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V recap: Pilot
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V: the series
episode: Pilot
Original air date: November 3, 2009
Recap:
A rumbling is heard. The house begins to shake. A badge next to bed reads FBI: counter terrorism division. Close up on Erica Evans (Elizabeth Mitchell) as she sleeps. More rumbling. The close up on Mitchell's eye as she is startled awake offers a nice tip of the cap to Mitchell's former life, as a castaway on Lost. Frantically she searches for her son, Tyler, but he's not home. She calls his cell, he's in the hospital and in big trouble, mister. Through a montage filled with more shaking and rumbling and crashing we are introduced quickly to Ryan Nichols (Morris Chestnutt) buying a ring for his fiance Valerie; Father Jack Landry greeting a crippled man outside his church; and Chad Decker (Scott Wolf) an opportunistic TV journalist.
As people flood the streets to find the source of the disturbance they look to the skies to find a flying saucer hovering over New York City. The same is happening in major cities all over the world. People are freaking out. Just as Erica finds her son amidst the chaos, the bottom of the ship opens up and everyone panics, figuring they are about to be wiped out Independence Day-style. Instead the bottom of ship transforms into a giant HDTV and the face of a woman appears, smiling. Her voice is calming as she asks for people to not be afraid. They call themselves the Vs and as Anna (Firefly's Morene Baccrain) as she will soon be called promises the sharing of technology and promises the citizens of earth, "We are of peace, always". Everyone cheers!
When alien leader Anna arrives on earth, she is greeted with the expected swarm of media, including Chad, who wonders out loud if all the aliens are as hot as her. When alone with her alien co-worker, Anna tells him she wants him (Chad, that is), whatever that means. Later on the news Chad is going on about how the Vs have already set up healing centers promising to heal and cure any and all human ailment.
We cut to an abandoned power plant where Erica, along with her partner Dale (Alan Tudyk, also from Firefly) and a team of FBI guys are investigating a terrorist sleeper cell. They find some C-4 explosives and some fake IDs, but no bad guys. Someone had to have known the FBI was coming. Hmmm. Meanwhile Tyler and his buddy have snagged some tickets to go up onto the V ship and check it out. Here they meet another hottie V girl, Lisa, played by Laura Vandervoot (Supergirl on Smallville). She wants Tyler to become a V ambassador and help spread the good word. Plus he will get a really cool uniform. But he can't join without mommy's permission, since he's not 18... d'oh.
Back at the church Father Jack is pleading with his congregation that the Vs should earn their trust. After discussing with an elderly priest about whether or not we should blindly trust the aliens, err... Vs. The older priest feels its part of God's plan. Father Jack worries that "...gratitude could morph into worship, or worse...devotion". That's when the crippled dude from the opening rolls into to chat with the priest-types and promptly stands up and walks away from his wheel chair. Double d'oh
When Tyler gets home, Mom is waiting for him with video of him spray painting Vs all over. She's so proud. Tyler says he is spreading hope. Cut to the newsroom as Chad arrives for his work day but is greeted by his boss and Anna's mysterious V co-worker guy. He informs Chad that Anna would like him to personally interview her for a proper introduction to the world. Back to Erica who is on another wild goose chase to a sleeper cell location. This time a house, but same thing...abandoned. They find cell phone with a recent text message about a secret meeting.
We catch up with Ryan who is being called and hassled by a guy who claims "we need your help". He says he's forming a group and it won't be like last time. Ryan says he has changed and doesn't want to revisit his old life. His mysterious contact gives him an address to a secret meeting that night. Back to the church where Father Jack is confronted by a man bleeding to death. The man gives Jack an envelope with photos and says he must go to the same secret meeting and deliver the envelope. Then he dies.
Aboard the space ship, Chad prepares for his career launching interview with Anna. Just before they go to air, she warns him not to ask any discouraging questions because "we can't appear in a negative light". Chad isn't happy, because after all he's a moralistic journalist. But Anna sweet talks him and he gives in, for the greater good of course. Cut to Erica and her partner as she is about to infiltrate this "secret meeting", which her partner feels is a bad idea. She goes in anyway. The scene goes back in forth. Anna says she comes from a planet much like earth, although they don't divide themselves into countries. The leader of the secret meeting tells his confused audience they each must have a piece of their scalp cut to make sure they are not Vs. If they pass, they'll see skull bone; if not- well....
Anna continues to say her people are worried about mankind after all they come in peace. The man at the meeting says the Vs have been here for years, waiting to wipe us out. Anna says they just want to give humanity universal health care. Erica thinks she has heard enough and tries to leave the meeting, only to be stopped by Father Jack who divulges the photos he was given. They are of people on earth who are really alien reptiles posing as humans. One of the men matches an ID Erica found early on.
As the secret alien resistance meeting is breaking up, a silver orb floats into the room and just as someone notices the orb shoots a bunch of little spiky bullets killing many in the warehouse. That's when a bunch of humans coming running in, attacking anyone involved in the meeting, including Erica's FBI partner Dale, who she beats with a crow bar until a flap of skin rips up and reveals green alien lizard skin underneath. He comes to and grabs Erica but she is rescued by Father Jack. Ryan, who has also shown up with the attacking Vs, rescues his mysterious contact-resistance friend then reveals with a gash on his arm that he too is a V....but he's a good V and apparently there are more like him that want to help humans.
After his interview with Anna, the other V leader thanks Chad for compromising his integrities and doing a fluff piece on ETs instead of asking hard nosed questions. Chad isn't pleased with himself but he's told that from then on Anna will only speak through him.
Erica and Father Jack are talking about their next step. They must build a resistance. They must and will fight back. Although she feels the aliens already have the most dangerous of weapons, "devotion". Then we see that Tyler has forged his mom's name and joined the V ambassador program. We end with a long shot of Anna looking satisfied out the window of her ship over looking New York. All is proceeding according to plan.
Fade to black.
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