TV Review: EXTANT: Season 2, Episode 5: The New Frontier [CBS]

CBS’ Extant The New Frontier TV Show Review. Extant: Season 2, Episode 5: ‘The New Frontier,’ if strictly going by title, should have been about the implications, and potential ramifications, of apparent solutions to not just one, but two, extinction level problems: rapidly breeding alien hybrids & rogue androids. What we got, instead, was a custody battle, political crisis management, and A.I. growing pains. In fact, the only new dimension, brought to the show, was the crossing – where Mad Molly (Halle Berry) met both Mother & Maneater Molly – officially giving rise to Magic Molly (good golly).

An introductory act of cock-blocking would be the opening round, to this new headache for JD (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), however, and Molly would be of decreasing help from there. Still, he was able to demonstrate both his old school (?) detective skills, and diplomatic side – that last bit coming in handy, when Ethan’s (Pierce Gagnon) Big Adventure left a trail back to Julie (Grace Gummer), by way of Charlie (Tyler Hilton).

Ordinarily, I’m not a fan of plot points on cue, but Julie has been deserving a little Mad Molly in her life; so when the answer, to her confrontational question to Charlie, turns out to be Mad Mother Molly, at her door, I say: sure-why-not.

Exposure to Ethan somehow got Molly to finally thinking about the circumstances of John’s death. The fact that it took JD, to make her consider just how deliberate her bad luck might actually have been, came as an excuse. Molly had been too busy being mad to see the bigger picture (or remember how easy it was to yell conspiracy, back in season 1). Unfortunately, threatening likely culprits to their face is still a thing, I see; but Tobias (David Morrissey) still has some redemption capital to spend. This was to the chagrin of Velez (Necar Zadegan), of course. I’d sooner stay clear of that melodrama element; but the fact that Toby’s smart enough to tell her she sounded crazy, at one point, then continued to ignore her rising frustrations, suggested that it wasn’t going to end well. The fact that Toby seemed perfectly happy to be in the wrong place, at the wrong time – when Maneater Molly went online – only reinforced that notion. Toby’s eventual decision, on the matter, almost guarantees a Woman Scorned scenario.

Ethan somehow settling back into DMZ mode set the stage for a Julie-Molly custody hearing – necessitated by the fact that both women were now indispensable to the anti-alien hybrid initiative. The ranking Senator, herself, had to settle that one; but not before giving Ethan another chance to demonstrate that he’s “not a robot, without emotion.” That, in keeping with what I had made of the episode title, set the stage for some more important expositions, regarding our principle Humanichs.

Lucy (Kiersey Clemons) has, of course, been slowly winding Charlie around her finger. Ethan’s response, to Julie’s rationalization of her reprogramming him, was to want Lucy. Who can blame him? An oddly new twist, on playing cross-dress with sis, brought us to another glimpse of things to come, regarding the Mecha-Messiah element; but, for now, Lucy continues to earn the spotlight.

As encouraging as her Alias styled virtual run was, the brutal basics, to Lucy’s first Hybrid kill, was easily the coolest thing I’ve seen on this show, so far. As much as Lucy’s Lolita scheming makes my Spidey-sense tingle (I said SPIDEY-SENSE), there is definitely room for some upside, to the secretly bad-enabled Lucy controlling the football (sorry, Charlie).

Despite being the victim of another plot point on cue (walking in on Maneater Molly making the moves on Toby), and getting another inelegant brush off for it, JD managed to put together a pretty compelling conspiracy case, for Mad Molly. When the show gets around to any of it, is anybody’s guess; since the plot-point-on-cue thing gave JD something else to worry about.

I’m sure there is a cautionary message (about safe sex, hook-up culture, VD, and sexy strangers making for the craziest of people) in there, somewhere; but the equally chance meeting, between Mad Molly & one of Maneater Molly’s snacks, sort of brought something out of her. Put a little glimmer in her eye, and inspired circular patterns, and thoughts of mom.

Everybody stop, and raise a blanket (while scooting out of sight) over Magic Molly, to welcome her to the one woman review.

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