any exchange with Michael. If he’s dead – or as dead as an immortal can be – so soon after being released from his prison of thirty years, what was the point of releasing him at all? He and his knowledge of Sarah’s baby (if it existed at all) certainly weren’t essential to Julia’s story. As far as I can tell, she could have found out what little he told her in any number of ways.

With five episodes left in season two, Helix has plenty of time to figure itself out…but let’s be honest, it doesn’t seem like it wants to. That’s okay, though, because as I’ve said before, I’m just along for the ride – and for the most part, I’m still enjoying it!

Author: Tara Lynne

Tara Lynne is an author, fandom and geek culture expert, and public speaker. She founded Ice & Fire Con, the first ever Game of Thrones convention in the US, and now runs its parent company Saga Event Planning.

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