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Minority Report
Memento Mori
Original Air Date: Nov 23, 2015
Vincent Chia – Sr. Reviewer
vincent@thetwocentscorp.com
The second to the last episode brings us closer to the possible future in which our precogs are recaptured and placed into the photonic containment system (a.k.a. “milkbath chamber.”)
Tonight’s episode starts with the dastardly D.I.A. director Blomfeld briefing members of the Senate Select Intelligence Committee. He shows them the milkbath chamber and requests permission to go after the three missing components of the system. Arthur is surveilling and uses computerized facial recognition to identify the members.
Dash’s latest vision involves a man in a uniform with the letters “TAV-8,” which is a defunct military aircraft company. The team is able to identify the victim as one of D.C.’s senators. Blake thinks they should report it to the FBI but Vega thinks they can handle it. The Senator is a proponent of “Steven’s law,” which would allow genetic engineering in the womb. The Senator herself had a child who had a serious genetic illness that could have been prevented if genetic engineering were allowed. Many extremist groups object to doctors or parents “playing God.” While speaking with the Senator at a public function, Dash glimpses the suspect and both he and Vega give chase but lose him.
Arthur contacts Blake for help. Arthur tells Blake that Blomfeld has asked Senator Reynolds for permission to hunt the precogs. Art gives Blake a disc with secret information on it. He asks Blake to hand the disc to Reynolds and tell Reynolds that if he doesn’t squash Blomfeld’s plans, the disc will go public. Blake refuses to blackmail the Reynolds. Art later tells his associate that he’ll go to Deputy Chief Palmer instead. (Why not go to Palmer in the first place? Was it a test to see Blake’s loyalty? Or maybe Art didn’t want to “waste” the favor that Palmer owed him.)
After Reynolds shuts Blomfeld down, Blomfeld goes to a former acquaintance who used to be a general. The General is now head of a private security contractor which appears quite powerful. They discuss Blomfeld’s pre-cog program.
Arthur reaches out to Dash and Vega about Blomfeld’s project. Art and Agatha try to convince Dash to stop participating in crime-solving so he doesn’t endanger all three of them. Although Dash doesn’t want to stop, Vega is convinced and tells Dash they should stop. I hate to say this, but is Dash a bit selfish here? I understand his desire to help others, but even if he himself is willing to risk being placed back into the milkbath, is it his right to also endanger Arthur and Agatha?
Dash goes to Wally’s to see if he can solve his vision by himself. After recording the vision and examining it, Dash determines that “TAV-8” was really a reflection and the real uniform was “8 VAT” industries. Before Dash can alert Vega, Director Blomfeld knocks on Wally’s door.
Harry Blomfeld forces his way into Wally’s even though he has no warrant. Blomfeld tries to convince Wally that they need the precogs for the greater good. Wally resists. Blomfeld tells his men to confiscate Wally’s equipment saying that when it comes to national security, there’s very little he “can’t” do. But Wally has booby trapped his apartment in case “thieves” stole his stuff. Hidden induction coils by the doorway cause his equipment to self-destruct. Dash goes to Vega and says he wants to solve one last crime.
Vega and Dash break into 8 VAT Industries, which makes synthetic meat. Vega recognizes the Memento Mori book from last week’s episode. Dash deciphers part of the DNA strand but the page was burned.
Blake tells Blomfeld about the DNA sequence his people found in the book. Akeela is able to find trace DNA to identify the person working at 8 VAT. It matches a bio-scientist.
Blomfeld goes to his former General friend and tells him about a leak he had at his agency. Someone named Charles Peele stole blueprints to the photonic milkbath. Blomfeld traced Peele back to Fiddler’s Neck Island off the Carolina Coast where Peele was seen talking to a local blonde named Agatha. (Why didn’t you change your names guys!?!?)
Vega and Dash go to the Senator’s public appearance in support of “Steven’s Law.” Hertzog (the suspect) is able to disguise himself as a patient and he gets close enough to the senator to throw a biological agent at her. He is immediately detained.
As Hertzog is being interrogated, he tells the story of is past time as a researcher at Harvard. He worked on a cancer treatment, but made a mistake and instead killed all of his test animals. He thinks that experimenting with genes might allow researchers to accidentally destroy all of mankind. A concept somewhat like the cure being worse than the disease, except I guess to an exponential degree. Memento Mori is a latin phrase which means something like “remember we all die.” Hertzog wants to save humankind from itself.
Agatha visits Arthur, telling him that Blomfeld and his men came to the island. She barely got away. She is still seeing her vision of the milkbath, where Vega can be seen saying “put them in.” Dun dun dun!
So, we only have one episode left and it has to wrap up the milkbath arc. A few questions came to mind which for some reason I hadn’t thought of before:
– Why is Agatha the only pre-cog to have the milkbath vision? Shouldn’t Arthur and Dash also see pieces of it?
– What happened to the “pre-cogs can’t see their own futures” restriction? Does it only apply to Dash (and perhaps also Arthur) but not to Agatha? If that’s the case, then it explains the first question.
– Is it possible that Agatha’s vision involves other pre-cogs put in a milkbath chamber? She experiences the visions from the point of the view of the victim, which means it could be another person, right?
One more episode left!!!