Colony Season 3 Episode 1 Review: Maquis
Carissa Pavlica
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If you haven't yet watched this wonderful series, Colony Season 3 Episode 1 is a great place to pick it up if you don't want to wade your way through all of the incredible stuff you missed during the first two seasons.
Honestly, it's not a free pass you're getting to forget that those seasons existed, but I assume there are still some people who don't have the heart to sit through 19.5 full hours of television (which is what you get without commercials).
The Colony Season 3 premiere is more of a catch-up and welcome back than it is an exciting hour for long-time viewers. Maybe those LTV will disagree with me, but my assessment follows.
Having the Bowman family back is fantastic.
There is a modest time jump revealing they have been living happily as their version of the Swiss Family Robinson while they try to figure out how to meet up with the resistance and turn over their precious cargo to move along the fight against the otherworldly invaders.
You could also successfully correlate the Bowmans to Lost in Space: Earth Version given they've managed to live with Snyder without discovering his secret. He's a lot like the original Dr. Smith -- equally annoying and endearing.
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It's been six months since Snyder first pressed his panic button, and we have no idea how he wasn't discovered at that time, but he came much closer during the premiere to being outed as a double agent.
Can a coward be called a double agent? Snyder wants everyone to believe he thinks only of himself, but there is more to the guy than that, which was proven again when he assured the safety of Gracie and Charlie before he scurried off to meet with his goons.
How Snyder manages to have so much bravado in the face of goons pointing weapons in his face but absolutely nothing when it comes to facing the enemies from the skies is confounding.
When we first caught up with the group again, I thought he might have been discovered to be a mole and was being punished by Will and Katie and the kids for his duplicity. After all, manual labor doesn't appear to be his forte.
But nobody was lending him a hand doing any of the more difficult chores. They laughed in his face when he complained and said he wasn't capable of other chores. If he were found to be duplicitous, surely he wouldn't be considered a good babysitter, either.
But as soon as Katie and Will couldn't come to an immediate decision on what to do once a ship crashed right around them, Snyder pressed the panic button again. What a big baby!
Somehow the Bowmans have managed to keep their entire nuclear family safe through the most disturbing circumstances, and Snyder lays his cards on the table of those who probably killed his family. What an idiot.
There is always hope he'll come around and realize how lucky he is to be with the Bowmans during the fight for humanity, especially after the realization there are enemies of their enemy. But he's a lucky man who will probably ride it out on the wrong side until the very end and then die horribly.
The discovery that another enemy has infiltrated our airspace is the biggest news to come by way of the premiere. I wonder how long they have been around and whether the Raps own people have been turned against them to fight from the inside.
The reason this seems important is because of Will's experience not being blown away by a drone and the new machine's actions when it came face to face with Will and Katie.
They had been worrying over the thing the entire time there were in the cabin, marking its path and guessing where it might go next while it might have been protecting them the whole time.
It didn't hesitate to blow away the Hats (did I know there were gray hats or have I just forgotten?) but once it recognized the couple, it just wandered on its way. It's also how Broussard survived when fighting on the roof during Colony Season 2.
The list we once thought was marked for nefarious reasons we now can guess might be marked for people as potential allies to fight against the Raps.
The part of the drone they've been keeping safe for delivery to the resistance is finally going to be on its way. Bram as an adult is bound to get between his parents because he's not required to listen to either of them, at least not that he thinks.
It was ironic that he asked his mother who was in charge when he doesn't intend to listen to either one of them no matter who declares themselves as the leader of their small group. That's not how it works, kiddo.
He was determined to get through to the resistance even if it gave away their location in the woods. We don't know if that's why the ship crashed nearby or not.
And when Snyder returned from his rendezvous with his goons, not even a gun butt bruise on the face could convince Will that he wasn't doing something to jeopardize the family. Will was in his previous positions for a reason. Bram may not respect him, but he'll soon discover his father is damn talented.
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Bram shouldn't have stepped in and given a good word for Snyder before Will was done questioning the man. Snyder would have cracked. He was getting antsy and Will was just getting started. But all Bram wants is to get to the resistance -- and now he'll be leading the goons right to them.
The biggest disappointment of the hour had to be when thinking we might finally get a look at the Raps.
Katie: Is that what they look like inside the suit?
Will: I don't know. Someone's gonna be looking for this thing. We gotta get outta here.
Seeing a pile of immobile goo blown to bits in a bunch of drone wreckage does not count!!! I cry foul!
If you watch Colony online or have been following along since the beginning, you know how long we've been waiting for a peek. It's so unfair that's all we (and Katie and Will, of course) got to see of their oppressors.
I'm ready to get this party started, so now that we're all caught up on the last six months of hard days and lazy nights in the middle of the woods, I hope we're more into the thick of it when Colony Season 3 Episode 2 airs.
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.
