Hal's other self comes out to play, Anne comes to a decision, Ben has to make a decision, and Tom goes on a secret (or not) mission....
Ben and the other deharnessed kids have to make a big decision. When their harnesses were removed prior to the Volm's arrival, the spikes and associated hardware (so to speak) were left in their bodies because they could not be removed. With the Volm's machines, the remainder of the harnesses (including the spikes) can now be removed. This is good news because they can go back to normal (both good and bad) and they will presumably be able to live longer. The hardware in them prevents their bodies from making stem cells, which Lourdes thinks means that they will leave shortened lifespans. She is not sure how much shorter, but she does think it will be shorter. The trade off is that they will lose their enhanced physical abilities and their ability to talk with the rebel Skitters. Personally, I think that last bit alone is enough of a reason to keep at least one of them with the hardware in them for tactical purposes. Honestly, I have to say overall that the tradeoffs are worse than the cure. As Ben noted, while the spikes and stuff sucks, it does allow them to be very useful in a wide variety of ways. And as Matt said, if people don't like it, that's too bad. I am really glad that both Ben and the girl (Kim?) decided to keep the spikes in place. The humans need every advantage they can get their hands on and unless the spikes are hugely problematic, they really need to stay in place. The most compelling reason to remove the hardware (shortened lifespans) is a guess on Lourdes' part. She didn't seem to know about it for sure, so unless it turns out to drastically shorten their lives, the benefits greatly outweigh the costs.
EvilHal came out to play tonight. Not only did he talk to Hal in a seriously creepy scene, he actually took over Hal's body. I am somewhat surprised that Maggie didn't question "Hal's" change of heart, particularly given how stubborn the Mason's can be and how adamant Hal was about talking with Tom. And watching EvilHal help hand off Anne to the Skitter and harnessed girl was also creepy. Drew gives really good creepy smiles, particularly after he and Maggie finished making love. I can see Hal screaming at EvilHal for what was going on there.
I have to say that it seems less and less likely to me that Hal (either version) is the mole. The mole was presumably the one who told the Aspheni about Tom's trip to see the President and Hal knew nothing about it (well, not that we know of anyway). The only people who knew about it were with Tom or in the control room. Anne knew that Tom was leaving, but didn't know details. Hal knew that Tom was gone, but didn't know where. It is possible that EvilHal told Karen and the Aspheni that Tom was gone and that they tracked Tom to where he was so that they could attack, but I think it is more likely that the mole is someone else who gave the information up.
Tom's mission was something of a bust. He and Cochise did manage to persuade the President that Cochise was not wholly bad, but the attack that forced them to flee was not a good thing at all. I have to wonder (see the paragraph above) how exactly the Aspheni knew what was going on. As I said above, it is probable that the mole told the Aspheni about it, but it is also possible that the attack was already planned and that there is a mole with the President. Unlikely, granted, but it does behoove us to at least consider the possibility. Now Tom, Pope, and General Bressler are going to have to hope they survive the crash in good enough shape to get back to Charleston safely.
Anne has fled with Alexis. She took Alexis' DNA along with the DNA from the deharnessed kids to Dr. Kadar to see if there was something abnormal about it. Sure enough, Alexis alone had alien DNA mixed with the human DNA. So, Anne hit Dr. Kadar with a wrench and drugged Lourdes so that she could leave. Unfortunately (as noted above) she was met by EvilHal, a Skitter, and a harnessed girl who welcomed Alexis. I wonder what exactly Alexis is. Is she being groomed to be a new Overlord? Or are the Aspheni fascinated enough with how well humanity has resisted them to want to see what will happen when their DNA is mixed with human DNA? That is, of course, assuming that the alien DNA is Aspheni DNA. if it is DNA from another alien species (which is *VERY* doubtful), that could be a potentially very bad thing.
Until next week!
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