“We Can’t Win” might as well be a tagline for the entire V season. No matter how hard it tries, no matter how many interesting and compelling elements it incorporates into a story, the episodes remain the epitome of average. This installment is a perfect example. The UN Secretary General is, perhaps, the single most charismatic figure in the entire show — but he’s given minimal screen time. What’s more, the rest of the episode vacillates between a manhunt and teen angst and romance. The thematic ideas — of how emotion can overcome stoicism — remain the strongest aspect of the show. But when filtered through Tyler and Lisa, the results are … well … average.

The episode begins with a distinct focus on consequence. Erica faces the consequences of having lied to Tyler. Ryan faces the consequences of having lied to his wife. Everyone is dealing with the death of Georgie. When Resistance members show up dead, our group of heros begins to realize the gravity of having sent their “John May Lives!” message. And then there’s Lisa, who is beginning to have human emotions as a result of her efforts to seduce Tyler.

This is a good start to the episode. But instead of telling a story about these very real conflicts, the episode is about hunting down a Resistance member who survived a Visitor assassination attempt. The result is to make the story a pedestrian cloak-and-dagger affair, instead of really honing in on what makes the premise of the series so compelling to begin with — namely how people will react to the sudden appearance of aliens above our planet. It all ends when our heroes use the Resistance survivor as bait — and get him killed. They catch the assassin … who turns out to be a human. His rationale for working for the Vs is the inspiration for the episode’s title. But it’s poorly written and executed.

True, this plot provides some enjoyable moments, but they’re mostly the result of Hobbes, who happens to be the only genuinely funny character in the series. His quip about shooting accuracy being the reason why Vs are winning was perfectly sarcastic, irreverent and timed. V can get better if it starts focusing on characters — on genuinely compelling characters like Hobbes and the UN Secretary General.

In fact, the Secretary General manages to provide the most plausible, reasonable responses to the Vs that we’ve seen thus far. His ability to speak diplomatically and yet maintain a strong persona — one that see right through the Visitor’s veil of subterfuge — is like a breath of fresh air. Why aren’t there characters on the show who are reasonably skeptical of the Vs? Who act in a way other than the nonsensical paramilitary shenanigans we see from our intrepid heroes?

In any event, The Secretary General quite rightly sees the opportunism in Anna’s relief efforts during a recent natural disaster and quite rightly identifies the “costs” associated with accepting gifts from the Vs. But in stark contrast to the Secretary General, we get the further erosion of Chad Decker’s character. Making him little more than an opportunist himself removes quite a bit of the initial complexity which originally made his character fairly interesting.

Lastly there is Lisa. She’s developing feelings. She fails the “feelings test” and is saved from her mother’s retribution by a Fifth Column Visitor who hopes to use the results as a kind of future blackmail. She heads off into a shuttle with Tyler. Tyler waxes romantic about his feelings. They make love. And so forth. There really is a seed of an interesting story in all of this, but it’s burdened by the soapy, teenage melodrama.

Overall Grade: C

“We Can’t Win” is emblematic of a series that has some interesting ideas, but is unable to present them in any sort of truly compelling fashion. Ultimately, V will either succeed or fail if it can rise above its generic approach and find the inherent promise of its premise.

Compelling characterizations — like what we see from the Secretary General and Hobbes — would be a good start.

Topics: Sci-Fi, TV Reviews
Filed under: V The Series

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