Colony season 3, episode 6: The Emerald City

Taking a break from the action of the previous episodes, last night’s Colony focused on setting up what’s next. The Bowmans are on their way to Seattle and Snyder has become a hero to The Occupation.

Last week’s Colony was heavy. We ended on a somber note with the Bowmans losing Charlie so we needed this opportunity to recover. When we left Snyder he was on his way out of the country to relax, but The Occupation has different plans for him

The birth of the Seattle colony

The episode, as most have this season, starts with a flashback. This one introducing Wayne Brady’s character. We see a man being interrogated and learn that he’s being interviewed for his job placement within The Occupation. They’re referring to themselves as the Institute for Global Advancement. Brady’s character is observing and realizes that the algorithm he built is not being used the way he intended for it to.

When he realizes this he asks his buddy to download his database. He clearly has a plan and this most likely is the algorithm that was used to populate and run the Seattle colony that we will soon be introduced to.

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Snyder living life

We jump back to the present and see that Snyder has been given a large house in the mountains. He has a butler, a car, and is living a life of luxury now. This is something he’s missed so he’s enjoying it.

Helena (Ally Walker) comes by to check on him but obviously wants something else. When he says that he’s not going back and is enjoying retirement, she pretends to accept and invites him to a cocktail party.

At the party, Snyder is enjoying a drink when Helena comes over and asks for the attention of the room. She announces that Snyder was the one who took down the infamous resistance camp and this makes him instantly popular. People come over to speak with him, most notably an attractive younger woman named Elan (Yasmine Aker). They begin a conversation before another lady cuts in. She wastes no time letting him know that she’s recruiting him to come back in and help the hosts. They want a fresh mind to help with the new issues posed by the other alien race attacking already.

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Bowmans on the road

Finally we catch up with the Bowman family. They look weak, dirty, and defeated. Gracie’s arm is bothering her and they are struggling to find a place to settle. They stop in a deserted town and as they’re leaving, they see “go to Seattle” spray-painted on a house. Bram wants to go but Will says that they’re going to the Olympic Mountains to find a cabin like the one they were in to start this season.

Continuing down the highway, they see signs advertising the Seattle colony. Bram also finds some pamphlets and tries to use the promise of medical expertise to convince his dad they should go. Will shuts it down again because he doesn’t want to go to another colony. Bram tries to pull Katie in but she’s focused on Gracie.

That night, two walking drones wake them up, but instead of killing them, they force them to walk a certain direction. Leading them to Seattle most likely.

Snyder, after the party

Helena comes to check on Snyder again the day after the party. She mentions that they have a labor shortage and she wants to rendition Santa Monica and San Fernando but that their Proxy’s are resisting. Snyder knows what she’s doing and reminds her that he doesn’t care to get involved.

So then Helena changes her strategy. She talks him up saying that he proved that he could be more than what the algorithm said he would be. She then tells him that he shouldn’t stop his own rise.

Snyder is convinced to go to yet another party. This time, with the leadership of The Occupation. He finds the lady from before, Elan, and this time they are able to speak uninterrupted. She strikes me as having ulterior motives but Snyder doesn’t seem to pick up on this. She is in charge of the North African region and asks him to share any details he’s willing to about what happened at the camp. Pretending to be a fan though I’m pretty sure she’s something more.

That night he wakes up from a nightmare with Elan beside him. He goes downstairs and asks his butler for a copy of the report from the Resistance camp take down. He finds Charlie’s name in the report and seems upset, then lets a small smile creep in.

After a few moments he makes a call to Helena.

Will does what has to be done

After failing several times to get a vehicle to stop early in the episode, a car finally stops for the Bowmans. We see that the car is full however and Will tries to negotiate with the man for a ride.

The man in the car says that they’ll take Gracie but Will obviously isn’t comfortable with that and asks if Katie can ride too. The man and his wife start to push back harder saying that offering to take Gracie was still a lot.

That’s when Will tells the man they need the car. As the wife yells at the husband to pull off, Will fires a round into the sky. He makes the family get out and then tells them to take all of their supplies as well. They’re terrified and they do so. As the Bowmans climb into the car, Will apologizes to the father.

The car runs out of gas before they get to Seattle but when they walk a few paces down the road they can see the wall to the colony is not far away.

Snyder is back

Snyder is at a restaurant this time. He’s having dinner with the proxy’s for Santa Monica and San Fernando. He first tries to convince them to allow the renditions of their colonies but they hold fast to their positions.

That’s when Snyder calls in the guards and says that he had word from the inside that said that they were sympathetic to The Resistance. He has them dragged out in cuffs.

At the gates of Seattle

As they arrive at the Seattle intake area, they are immediately greeted by Iris. She gets help over to Gracie and leads the rest of the Bowmans to a separate tent.

Iris introduces herself as the Bowman’s advocate. Earlier in the episode Will and Katie had mentioned being afraid of being recognized if they went to a colony. At the time Will said that they wouldn’t create new identities again and that Bram needed to be prepared to take care of Gracie if they are arrested. However, when Iris asks for their names, Will tells them they’re the Dalton family from Riverside, CA.

When Iris leaves, after assuring them that she’ll get them any updates that come with regard to Gracie, Will breaks down. Katie is also emotional and they send Bram off to get them food. While out he notices that there are cameras and computers everywhere and tells his parents he’s worried they’ll figure out who they are. He doesn’t want to have to take care of Gracie but agrees to do so if it comes to it. They’re all emotional now.

Helena is not happy

Helena comes to Snyder again, but this time she is not happy. What Snyder did was not what she had planned. She’s worried about how his move will affect her but he tells her that his word is going to carry more weight. After all, he’s the hero that took down the biggest resistance camp.

Grace is fine

At the end of the episode, Iris let’s the “Daltons” know that Gracie has been stabilized. She then asks Will to come with her for an interview which obviously makes the family nervous.

She tells him that they want to establish a profile to find a good placement for them and begins to ask him questions to plug him into the algorithm. As he continues to answer questions as Mr. Dalton, the camera pans out to show that they already know he’s Will Bowman.

Next: Colony Recap: The Emerald City

Summary

While this was a cooling off episode with regard to action, it was a strong episode as far as acting. With Snyder back in the lap of luxury, we got to see him become the character we loved to hate early in the series.

Meanwhile, we see the Bowman’s functioning like a family desperate to save their child rather than a small militia. Josh Holloway was great, and the scene where they take the car from the other family felt like a clip you send in for Emmy consideration. It was great to get back to these roots but it appears that next week’s episode will thrust us back into the game as the Bowman’s charade may or may not be exposed.

Colony returns next Wednesday at 10/9 Central on USA Network.