We are winding down in the season and fans everywhere are praying this show doesn’t go “the way of the Firefly” as it is still uncertain if there will be a Season 2.
Episode 12 “Beholder,” begins with a young handsome gentleman playing virtual golf in his upscale apartment. Suddenly a man with bandages on his face burst in and tazers him to the floor. While he’s incapacitated the criminal sticks metallic syringe in his neck. Something strange happens to the victims face, and when the procedure is done, the criminal has a little vile of liquid for his efforts.
1. The victim turns out to be a Chrome (genetically enhanced), and the cause of death? Heart attack.
Though it wasn’t reported as a murder, our Chrome girl Valerie knows that foul play is afoot saying “Chromes don’t die early, that’s the point of genetic manipulation.” Convincing everyone they had a murder on their hands, Valerie decides to spear head the investigation and go to the super exclusive Chromes only club which the victim had left soon before his murder.
2. Valerie justifies to her fellow Chrome’s why she is a lowly police officer.
Though at first she is snubbed by the Chrome elite, even after she proves she is one, Valerie ends up having a therapeutic conversation with the head of Club security. Who revealed his chrome brother was a chainsaw sculptor. So he understands the need for Chrome’s to do something stupid like solve murders. After some light upper class flirting Valerie leaves the Club with the security footage.
3. The criminal begins to reveal his motives.
We see our killer going to a seedy back alley clinic. Giving the vile of extracted fluid to a dude in a lab coat saying “do it again.” The doctor replies “you can’t keep doing this to yourself.” The killer reminds the doc that he could call the cops at any time and turn him in for practicing without license. “But you volunteered!” Says the doc. The criminal lays back in the chair, and begins to undergo the procedure. In which he painfully receives the facial features he stole from the victim at the beginning of the show.
4. The Detectives narrow it down.
After examining the puncture wound on the neck of the Chrome victim. They found the DNA of 7 other victims (yeeuckk) all non Chromes who were reported to have died of natural causes. What’s the one thing they all have in common? They’re all handsome. Further investigation reveals that plastic surgery via nanotechnology was the cause of the “natural deaths.” The killer was injecting the nano’s into his victims to extract the chosen body parts from the inside out, for the sole purpose of transplanting them to himself in the same way. This technology was experimental, and the killer had once volunteered to be a test subject in order to make himself handsome. It went terribly wrong. Forcing him to use the same technology that disfigured him, to save him.
5. The unfortunate twist
After determining the location of all the victims, using the club security footage, and facial recognition software, they were able to determine who the killer was. As they search his apartment they discover he had been in frequent contact with a pretty neighbor across the way, solely through instant messaging. The killer was ashamed of his looks and had big plans to meet her face to face, just as soon as he had killed enough handsome people.
The killer returns home to find cops posted outside his apartment. Realizing his time is running out he decides to introduce himself to his love for the first time. As they meet face to face, he realizes (wait for it) she’s blind! (What a twist!) Not only is she blind but she’s super unjudgemental and she tells him she will love him no matter what. The tender moment is interrupted by the cops, forcing the face stealer to run. Seeing no hope, he runs to the ledge of the tall apartment complex with the cops on his heals. Though Kennex does his best to talk him out of it, the killer jumps to his death.
All in all “Beholder” was ok but seems out of turn with the last few episodes, and is an especially confusing choice for the 2nd to last episode of the season. With so many lose ends to tie up, like John Larroquette over the wall, let’s pray that the season finale is so good that it convinces fans and Fox execs alike that its worthy of another season.
