Absentia Season 2 Episode 5 Review: Bolo
Christine Orlando
at
.
Updated at
.
The terrorist case against Tyler Brandon Mills took a strange turn on Absentia Season 2 Episode 5, and as much as it was unexpected, that's not what left me shaking my head.
That's part of the fun of Absentia.
The investigations are absorbing and intriguing but it's the characters that continue to confound me.
Tyler Mills is one disturbed and scary guy.
He killed over one hundred people and not only does he show no remorse, he seems to have enjoyed doing it.
One hundred and twenty people. It filled me up. Let me go and I’ll give you an encore.
Tyler Mills
As Nick sat there listening to Tyler, you could tell he was trying to figure out how a once seemingly normal boy turned into this evil individual who relished taking other people's lives.
If Tyler's background had some major abuse or trauma, no one was talking about it. It seems as though Flynn has already endured more than Tyler.
But as Warren pointed out, Flynn takes after his mother.
Of course Emily's recent actions might not make that such a good thing.
Tommy, look, I know I screwed up, just please call me back. Just give me a chance to apologize in person. Please.
Emily
I was so relieved that Emily called Tommy and begged for forgiveness. Did she know what she was doing when she attacked him? Was she completely out of control? Was it her PTSD?
Related: Absentia Season 2 Episode 4 Review: Offenders
As much as I was hoping that Tommy would hear Emily out, I can't blame him for telling her that it's over between them.
If the roles were reversed and the man had beaten on the woman, I would have told her to leave and stay away.
Despite Emily's issues, Tommy doesn't deserve to be put in a position where the person he loves will hurt him, not only emotionally but physically.
With all of that said, I do hope the detective in him wins out and he looks into Catalyst Diagnostic.
After Cal and Emily's interview with Petra Bishop, it became clear that the two things the victims may have in common are a strange rash and an unexplained change in behavior that makes them overly aggressive.
Were they drugged? Valerie seemed to think that what she was given wasn't a sedative. Could someone be doing some sort of experiment on these people and then killing them after they've gotten their "results."
Was Tyler part of some control group that went horribly wrong?
Could this be the reason that Emily beat the hell out of Tommy? I sure hope so, because if Emily can become that uncontrollably violent without cause, that's just scary.
Of course, that means Emily could be the killer's next victim and now she's actually heading out of the country to find Rex Wolfe which could make her an even easier target.
Once again, I was thrilled that Cal had Emily's back...and a little apprehensive too.
I’m taking Byrne with me. I trust her instincts.
Cal
I desperately hope that sentiment is genuine but with all of the other twists and turns, in this case, I can't say I'd be shocked if Agent Cal Isaacs turned out to be working with the killers to take Emily down.
I really hope that's just me being paranoid.
Even with all of that, the character that upset me the most was Warren, and it wasn't even because of his heart attack at the arcade.
Warren's reactions to Emily swing so quickly from adoration to anger that it's giving me motion sickness.
During Absentia Season 2 Episode 4 he lashed out because Emily had questions about her biological mother, but once Warren was in the hospital, all of that animosity seemed to have disappeared.
And then there was the family dinner...
Emily: I should have told you.
Alice: Then why didn’t you?
Warren: Don’t take it personal, Alice. Emily’s always kept her own counsel, whether she’s right or wrong. The rest of us just have to live with her choices.
Wow! In less than a moment a nice meal turned into half the table ganging up on Emily while the others looked on not coming to her defense.
Warren didn't even give Emily a chance to explain what happened before he took Alice's side in this argument and insulted his daughter, and you could tell by the expression on Alice's face that she was pleased.
But then it must have really galled her to see Nick chase after Emily.
Unfortunately, Nick wasn't following Emily to see if she was okay or even to ask any follow-up questions about her biological mother meeting Flynn.
Nick was all about the job.
Emily: There’s something in this case that connects to me and I need to figure out what it is.
Nick: Well, you’re not going to get far freezing out everyone who can help. You know I have an obligation to report this.
Emily: So what’s stopping you, Nick?
It was kind of sad that it took the terror of having an assassin hold a gun to his head for Nick to realize how much his family needs him.
Lately, Nick doesn't seem to have much of a connection with Flynn or Alice, and he only seems to be talking to Emily more because she's back at the FBI, which has more of Nick's attention than anyone or anything else.
Before Emily left for Moldova, Warren popped up again, this time to give her a St. Michael's medal for protection and to chastise her for leaving him at dinner.
I’ve got a bone to pick with you. You left me alone with Suzy Homemaker and that ex of yours. Thanks a million.
Warren
How Emily doesn't explode at her father sometimes is beyond me. He rips her apart in front of everyone and then jokes about it. He takes Alice's side one minute and then makes fun of her the next.
Warren makes my head spin, but I'd love to know what he'd say if he saw Jack and Alice cozily holding hands over lunch.
With Emily off to Moldova to catch a killer, I'm off to review Absentia Season 2 Episode 6.
Don't forget to watch Absentia online here at TV Fanatic.
C. Orlando was a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.
