In the previous episode of Extant, Molly was reunited with Ethan, who learned that she is his real mother, though he still did not remember her. Meanwhile, JD looked into John’s death, Molly held it together long enough to be granted visitation with Ethan, Lucy made her first hybrid kill, Toby’s team made progress with the hybrid-killing virus, and Molly discovered she might possess hybrid-like abilities.
In these back-to-back episodes, “You Say You Want An Evolution” and “The Other,” Molly is concerned about the physical changes she is going through and looks into finding a way to stop the process. Meanwhile, Molly and JD try to get Toby to broker a peaceful arrangement between the human race and the alien hybrids, but Toby is more interested in waging war to wipe the hybrids out, even if that means taking Molly down with them.
Extant Recap: Does Molly Have Powers Now?
Molly’s Life is in Danger
Molly examines her DNA and realizes that she has both human and alien DNA. She tells JD that she believes it is the result of carrying the hybrid baby and that some of his cells were left behind after the pregnancy. These alien cells have changed her essential DNA. She has JD help her extract some bone-marrow to see how far the changes in her body have progressed. Molly discovers that a lot of the cells in her body are now hybrid cells, but she still has some human cells remaining. If she can get the alien spores from the lab, she might be able to stop the alien cells from reproducing.
Molly is heading into the lab, but JD warns her to be careful. Toby and the GSC will not hesitate to kill her if they learn she has alien DNA. But before Molly heads to the lab, she stops by to see Ethan. They were supposed to have their first official visit that day, but Molly is there to tell him that cannot happen right now. She explains that she is sick and he needs to stay with Julie until she gets better. Molly promises Ethan that she will come back for him.
When Molly arrives at the lab, Toby tells her that his team used the code she discovered to finish the virus. Soon, they will be able to eliminate the hybrids. But now that Molly has alien DNA in her system, the virus might kill her, too.
Molly tries to get her hands on the alien spores they have been keeping at the lab, but they are not there anymore. Molly is also denied access to other information she needs so she steals a drive off their computers and one of her colleagues reports her. Molly manages to use her hybrid abilities to get away from the guards chasing her and she calls JD for help.
Molly and JD Grow Closer
Molly and JD meet up again and she tells him about the virus and the likelihood of it killing her along with the hybrids. Even though she did not get what she needed from the lab, JD believes that she can save herself. Molly says she might be able to reverse the changes she’s going through if she can analyze her son’s genes. But in order to do that, she has to get in contact with him. Using the drive she stole from the lab, Molly does some scientific stuff I do not understand to send a signal to the hybrids, much like the signal they sent through their DNA.
While Molly and JD are waiting on a response from Molly’s son, they spend some time getting to know one another. There is some excellent sexual tension involving the re-dressing of Molly’s incision and a discussion of their pasts. JD confesses that he believes he is a bad father, but Molly tells JD that she sees him differently. She thinks he is a loving father and a gentleman. I disagree on the gentleman part, but I understand why Molly believes that of him. JD is the only person she can truly trust right now and he has come through for her every time she needs him, no matter how crazy the situation is.
Unfortunately, JD and Molly are interrupted before any kissing can happen. (Though we all know it was heading there, right? I find it hard to believe anyone could see these two as just friends after this scene.) Their moment is interrupted by a message from Molly’s son and they head off to meet up with him. Only, when they finally find him, they come across an entire community of hybrids.
Molly Switches Sides
JD is understandably freaked out, but Molly assures him that they will not hurt him. Molly gets some alone-time with her son and tells him she needs his blood and DNA to find a way to stop the changes in her body. Molly’s son — or Ahdu, as I will now refer to him — does not understand why Molly would want to change. Molly tries to explain that this is not who she is and she is hurting people, but Ahdu thinks humans react in much the same way when they feel threatened. Ahdu asks if he can show Molly something and for some reason, she lets him. As she later tells JD.
Ahdu shows her the history of the alien race and how they were once a peaceful people. He also says, to both Molly and JD, that they never meant to kill anyone. They did not know the pregnancies would kill the mothers and they have evolved now so that the mothers can survive the birthing process.
Somehow, Ahdu convinces Molly that the hybrids only want to live a peaceful existence alongside the human race. (I suppose it is possible that some of them want this, but it is also clear that many of them will attack at the first sign of a threat.) Molly is now determined to help make that peace happen. JD tries to talk some sense into her, but Molly argues that Toby and the GSC have a virus that can kill them all, including her. This is apparently enough to get JD on her side.
Molly Pleads for Peace, But Toby Wants War
JD and Molly kidnap Toby for a peace talk. Molly wants Toby to go back to his people and get them to agree to meet with Ahdu and try to come to peaceful terms. Toby is extremely resistant to this idea, but Molly points out that she has information that could ruin his career if she goes public with it. Toby claims he will take her message to his people and again, for reasons I do not understand, they trust him enough to let him leave.
But of course, Toby has no intention of making peace with the hybrids. He tells his people that they have the virus, as well as a growing Humanich army, so they can take on this alien threat right away. Keeping with that plan, Toby and the GSC put out an alert declaring Molly and JD wanted terrorists. Toby has essentially turned them into the most wanted people in the world.
With nowhere to turn and a 72 hour lock-down limiting their movements, JD and Molly head back to the hybrid community. JD makes some security suggestions and Ahdu’s second-in-command is not impressed with JD “taking over.” Molly explains that they are all in this together now, but it is clear that this guy is not going to play nice with JD.
When JD and another hybrid are on watch, Ahdu’s second-in-command gets into JD’s head to learn all of his secrets. Molly quickly puts a stop to it, but it is enough to sour JD on the whole experience. He reminds Molly that they only sought out the hybrids so she could find a way to stop the alien cells in her body from changing her, yet he has noticed that she is not trying very hard to find this solution. But Molly does not know if that is even possible now. Ahdu tells her that her best chance of surviving is to accept what she has become. But can Molly really learn to embrace her hybrid-ness?
JD and Molly Say Goodbye
Toby, who apparently gets all of his intel from an A.I. that no one else seems to know about, is not getting anywhere in his search for the hybrids so he decides to play dirty and have JD’s daughter taken into custody. Of course, the moment this happens, JD wants to leave the hybrid community to rescue his daughter. Ahdu’s second-in-command is not okay with this plan, as JD knows their location and he believes JD will lead the GSC right to them. He tries attacking JD again, but Molly puts a stop to that, using her own powers against him. Alas, by the time JD goes to leave, some of the hybrids have sabotaged his car.
Luckily, JD is good with cars and gets his back up and running rather quickly. Ahdu comes to say goodbye to him and thanks him for his help. They shake hands and I start to wonder if maybe Ahdu isn’t all bad. He did kill a lot of people in the first season, but maybe he has changed. Molly also comes to say goodbye and it is another excellent scene that shows the bond that has been built between these two. They both understand that they are doing what they need to do and Molly says maybe things could have worked out differently for them in another life. They have a rather touching goodbye, though once again, there is a sad lack of kissing. JD leaves just as the danger arrives.
Lucy Goes After the Hybrids
Toby’s A.I. eventually figures out how to find the hybrid community and advises them to release the virus right away. Toby decides to send the Humanichs in first, to get the lay of the land and find out what kind of defense capabilities the hybrids have. Lucy is chosen to lead the Humanichs and she goes in on a recon mission with one other Humanich. Lucy gets eyes on Molly and wants to take her out, but the other Humanich talks her out of it. Instead, they come across one of the hybrids and take him into custody. Lucy then calls in and tells Toby that she found the hybrids.
Other Happenings
— Thanks to Lucy’s success, Anna has Julie and Charlie bring an entire army of Humanichs online. They are all created based on Lucy’s programming so they will all share the same memories. This disappoints Ethan who, after being lied to by almost every human in his life, now considers Lucy and his new siblings to be his “real” family. Ethan even creates his own version of a Humanich in a little robot with a camera that can watch everything that goes on when Ethan is offline. One of the things Ethan’s robot sees — and records — is Lucy’s attempt to seduce Charlie into sleeping with her. This goes much further than anyone should be comfortable with, though Charlie does eventually put a stop to it.
— We learn that Anna was the person Julie called the night of John’s death. Julie confronts Anna and asks her if she had anything to do with what happened to John. Anna claims John’s death was an accident but reminds Julie that accusations like this can come with consequences. Later that night, Julie is almost killed thanks to an “elevator malfunction.” Julie leaves town, supposedly for work, but I suspect she was putting some distance between herself and Anna.
— Lucy continues to be a master manipulator and a major threat. Before she attempts to seduce Charlie, she leads him to learning about Julie’s affair with John. Lucy also continues to manipulate Ethan, causing him to doubt Molly’s reasons for not spending time with him. Will Ethan and Charlie see through Lucy’s manipulations before it’s too late?
— The parade of excellent guest stars continues as Melina Kanakaredes shows up as JD’s ex. After JD fails to make his daughter’s doctor’s appointment, she calls her mother. JD’s ex tells him that their daughter does not want to see him again and she returns the key he gave her. We do not learn much about JD’s ex but it is clear that there is still bad blood between them.
— Thanks to another formerly pregnant woman who gave birth to a hybrid, Toby learns about Molly’s soon-to-be hybrid-ness. She and this woman share the same genetic marker that may have led the leftover alien cells in their bodies to change them.
Final Thoughts
The scenes between Molly and JD in these two episodes go a long way to making me invest in their relationship. While I have enjoyed their interactions in the past, the bond between them really solidifies here and the scenes of them connecting are easily the best moments in both episodes. Unfortunately, the Molly-JD connection is one of the only things working for me with this show right now.
The hybrid-versus-human war is predictable and rather boring, with neither side coming out particularly well. Lucy makes a decent villain but I am amazed that no one can see through her manipulations. The new characters, sans JD, continue to be extremely unlikeable and Ethan is separated from the only person I actually want to see him interact with — his mother. Luckily, most of the action in both of these episodes revolves around Molly and JD so I found both hours rather enjoyable. As long as the show keeps the focus on them, I suspect I will continue to enjoy it.
What did you think of this double dose of Extant? Do you think Molly and the hybrids will survive Toby’s attack? Will Julie come clean about her role in John’s death and reveal Anna’s involvement? Will JD be able to get his daughter out of harm’s way? Is Ahdu sincere in his desire for peace with the humans or has he simply learned how to play the part of the gentle alien? And will anyone figure out the threat Lucy poses before she brings them all down? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.
Extant now airs Wednesdays at 9pm on CBS.
(Image courtesy of CBS)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
