Comment if you get the reference, please.
Things were simpler when your grandma and grandpa went to the moving pictures or watched stories on their black-and-white television: The good guys were handsome and wore white, the bad guys had scars on their faces and wore black. But storytelling has gotten more complicated since then, and shows like Lost have played tricks on our minds by convincing us to feel one way about a character and then clubbing us over the head with their true intentions.
The Event is playing this game of psych! so often, that getting a grasp on anyone's moral code is as difficult as duping an alien First Lady into taking a DNA test. Sophia, once a benevolent alien gal, is now a bloodthirsty despot who's greenlighting genocide and who wants to kill all humans. Dempsey, once a gentle old psychopath, is now the one protecting us. Vicky, once a cold-blooded hitwoman, is now buddying up to her former target. Thank god for Sean and Simon, the only characters who've stayed consistently desperate and conflicted, respectively.
But let's face it, that's what makes this show so darn fun. And last night, the show was still on a high from last week's actually good episode "Face Off," so it only slowed down a tad. This show could be going somewhere, folks. It's still a vortex of consistency, believable actions, and good dialogue, and 16 episodes in, I still don't care about any of the characters—but we've come this far, so we may as well follow through.
I know it's only been one episode since his demise, but man oh man do I miss Thomas. While I always approve of shows killing off characters, letting Thomas go up in a fiery mess might have been a mistake. He was everything that made The Event great: over-the-top, stilted, and oblivious.
But Thomas's plan to wipe you and I off the face of the planet so his own people can move in will live on, because Sophia, stricken with grief over the loss of her son (the same son who executed her followers and tried to usurp her power) has decided to kill all humans. While it may not make a ton of sense for the pragmatic Sophia to flip-flop like this, it at least holds course that we may someday actually see the "event" the show is promising.
Simon, meanwhile, is still getting sh*t on. The guy cannot catch a break, and he might be the only realistically likable person left on the show. Outed as an alien at work, he fled to the safety of his people, only to learn that they're about to kill all humans. He has a problem with this, and tried to escape with Michael—who stabbed him in the back.
Over in France (yes, the show is divided into two parts now), Sean was duped into an ambush in the episode's 487th double-cross by Monsieur French Guy, whose accent gets more and more ridiculous every time he says "croissant." Mother-of-the-year Vicky was kidnapped in the process, but at least Sean has now deactivated the program that was going to give her kid a virus or post his whereabouts on Twitter or whatever. Sean took revenge on Pierre by torturing him with the hammer-to-the-hand trick in order to finagle some info out of him. I believe it was Dempsey's real address, but honestly, I was laughing too hard at French Guy's accent to really know what was going on.
We also learned some big news about Dempsey. FINALLY. With Thomas gone, Dempsey automatically stepped up to fill the vacated role of "looniest mo-fo on the show." Dempsey admitted to Vicky that he comes from a long line of guardians whose job is to protect humans from the aliens. Sure, okay, why not? Then he ordered Vicky to die. I like his style; Dempsey, you are now my favorite character for all the wrong reasons.
And because it's obligatory that every character on The Event must have a secret, and not just a normal secret but a "Where is Jimmy Hoffa buried?" kind of secret, President Martinez's wife refused to take the DNA test that will be administered to everyone in America. Hooray, Patriot Act! Is she an alien? Is she scared of needles? Is she actually a man? Find out in two weeks on The Event!
Extra notes and responses to last week's comments:
... @PedroPacheco2: You're right about last week's dinner and Vicky and Henry's story about their successful drunk-driving covert operation. It was absolutely ridiculous.
... @the-tester said, "And why exactly were there three Apache helicopters aiming at the buses? In the end, only one of the Apaches actually fired their missles... Of course, they had to shoot the buses one by one, leaving at least 5 minutes between each shot." It's because this is THE EVENT!
... @Gislef: What's up, buddy? Long time no talk. You said, "And let's not forget the dramatic "Let's evade the Secret Service by splitting up, Sean stealing a car, picking up Vicky, and driving away" scene. What a waste of 2 minutes." I thought the same thing, but then realized it wasn't that much of a waste because Vicky took her shirt off. That's a good-lookin' back! Also—how inept are those Secret Service agents?
... This show really needs to get Leila back into a good storyline. I miss her camera time.
... Did you hear Jason Ritter's "Previously on The Event..." at the start of the show? Ha ha! It was like he was introducing a comedy! So awesome.
And now, here's the BIGGEST The Event question EVER: Who is hotter, Vicky or Leila? Cast your vote in the comments!
[UPDATE] Wow! You guys are like 99 percent in favor of Vicky! Sorry, I have to go with Leila.
Follow TV.com writer Tim Surette on Twitter: @TimAtTVDotCom
Vicky is beautiful and much hotter. There's no comparison. Leila is a whiner, acts like a 10-year old, and that gets annoying rather quickly. I just don't see what Sean sees in her. She looks ok, but I'm rooting for Sean to end up with Vicky. She's the prize here.
Well it figures that you would go for Leila Tim. Once again, your opinions are suspect. You seem to be making it your goal to personally kill this show...why? So we can have more quality programming like Hawaii 5-0? Or another American Idol competitor? Or another CSI clone? The Event is one thing: different. While the acting may not be the best on TV, I for one would like to see the show make it to a second season and get some idea where they are going with this story...as long as it's not to a carnival.
I got the reference =)
Sarah Roemer isn't ugly, but she's definitely not sexy. As for Taylor Cole - very attractive and sexy...
Taylor Cole is amazingly attractive. Other girl is just eh.
Gotta' go with Vicky. Although both actresses are attractive, Taylor Cole redefined sexy when she appeared in that Old Spice commercial. You know the one!
Vicky is gorgeous... Leila actually looks half-alien.
Vicky
leila, with out a doubt.
Vicky!
Is "the cake is a lie" a reference to Portal?
vickyyyyyy
Sophia is starting to creep me out. Didn't care for the actress when she was on ER, too creepy. So now she is in her element.
I think Vicky is the hottie of the two. Even with acting, gotta go with Vicky. This naive crap Laila has going on the show is getting so old. Like a 115 lb girl can really intimidate anyone. Hoping she is Simon's saviour.
Sophia, you don't know wether she smiles wether she cries, it's all the time the same expression. She was not on the right bus.
Leila's actress used to be much hotter, I don't know why, but she looks weird, Vicky is way hotter!!!
Leila, seriously? Vicky is way hotter. Also i thought it was hilarious when Simon was escaping from the white house and they had all of two secret service agents trying to catch him. Seeing as Simon was their only link to where the aliens are hiding, I thought just maybe the president would of had a few more guys tailing him. Final thought: Have they not conceived of road blocks in this EVENT universe.
vickyyy
Yeah Vicky by far, but I base my decision on her previously being on Supernatural and Leila previously being in Fired Up! I would apologize for being illogical in my choice, but this is a review on The Event.
I had to replay Jason Ritter's "Previosly on... The Event" several times, it was so hilarious! It was almost like he had forgotten the name of the show or that he just didn't care anymore. Other than that I agree that all the characters are very different from when the show started. I used to root for the government, but now I'm totally on Team Sophia. Although I hated Thomas and now that she's morphing in to Thomas I might have to go back to Team Martinez. And to answer your question, Vicky is way hotter than Leila. I mean Leila is hot, but Vicky is like super hot.
I like Vicky, way more then Laila, i rather see V & S together, Laila cries too much just kill her....
I can't even remember their character names, that's how much the show has disappointed me, so I'll just say the lady on the right, without a doubt (Vicky?). In fact, when she was changing out of the costume after forcing the US Vice-President with Sean (Shawn?) to give up the goods on the old guy's location (again forgot the name and don't feel like scrolling up) I was wishing the show were produced by Showtime. Might have seen something that Sean saw! haha. But I will say the last few episodes have been decent after a year of disappointment. I agree with the writer that some of the flip-flops are pretty hard to buy, and I absolutely wish Sean's character disappeared along with the sub-plot, but hey. Are we ever going to see what 'the event' actually is??moreless
Add me to the Vicky camp (been there since day1 and it's been kinda lonely).
This episode was full of twists and turns which was exciting and very entertaining! This is why I enjoy the show!
of course it makes sense that sofia has changed her tune (her planet's sun went supernova) & i really liked watching sean torture that guy with the hammer. but yeah, dempsey is actually a good guy? that was a surprise & the president is totally married to an alien.
It's from the video game, Portal. The cake was a lie!
Vicky hands down also can you tell us Tv.comers what that portal reference means. If I had to gess I would say Dr.Who.
Vicky, I have a thing for bad girls.
slerman12, I'll make note of it in next week's piece. In the meantime, feel free to print this comment out and add it to your trophy case!
hehe, i got the portal referance. I DESERVE RECOGNITION FOR THIS!
Vicky wins by miles!
Vicky is hotter of course!
If this show was any further off track you could call it Heroes!
Vicky seems to be more natural beauty.
Vicky without a doubt
Leila
With all the "kill all huamans" quote.. i swear I thought u were Bender Bending Rodriguez! ...and srsly? the cake is not a lie.. GLaDOS will prove it.. Portal 2!
Ha! the cake is a lie....portal. oh and vicky!
...Just to clarify, by "pretty good" I mean a campy good time, not actually good like say, Fringe.
I gotta say neither... I like Sophia. I'm into that whole genocidal alien mother vibe. HOT!! and dare I say it but The Event has been pretty good lately. Seriously, they've taken it up a notch. I mean the acting is still sub-par, but stuff is happening now. If only they didn't wait this long....
Vicky no doubt (BTW the presidents wife can't be an alien because I'm sure someone from her past life would have noticed her since the aliens don't age) I hope they are not dumb enough to pull a sh#t like that.
Vicky took her shirt off after the wasted two minutes. That was minute 3.
Coming from someone who stopped watching the show at mid season and has no personal feelings towards the "baddassness" of one or the other...I'd have to say Leila (and I'm not even into blondes).
Vicky...bad acting is not attractive Leila
Vicky... no contest.. Leila is not hot, just cute
Vicky!!