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Invasion

The Fittest

InvasionDerek and Christina break into Russell’s park ranger station, but he isn’t there; they attack Mona Gomez, Russell’s fellow ranger, and steal her boat. When Russell arrives at the station, he learns who attacked Mona, but before he can call for backup to begin a search, Tom Underlay insists on the two of them searching alone. This means Russell will miss a meeting between Larkin, Mariel, and his children, a meeting where Mariel promises to answer their questions about Kira, and about what has happened to herself as well. The meeting doesn’t go as expected, and while Jesse and Rose are reassured that Kira has not become a hybrid, their faith in Mariel is shaken. Russell and Tom don’t find Derek and Christina, but they do find two groups of Honduran immigrants who are in the country illegally – some of them have become hybrids, but a few haven’t, and have been evicted from the hybrids’ camp. Finally, one of the men reveals that Derek and Christina have passed through, leading Russell and Tom to a camping cabin. But the two hyrbids get the drop on their would-be captors and escape, leaving death in their wake – including the only source of information on the hybrids that Russell had.

Order this DVDwritten by Juan Carlos Coto
directed by Fred Toye
music by Jon Ehrlich & Jason Derlatka

Guest Cast: James Frain (Andrew Dennison / Eli Szura), Elisabeth Moss (Christina), Michael Mitchell (Derek), Rocky Carroll (Healy), Matthew Ross (Vince), Jesus Mayorga (Oscar), Frank Merino (Hybrid migrant #1), Giovanni Martinez (Hybrid migrant #2)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Invasion

The Key

InvasionStill on the loose, Christina steals a vehicle, drives to the hospital, and demands that Mariel examine her – at gunpoint. But Mariel is more than willing to examine Christina and her unusual pregnancy, worried that the same thing is happening to her. Homestead’s schools open their doors for the first time since the hurricane, but Rose and Jesse are preoccupied by what they’ve learned about their mother. They also notice that many of their former classmates are behaving just as strangely as the other hybrids they’ve met. After Russell confronts him about how collaboration with Eli Szura, Tom goes to Szura and corners him about the escaped hybrids and the growing numbers of the dead among non-hybrids. One of those who have died because of what they knew, Russell’s informant, Healy, left a key to a boat where he kept some of his records. Those records lead Russell and Dave to the island where Szura is sequestering some of the more headstrong hybrids. When Tom returns Christina to Szura’s care, however, he may be signing her death sentence.

Order this DVDwritten by Michael Alaimo & Michael Foley
directed by Bryan Spicer
music by Jon Ehrlich & Jason Derlatka

Guest Cast: Nathan Baesel (Sirk), Elisabeth Moss (Christina), Michael Mitchell (Derek), James Frain (Eli Szura), Ron Perkins (Man), Tina Holmes (Ms. Wade), Kimleigh Smith (Nurse #1), Eddie Rutkowski (Nurse #2), Owen Beckman (Scott), Edwin Hodge (Brett), Jessica Jaques (Young woman)

Notes: Somewhat appropriately, Neil Finn’s “Driving Me Mad” is heard as Jesse returns to school. Kira watches a clip from Forbidden Planet (1956) while she’s recovering from her ordeal.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Invasion

Re-Evolution

InvasionOn her way to chase down another story, Larkin accidentally hits a man in Air Force fatigues who she learns is a member of the C-130 hurricane hunter plane that was knocked out the sky moments after its crew spotted glowing lights in the eye of Hurricane Eve. He’s also a hybrid. Sheriff Underlay shows up with military police in tow, who quickly drag the man off despite Underlay’s protests. When Underlay pays a visit to the Air Force officer who enlisted his help to track down the missing hybrid, he finds that the man didn’t merely go missing, but escaped a facility where tests are being run on hybrids. It seems that the military is aware of the hybrids – and of Underlay himself – and has been taking note of more hyrbid incidents after each hurricane. Russell and Dave wait until daylight to land on Szura’s island, where they find that the pregnant Christina gave birth to something despite being shot by Szura himself – and whatever she gave birth to proceeded to go into the water. Russell and Dave find the Homestead priest who had been hosting a support group for the hybrid hurricane “survivors,” and he leads them to evidence that Szura is planning a war between hybrids and humans. And when Jesse runs into more trouble at school, including a fight with several hybrid boys, it seems he’s ready to turn to extreme violence to protect himself – namely, the gun that Underlay gave him during their unexpected retreat.

Order this DVDwritten by Shaun Cassidy & Michael Alaimo
directed by Lawrence Trilling
music by Jon Ehrlich & Jason Verlatka

Guest Cast: Nathan Baesel (Sirk), Edwin Hodge (Brett), James Frain (Eli Szura), David Huynh (Sun Kim), Julio Oscar Mechoso (Frank Vargas), Mark Colson (Deputy Munger), Jay Malack (Connor), Charlie Bodin (Dino), Brent King (Lee), Nick Huff (Student #1), April Gilbert (Student #2), Owen Beckman (Student #3), Shasa Dabner (Student #4), Jason Rosario (Student no. 5), Tina Holmes (Ms. Wade), Cody Benjamin Lee (Logan)

Notes: This episode begins with an unusual recap covering the entire season, depicting several of the main characters in an “interrogation room” scenario that seems completely removed from anything currently happening in the series; in the two weeks leading up to Invasion’s return from an extended hiatus, ABC ran promos created with the same footage.

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Invasion

The Son Also Rises

InvasionWhen Larkin finds Jesse at home, drunk, and practicing his aim with the gun that Tom gave him, Russell confronts his son first, and then confiscates the gun and goes to confront Tom about it. He also gives Tom the evidence he has uncovered, that Szura is part of the military’s plans for the hybrids. Worried that the future of the hybrids is falling out of his control, Tom and his most trusted deputy, Sirk, go to check in on Szura’s island operation, but they find the island deserted. Larkin and Dave try to find out more about Szura’s master plan from the documents Dave retrieved, but they also find that another hurricane is forming in the Atlantic – one that could be on a direct path for Homestead, and one that could cover Szura and his followers if they make a more overt grab for power. A group of boys from Jesse’s school invite him to join them as they band together to fight for non-hybrids – but when he discovers that their first sacrifice is Deputy Sirk, Jesse finds himself fighting his own kind.

Order this DVDwritten by Juan Carlos Coto & Michael Foley
directed by Sergio Mimica Gezzan
music by Jon Ehrlich and Jason Verlatka

Guest Cast: Nathan Baesel (Sirk), James Frain (Eli Szura), Tina Holmes (Ms. Wade), Joshua Gomez (Scott), Mark Colson (Deputy Munger), Julio Oscar Mechoso (Frank Vargas), Holmes Osborne (Mayor Littles), Kimleigh Smith (Nurse #1), Eddie Rutkowski (Nurse #2), Veronica Cartwright (Valerie Shenkman), Tripp Pickel (Deputy Smith), Richard Lucas (TV Director), Carlos McCullers II (Jake), Stephen Alvarez (Paul Hambrick)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Invasion

Run And Gun

InvasionAs Hurricane Miranda approaches Homestead, Russell and Sheriff Underlay find that the hybrids seem to be ahead of the rest of the population in getting ready. At work, Larkin is frustrated to find that hybrids operating within the local government and media are actively working to keep the public in the dark about the danger. And unknown to Underlay, his own daughter is helping Szura, hoping that he can help Sirk. With another invasion imminent, Russell and Underlay both decide to get their families out of Homestead, though Underlay finds that he’s having to resort to extreme measures to accomplish this, even killing one of his own deputies – a hybrid working for Szura – in cold blood. But just as the Varons and Underlays are about to escape Homestead as the hurricane bears down on them, the families are still torn apart – Dave insists on remaining at home to document the next appearance of the lights and prove the existence of aliens once and for all, while Russell and Tom stay behind to fight out the endgame with Szura.

Order this DVDwritten by Juan Carlos Coto & Michael Foley
directed by Sergio Mimica Gezzan
music by Jon Ehrlich & Jason Verlatka

Guest Cast: Nathan Baesel (Sirk), James Frain (Szura), Tina Holmes (Ms. Wade), Joshua Gomez (Scott), Mark Colson (Deputy Munger), Julio Oscar Mechoso (Frank Vargas), Holmes Osborne (Mayor Littles), Kimleigh Smith (Nurse #1), Eddie Rutkowski (Nurse #2), Veronica Cartwright (Valerie Shenkman), Tripp Pickel (Deputy Smith), Richard Lucas (TV Director), Carlos McCullers II (Jake), Stephen Alvarez (Paul Hambrick)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Invasion

Round Up

InvasionAs Russell and Sheriff Underlay race back toward Homestead to stop Szura’s tkaeover plan, their families’ escape plan comes to a screeching halt – literally – until a National Guard vehicle picks them up and takes them, along with several other passengers, to a “shelter” – where the passengers are separated depending on whether they’re humans or hybrids. Mariel is taken away from her children and Larkin. Staying at Larkin’s home to document the lights that will herald another invasion, Dave is interrogated by Deputy Sirk and two other deputies who are trying to track down Underlay – on Szura’s orders. When the interrogation becomes a life-or-death struggle between human and hybrid, Dave discovers how far he’s willing to go to survive. Russell and Underlay find where the hybrids are being taken by Szura’s “National Guardsmen,” and Russell finds Mariel locked up. He slips her a gun in the event that Szura questions her personally about Underlay’s whereabouts. Szura does indeed come for Mariel, but not to interrogate her – he needs her help with pregnant hybrid women who have gone into premature labor with the arrival of the hurricane. And Larkin, Jesse and Rose discover the horrifying purpose behind Szura’s “shelters” – they aren’t going to wait out the storm there. They’re there to be sacrificed to the lights, becoming the next generation of hybrids…

Order this DVDwritten by Shaun Cassidy
directed by Steve Shill
music by Jon Ehrlich & Jason Verlatka

Guest Cast: Nathan Baesel (Sirk), James Frain (Szura), Tammy Trull (Alma), Julio Oscar Mechoso (Frank Vargas), Cotter Smith (Deputy Buell), Tripp Pickel (Deputy Armis), Stephen Alvarez (Paul Hambrick), Sarah Colonna (Guardswoman), Jon Huertas (National Guardsman), Eric Sheffer Stevens (National Guard driver), Denny Pierce (Guardsman #2), Brennan Feonix (Guardsman #3)

LogBook entry by Earl Green

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Invasion

The Last Wave Goodbye

InvasionThe hurricane strikes Homestead, and Szura’s master plan goes into effect – people seeking shelter from the storm are forced into the water as the lights descend, providing the raw material for more hybrids. Larkin, Jesse and Rose try to escape the hybrids posing as the National Guard, and then Sheriff Underlay and Russell arrive, guns blazing, taking down as many of the hybrids as they can until backup arrives in the form of the Air Force, who has been called in by Dave and Deputy Sirk. Szura escapes, taking the pregnant hybrid women – and Mariel – with him, to an undisclosed location; his hybrid soldiers, along with Underlay, are rounded up and held for questioning. Once released, Underlay joins Russell to mount a rescue mission to save Mariel, but once she’s safe, Underlay’s next mission is to capture or kill Szura. When Russell tries to get Mariel to safety, she refuses to leave the pregnant hybrids. Even when cornered and mortally wounded, Szura has no doubt that the hybrids will take over, and dies with that promise on his lips. Jesse’s friend Brett, along with another boy from the school, take Larkin and Dave hostage, intending to use them as bait to trap and kill Underlay; Larkin manages to get word to Sirk. Jesse, Rose, Sirk and Kira hide out in the locked room at Underlay’s house, where Sirk hopes to end the hostage situation, but instead becomes a hostage himself. Jesse manages to alert Underlay to the situation just before Brett finds the secret room. Unaware of this, Russell and Mariel transport some of the pregnant hybrids to the water, despite Russell’s fear that allowing them to give birth may give rise to something even worse than Szura or his half-human, half-alien hybrids. Underlay takes back his house, but Larkin is shot in the ensuing firefight. In a last-ditch effort to save her life, Underlay takes Larkin to the water – becoming a hybrid may be her only chance.

Order this DVDwritten by Shaun Cassidy & Charlie Craig
directed by Lawrence Trilling
music by Jon Ehrlich & Jason Verlatka

Guest Cast: Nathan Baesel (Sirk), James Frain (Szura), Edwin Hodge (Brett), Verda Bridges (Brett’s mom), Brent King (Lee), Valerie Cruz (Col. Lopez), Tammy Trull (Alma), Tracey Rooney (Pregnant hybrid #1), Rebecca Avery (Pregnant hybrid #2), Christine Ogunade (Pregnant hybrid #3 – Lydia), Brennan Feonix (Guardsman #3), Alicia Wollerton (Mother), Arthur Young (7 year old), Michael Klock (Husband), Allison Gammon (Wife in crowd), Annie O’Donnell (Old woman in crowd)

Notes: Invasion was cancelled by ABC mere days before its season finale premiered. Though there were hopes that it would be picked up by the CW – a new network formed jointly by Viacom/Paramount/CBS and Warner Bros., the studio that produced Invasion – the show did not appear on the CW’s first schedule. As such, the cliffhanger of whether or not Larkin dies, or become a hybrid and lives, is left unresolved.

LogBook entry by Earl Green