In the previous episode of Extant, Molly and JD failed to save the life of a pregnant woman and Molly had some sort of hallucination that caused her to blackout and made her question her sanity. Meanwhile, Julie chose to “help” Ethan by erasing his memories of Molly and Toby and was ordered to carry out a drone strike on Molly’s alien son. But Toby’s resolve was tested when he saw that Molly was in the line of fire.
In the third episode of season 2, “Empathy for the Devil,” Molly learns the truth about what happened to her alien son and Julie’s actions bring about troubling consequences. Meanwhile, JD’s involvement in the case becomes personal and Molly pulls the trigger on someone close to her.
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Molly Reconnects With Her Son
This episode opens with a flashback to five months earlier. Molly’s alien son has been taken to the morgue and we see how he emerged from his lifeless, childlike body into the body of a teenager. Once he gets what he needs from the unfortunate coroners, he goes out into the world and uses his mind-control to land a swanky new apartment. Back in the present day, we see Molly’s alien son — now a full-grown adult — approach her in the bar.
There is some very uncomfortable flirting and Molly’s alien son leads her out of the bar. Things continue to be incredibly uncomfortable as Molly almost kisses her son. JD proves to have incredible timing when he arrives just in time to prevent this show from featuring incest. JD tries to drag Molly away and her alien son turns against him. Molly calls her son off, just as the drone strikes. Molly’s son disappears and Molly and JD are taken into custody.
Can Molly Kill Her Son?
Toby’s partner/girlfriend questions JD about why he was at the bar and what he knows about Molly’s alien son, but JD dodges all of her questions. So Toby takes a shot at getting Molly to talk. Molly is furious that he tried to kill her and kept the truth about her son from her. Toby claims he did not know her son was alive when he asked her to lie to Congress. He also claims he was not the one who had her committed.
Toby explains how Molly’s son shed his original body, took on a new one and continued to age at a rapid rate. He then asks Molly why she was meeting with him at the bar and Molly says she had no idea who he was. Toby thinks they can use Molly’s connection to her son against him. He explains that there have been 29 deaths in the U.S. in the past six months. All of the victims were pregnant women and all of those pregnancies can be traced back to Molly’s son. They do not know what happened to the babies, but they know of one alien that needs to be stopped.
Toby says Molly can get close to her son in a way they cannot.Toby has his partner give Molly a quick training session at the shooting range and she passes with flying colors. Toby sends Molly home to wait for her son, as they know he will come for her. But will Molly be able to put him down?
JD Wants Answers
While Molly is being groomed to kill her son, JD is being held by Toby and his people. We find out he was once in the military but was dishonorably discharged because, according to him, he has problems with authority and letting innocent people die in pointless wars. When JD refuses to answer any of their questions, Toby goes to see him. JD knows who Toby is and that he made out much better in the war than JD did. Toby tells JD to disappear back into his own life and forget he ever met Molly Woods. But we all know that is not going to happen.
JD drops by Molly’s place after Toby sends her home. Molly tries to get him to leave but since Toby took away his case and stripped him of his license, he is not going anywhere. He knows something crazy went down with the 30 year old son she never told him about and he wants an explanation. So Molly tells him the whole crazy story. JD has seen enough since starting this case that he actually believes her. But instead of celebrating the fact that she might have an ally in this, Molly kicks him out of the house at gun-point.
Once JD is gone, Molly’s alien son shows up. He disrupts all the power to her neighborhood, so Toby and company have no way to contact her. Molly pulls her gun on her son, but hesitates to kill him. He tells her that his mission is not to kill anyone, but Molly points out that people keep dying. He tells her he is going to show her what is going on and there are suddenly dozens of alien kids in Molly’s home. Molly’s alien son tells her that she needs to decide if she is “with us or with them.”
Molly Pulls the Trigger
Molly apparently passes out again because when she wakes up, her alien son is gone. But Molly is not alone for long. Someone enters her home and she shoots, believing it is her alien son. She tells him she is sorry, but she’s picked her side and she is “with them.” Alas, it turns out that the person she shot was Toby, not her son.
If I had to guess, I would say that Toby probably survives the shooting, but where does that leave things with Molly? Will he cut her out of the hunt for her son, or will he appreciate the fact that he knows she can pull the trigger now? On the other hand, if Toby is dead, will JD be able to help Molly get out of a murder charge? And how will Molly’s son react when he realizes she is not on his side after all?
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Other Happenings
— Julie thinks that by erasing Ethan’s memories of Molly, she has made him happier but Ethan keeps glitching and having brief memories of Molly. He does not know who she is, but he keeps seeing her face. Charlie fixes the problem for the moment, but how long will it be before Ethan realizes Julie is not his mother?
— Julie’s boss, Anna, wants to do a field test with Lucy but Julie wants to run an ethical test first. Lucy’s answers satisfy Anna, but Charlie and Julie are not pleased with Lucy’s responses. Aside from having no issue with killing children if it means eliminating her target, Lucy is also making decisions that go directly against what Julie tells her to do. And I did not pick up on it before, but Lucy is being made into a soldier so they can send her after Molly’s alien son.
— After Molly kicks him out, JD returns home to find his daughter waiting for him. He is shocked when she tells him she is pregnant. And we all know who the father is.
What did you think of this episode of Extant? Will JD and Molly be able to save JD’s daughter from meeting the same fate as the other pregnant women? How is Ethan able to remember Molly even after his memories have been wiped? Is his love for her stronger than his programming? Do you care about the romantic drama going on with Charlie and Julie? (Please tell me I am not the only one with no interest in that storyline.) What was the episode’s biggest twist — Molly shooting Toby or JD’s daughter turning up pregnant? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.
Extant airs Wednesdays at 10pm on CBS.
(Image courtesy of CBS)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
