“Possession”

While a step down from the previous episode, Possession at least partially maintains the overall arc. It is unfortunately plagued by a subplot filler story acting as an overall story, while the important portions are relegated to subplot status.

Joe, having been fired by the police department has turned to following Flash and Dale looking to get proof of Mongo’s existence to prove that he’s not crazy. Flash and Dale have words with him, but he just doesn’t care.

While Flash, Dale, and Baylin are out and about, Joe tries a different tactic and corners Zarkov in his lab. Finding the rigt blaster, he knocks Zarkov unconscious, then ties him up and uses the blaster to get to Mongo.

From the early on it seems that Possession is the wrong title for the episode…Obsession hits closer to the mark. In an effort to prove that he’s not crazy, Joe goes…well a little crazy. Making it through to Mongo, Joe documents everything he sees with his camera until he gets to Nascent City where he is mugged and then taken in by the Patriots.

Whoops. So the Patriots have Zarkov’s recalibrated with the Imex rift blaster.

After Flash. Dale, and Baylin discover Zarkov tied up, they free him and follow him to Mongo hoping to help him and recover the rift blaster before Rankol gets a hold of it.

Upon reaching Mongo, they split up. Flash meets a woman in the middle of the forest who is playing a lyre, claiming she is soothing the children. Flash doesn’t think much of it and moves on. Dale however runs into an old woman who is holding a spirit jar. It seems that an evil sorceress was trapped there and needs a body to possess. Of course Dale is chosen.

Flash is for once pretty quick on the uptake and realizes that Dale just isn’t Dale so it isn’t long before the sorceress stops trying to pretend. She tells Flash that she is using her body to get revenge on her evil sister.
If Flash helps her, she will give Dale her body back at the end. Flash agrees, not knowing what else to do.

Meanwhile Baylin has tracked down Joe while Zarkov was getting drunk, trying to fit in on Mongo. He is sobered up enough to move though as they fan out.

In the meantime Joe has been brought before Ming and company, especially due to his camera having shots of Flash and Dale on it. They realize that he is a part of their circle and move to implant him with something that essentially will make him a sleeper agent to do their bidding. This will be done not by Rankol, but instead by Lenu, a young female scientist who as emerged as competition for Rankol. It’s not a bad concept as we’ve seen Rankol work on his own a bit more. It’s all quickly leading to Rankol turning against Ming, and allowing Ming to still have a right hand evil scientist by his side.

Of course if you couldn’t guess, the evil sorceress’ sister is the lyre playing woman and an attack ensues between the fake Dale and the Lyreplayer. When the lyre music stops, the evil sorceress’ children start rising out of the mud. Apparently the children are evil demonseed types.

A halfhearted, not so great action sequence ensues where Zarkov is forced to play the lyre so as to save Flash who is sinking in the bog. The good sister defeats the evil sister who ends up with a blade through her heart, forcing her spirit out of Dale. They get Dale’s spirit back in and the good sister heals Dale and basically we’re all good. It should be dramatic, especially with the use of Sarah Mclaughlin’s “Angel” in the background, but the sequence just wasn’t worthy of the song at all.

Baylin is able to rescue Joe from the clutches of Lenu and make it back to reunite everyone. Joe agrees finally to keep Mongo a secret and we’re all good…oh except for the not recovered rift blaster, but meh…that’s for next episode.

Overall it was an entertaining show, if not an altogether good episode. Some old habits returned unfortunately, but enough remained to keep moving forward.

C+

Previous -1.14

Next - 1.16