She's Come Undone
Mutant X Episode Synopses
She's Come Undone: Episode #317.
Tag: Discovering that their teammate Lexa is the subject of a covert experiment that is controlling her, the Mutant X team hunts for the doctor responsible. [ Transcript]
Cast & Crew: Written by Michelle Lovretta; Directed by Timothy Bond
George Buza.... Lexa's Dominion Contact
John Blackwood.... Dr. Remy Arnot
Peter Cockett.... Dr. John Gonsalves
David Frish....Dominion Council member
Stefen Hayes.... Male assassin
Ian Leung....Dominion Council member
David J. MacNeill....Dominion Council member
Darren Marsman....Reid guard
Cheryl Quiacos.... Female assassin
Jeff Seymour....Dominion Council Head
John Stoneham, Sr.... Dr. Samuel Howell
Official Synopsis: Lexa (Karen Cliche) arrives at Maxxlon Laboratories, overrides the security system and enters the building wearing a long coat and sunglasses. Two guards come at her, but she takes them out with powerful lasers and moves into the main lab where she uses a solar flare to knock out the lab tech. She walks toward Dr. Remy Arnot’s (John Blackwood) office where he is feverishly typing on his computer. Just as Lexa reaches the office, two glass doors slide into place to lock her out, but she easily shatters the glass and enters. When Arnot pulls a gun, Lexa grabs it and sends him flying into a cabinet that contains a knife collection. During the encounter, Lexa’s sunglasses fall off, revealing her eyes, which are solid white. Arnot begs Lexa not to kill him, but she picks up a knife and drives it down. Just then, Lexa bolts awake in her room at Sanctuary. Shalimar (Victoria Pratt), having heard her shouting, runs in. Lexa says she had a nightmare, but Shalimar’s feral senses pick up a strange odor and she turns on the light to find that Lexa is covered in blood. Horrified, Lexa tells Shalimar she’s not hurt -- it’s someone else’s blood. In the lab, Jesse (Forbes March) does a bioscan on Lexa’s body and when he reaches the metal implant on the back of her head, Lexa says it was deactivated by the Dominion. Brennan (Victor Webster) enters and tells them that Lexa took the Helix out three hours earlier and he’s in the process of retracing her route. A short time later, Brennan, Shalimar and Lexa arrive at Maxxlon and find Arnot dead in his office. When Shalimar comlinks Jesse and asks him to research Arnot, he soon discovers the man worked for Genomex as part of “Project Nine.” Hearing this, Lexa lifts Arnot’s sleeve to reveal a symbol tattooed on his inner elbow. Lexa then urgently tells Brennan and Shalimar they must leave right away. As they rush out, two Dominion operatives dressed as repairmen enter. Jumping behind a desk to hide, Lexa throws a light blast which blinds the men and allows Brennan and Shalimar to take them out. Lexa then reveals that Maxxlon is a Dominion facility and she’s attacked her own people, but doesn’t know why. Jesse then orders Brennan to bring Lexa back right away as she was a subject in “Project Nine.” Back in Sanctuary, Lexa talks to her Dominion contact, who insists she come to the headquarters until they figure out what’s happening. Just as Lexa hangs up Adam’s (John Shea) hologram appears and tells her not to turn herself in. Angry that Adam waited so long to reveal he’s alive, Lexa refuses to listen. Meanwhile, Jesse shows Brennan and Shalimar a 3D image of Lexa’s spinal cord. They see thousands of tentacles sprouting from the implant into her brain, which Jesse says is letting someone control her nervous system. A short time later, Lexa walks past Jesse on her way out of Sanctuary, ignoring his pleas for her to stay. Desperate, Jesse uses a tablet to lower two grid-like doors on either side of Lexa, trapping her inside. He then explains to an enraged Lexa that as long as she’s under someone else’s control, they can’t risk letting her out. Jesse researches “Project Nine” and learns that in addition to Arnot, three other doctors were involved. Brennan and Shalimar head out to the female doctor’s home first. There, Shalimar opens a closet door and the woman’s dead body falls out. She notices a photo in her clenched fist and upon taking a closer look sees that it’s Dr. John Gonsalves (Peter Cockett). The team then realizes he is the one behind everything. Lexa’s Dominion contact is told by the board members that since they have no leads on Arnot’s killer they are sending two Assassins out. Moments later, Jesse is monitoring Lexa’s cell when the Dominion contact breaks into the line and warns that Lexa will be killed if she takes further action against them. When the call ends, Jesse realizes that Lexa has passed out. Jesse enters the cell and Lexa comes to and admits to him she’s scared before kissing him. Lexa then pulls away, throws Jesse to the ground and locks him inside the cell. Trapped, Jesse watches as Lexa’s eyes turn white as Gonsalves takes control. After she leaves, Jesse phases through the floor and drops into the Media Area just as Brennan comlinks him to say that Gonsalves is the man controlling Lexa. Jesse then informs him that Lexa escaped and that the epinephrine in the Helix’s med-kit should interfere with Lexa’s dreamlike state long enough to bring her back to Sanctuary. Tracking Lexa’s signal to Reid Laboratories, Brennan and Shalimar race inside and are confronted by two guards. Shalimar stays behind to deal with them as Brennan goes for Lexa. He finds her just as she kills the third doctor from “Project Nine.” Lexa then turns on Brennan, who injects the epinephrine into her neck. Lexa screams in pain and her eyes turn to their normal blue just before she falls unconscious. Back at Sanctuary, Jesse visits Lexa in her cell and says he’s run simulations of removing the implant, but Lexa died each time. He walks away and is met by Adam, only this time it’s no hologram. Brennan and Shalimar enter and Adam explains he came back to help Jesse save Lexa. Moments later, Adam and Jesse insert needles into Lexa’s implant and begin cauterizing the tentacles. Lexa’s eyes suddenly turn white and the tentacles multiply rapidly. With Lexa’s life draining, Jesse pulls the implant out of her neck and is relieved when she takes a breath. That night, the severed implant twitches and the team realizes Gonsalves is trying to connect. As Jesse traces him through the device, Brennan and Shalimar work on a plan to stop the Assassins. A short time later, Brennan watches Shalimar disguised as Lexa outside a warehouse when one of the Assassins appears. Brennan fires a tesla coil, but she jumps out of the way and Brennan races after her just as a second Assassin approaches Shalimar. Brennan and Shalimar engage in battle with the Assassins and take them both down. Inside the warehouse, Jesse and Lexa confront Gonsalves, but he fires at them and runs outside. The team quickly surrounds him and Lexa knocks him out with a barrage of kicks and punches. Back at Sanctuary, Adam’s hologram appears to the team and explains that before he left, he became aware that a separate faction of the Dominion was working against them and has been using them for their own agenda. Adam insists that a terrible war is coming and the only way to ensure their safety is for him to remain on the run as the Dominion’s main target.
Quotes:
Shalimar: Lexa? I heard shouting, are you okay?
Lexa: Yeah, sorry. I just had a brutal nightmare. I could use an aspirin too.
Shalimar: I think one of us needs to lay off the tequila.
Lexa: Is this really necessary?
Jesse: Well, let's see. You can't remember the last three hours and you woke up covered in blood. So yeah, I'd kinda say it is. Relax. I'm gonna do a bio scan just to rule out anything internal.
Lexa: I think you just like playing doctor.
Jesse: Yeah, you wish.
Jesse: Your implant. You never did say what Eckhart used it for.
Lexa: Well, trust me, it's a non-issue. It was just a data jack. The Dominion deactivated it years ago. Maybe this was all just a bad dream...and a nosebleed?
Brennan: Doubt it. I checked out the Helix. Looks like you took her out solo a few hours ago.
Lexa: That doesn't make sense. Where'd I go?
Brennan: I can reconstruct the flight path.
Jesse: Yeah, but you can't go back there, Lexa. Not if there's any chance your nightmare was real.
Brennan: Shal and I will handle the recon.
Lexa: Yeah, now who's dreaming?
Brennan: Shal, you buying this whole amnesia crap?
Shalimar: Think she's lying?
Brennan: Who, Complexa? I mean, c'mon. When has she ever told us the whole story? I'm just saying, you know, if it was me, and I woke up covered in someone else's blood, I'm sure I'd remember what happened.
Shalimar: Well, maybe she doesn't want to remember.
Brennan: Yeah, maybe she's just trying to hide something else.
Lexa: You lied to me. You told me this thing was neutralized; someone's activating it again.
The Voice: That isn't possible.
Lexa: Really? Tell that to the five men I just butchered at Maxxlon, including Dr. Arnot.
The Voice: You need to come in.
Lexa: No.
The Voice: I can contain this for now. But once The Board learns someone's using you against us-- [Lexa cuts him off]
Adam: Don't go in.
Lexa: Am I dreaming?
Adam: I've been waiting for the right time to tell you that I'm still alive, but under the circumstances I couldn't wait any longer. Lexa, we both know what's happening to you. It's time for you to face it.
Lexa: It really is you, isn't it? Only Adam Kane would be arrogant enough to show up here after a year with advice instead of apologies. Well, you picked a lousy time to go Ghost of Christmas Past on me, Adam. You told me you would handle this and you failed. Don't you dare expect me to trust you now.
Adam: You're thinking with your anger again. That's a mistake.
Lexa: So was waiting a year to contact us.
Jesse: Welcome to Project Nine.
Brennan: The hell is that thing?
Jesse: It's a neural jack. It hijacks Lexa's central nervous system, gives somebody complete remote control over her.
Brennan: Oh, great. She's a firecracker on a good day. How're we supposed to trust her now?
Shalimar: So Eckhart did this?
Jesse: She tried leaving the GSA after what Eckhart did to her brother. That was her punishment.
Shalimar: We've got to get it out of her.
Jesse: I don't think I can. Adam worked on the problem for years, ran dozens of different extraction scenerios. In 97% of them, she died.
Lexa: Can't talk, Jess. I'm in a hurry.
Jesse: We know about Project Nine. We don't blame you. None of this is any of your fault.
Lexa: Oh. Well, thank you.
Jesse: Don't thank me yet. [locks her in the cage]
Lexa: Don't do this Jess, come on!
Jesse: I gotta. You're a weapon as long as someone's controlling you, and I can't let you out until we get their finger off the trigger.
Jesse: Can I get you anything?
Lexa: Yeah, how about out?
Jesse: I can't. Is it even worth saying I'm sorry?
Lexa: Just words, Jess. You really want to help me? Get this thing out of me.
Jesse: They attached a sensor to your implant. Any attempt to remove it, and it sends an electrical surge into your brain. Instant hemorrhage. I wish there was another way.
Lexa: Yeah, well find one. Because you know what? I'd rather be dead than someone's puppet.
Jesse: Lexa--
Lexa: My life, my risk.
Adam: There's 300 feet of rock above you. I don't think you have that kind of time.
Lexa: If you're gonna keep popping up like this, you really should start wearing a bell.
Adam: You remember when I first brought you here, I told you there was a point at which your independence became a liability. The safest place for you is right in here. Let the others handle this.
Lexa: You gave up the right to advise us when you abandoned Mutant X.
Adam: I didn't abandon anything.
Lexa: Really? They've been through hell this past year! Where were you?
Adam: I'm sorry I couldn't have been here for you when your brother passed away.
Lexa: I don't know what kind of game you're playing here, Adam. But Mutant X doesn't need you anymore, and you know what? I never did.
Adam: All that matters to me is that you need them. I worked back channels to have you inserted here, not so that you could save them, but so that they could save you from what you were becoming.
Lexa: Well, you wasted your time. Thanks to this thing, I'm back to my old tricks.
Adam: There's a chance we can change that. Jesse lied to you. He let his feelings for you cloud his judgement. There's a chance, a small chance, that I can remove the implant, all right? BUT it's risky, and you have to trust me.
Lexa: Do me a favor. Hold your breath on that one.
Adam: Fine. I can't force you to let me help. But the offer still stands.
The Voice: Mr. Kilmartin.
Jesse: What? Who? How did you--
The Voice: No time for eloquent questions.
Jesse: What is that?
The Voice: Profiles on each of the doctors responsible for Project Nine. It's the last help I can offer her. I just hope it's enough.
Jesse: What do you mean by that?
The Voice: If Lexa takes any further aaction against The Dominion, I won't be able to hide it from them. In plain English, Mr. Kilmartin, she will be terminated!
Jesse: All right. Now you go tell the Dominion that if they go near Lexa or any member of my team, I will become a threat to their survival.
Jesse: Are you okay?
Lexa: No, Jess, I'm not. Having someone inside my head, knowing he can make me do whatever he wants...I refuse to be that powerless. I won't.
Jesse: Hey. You're about the least powerless woman I know. Any more powerful, and I'll have to buy you a cape.
Lexa: Let me out of here, Jess.
Jesse: I can't. Look, I just spoke to your contact with the Dominion. If you attack and get caught one more time--
Lexa: I know, they'll kill me.
Jesse: Yeah.
Lexa: I'm too dangerous to them like this. You know what, they'll find out eventually, so I guess dead if you do, dead if you don't.
Jesse: Hey, I am never gonna let that happen. [she kisses him] What was that?
Lexa: That was goodbye.
Guard: Freeze! Don't move!
Brennan: You got this?
Shalimar: Oh, yeah.
Guard: I said freeze!
Shalimar: I don't know about the odds here, boys. Hardly seems fair.
Brennan: You just killed the only chance we had of fixing you.
Lexa: I'm working just fine.
Adam: Jesse, we have to do this!
Jesse: Adam, you have a way of turning up when I least wanna see you. You shouldn't have told her. You knew she'd want to take the risk.
Adam: It's hers to take. Jesse, caring for someone means telling them all truths. Even the ones you want to protect them from. It took me a long time to learn that.
Jesse: But you still haven't. You want to help? Try putting yourself out there. [Adam touches him]
Adam: That's exactly what I'm doing.
Shalimar: Oh my god. It's really you this time.
Brennan: This time? Yeah, well I guess we're all really good at keeping your secrets, huh?
Shalimar: Why now?
Adam: Lexa.
Jesse: The surgical procedure. You're thinking it will work with the two of us. Well, will it? Are you sure?
Adam: I'm sure it's her only chance. Trust me.
Brennan: Well, that's the issue, isn't it?
Lexa: Jess? If this doesn't work, kill Gonsalves for me.
Jesse: Don't worry. You can kill him yourself.
Brennan: Look, Shalimar, Lexa's gonna be fine. We're all fighting for her now.
Shalimar: Sometimes that isn't enough.
Brennan: Well, I think we should be worried about what happens after the surgery. Jess said the Dominion sent a bunch of assassins after her.
Shalimar: What? And they think we're just gonna let that happen?
Brennan: They think it's the only way to stop her. Jess said they won't bend on it.
Shalimar: Yeah, we'll see about that.
The Voice: My hands are tied. Lexa is a threat to us.
Shalimar: She's risked her life for you countless times! You owe her more than this.
Brennan: All we're asking is that you call off your dogs.
The Voice: The assassins are already on her trail. You're the ones who let Lexa out to kill again, leaving proof of her crimes. If you're looking to assign blame, look to yourselves.
Brennan: Then meet us halfway, all right? Buy us some time. She wasn't in control of herself.
The Voice: And I am not in control of them. I cannot stop this.
Jesse: Adam, it's building up too fast.
Adam: Stay calm. We can do this.
Jesse: Computer, what's happening?
Adam: Status?
Computer: Approaching nervous system overload.
Jesse: Adam, what do we do?
Adam: Stay calm.
Jesse: It's not working.
Computer: Blood pressure falling.
Jesse: The implant had detected us; it's flooding her synapses. It's killing her! Adam, this is what happened before. We're losing her.
Adam: Jesse, sit down. Jesse, don't stop!
Jesse: We've gotta get it out of her now.
Adam: Her system can handle the stress--
Jesse: I've been through this! If we wait, she will die.
Adam: Jesse, this is not a simulation.
Jesse: Computer, sever primary nerve connection now!
Adam: Computer, abort!
Lexa: How'd we do?
Jesse: Well, you weren't much help. But we were unbelievable.
Shalimar: Why are you leaving?
Adam: Because I made myself a target as soon as I came here. Now my enemies know I'm alive.
Shalimar: What about Lexa? It isn't over.
Brennan: He doesn't care.
Adam: You're right, Brennan. That's exactly why I came here, putting myself in personal danger, because I don't care.
Brennan: Like the danger you put us in when you abandoned us?
Adam: You were ready.
Brennan: We were scared. Whatever was going on, whatever your big secret was, you didn't just run from me. You ran from us, and that's what I can't forgive.
Shalimar: Brennan, stop it!
Brennan: No. We buried him, and he let us. That's sick.
Shalimar: He didn't mean it.
Adam: It's okay.
Shalimar: Are we gonna see you again?
Adam: If I'm lucky.
Lexa: Boy, you guys really do give up easy.
Jesse: Woah, no, no, no, no. You should be in bed.
Lexa: I was. Until this woke me. Guess who's trying to reach out and touch somebody.
Brennan: Can you use that to track the signal back?
Jesse: Now that it's out of her, hell yeah.
Lexa: Good. Because once you find him, I'm going along for the clean up.
Shalimar: No. No, you're too weak. You need some time to heal.
Lexa: Not until I make him pay. After everything he did to me, I need this, Shal, okay?
Brennan: This is crazy. The Dominion knows as much about that implant as we do. They probably have their assassins tracking the signal right now.
Shalimar: So let 'em. Everybody wants a piece of Lexa? Let's make sure there's enough of her to go around.
Shalimar: That's a big knife. Compensating for something?
Brennan: They just never want to stay down.
Shalimar: Took ya long enough. You're getting rusty.
John Gonsalves: What are you doing here? Did you finish the job?
Jesse: Yeah, about that. She quit.
John: What's this? What did you do?
Lexa: Aw. Sorry, Doc. This puppet's cut her strings.
John Gonsalves: Don't be rash, Lexa. We could still enjoy a profitable partnership. All of us.
Lexa: Pass. But I'm about to enjoy the hell out of the next ten seconds. [she punches him]
John: You should be thanking me. When Eckhart brought you to me, you were just an average operative. Under my control, you became a virtuoso of violence.
Lexa: I disagree. [she punches him] I was never average.
Brennan: Ten points.
Lexa: First installment for the Dominion. I always pay my debts. All of them.
Adam: Brennan was right. I abandoned you. But I had my reasons, and it's time you heard them.
Brennan: We're listening.
Adam: During the last year that we were together, I became aware of certain factions that were working against us. But I wasn't quite sure who our enemy was until recent events confirmed my suspicions. Our enemy is the Dominion.
Lexa: What are you talking about?
Adam: All the plagues that you've stopped, all the genetic research that you've gathered for them, there's a faction within the Dominion that has been diverting all this for their own secret agenda.
Shalimar: You mean for this past year we've been fighting for the wrong side? Adam, how could you let us do that?
Adam: 'Cause I didn't know the whole truth--'cause I didn't know how deep the corruption went because I didn't know who to trust.
Lexa: You mean me? You didn't know if you could trust me?
Jesse: So why come back at all? You say all the secrecy's been for our own good.
Brennan: He needs something from us. Don't you?
Adam: This year's been hard on all of us. But Mutant X hasn't just survived, you've thrived. And I come to you now because I think you're ready.
Jesse: Ready for what?
Adam: For war. This new face of the Dominion threatens everything we stand for, everything we've ever stood for. Forget Ashlocke, you can forget Eckhart, this would be a war unlike any we've ever fought. It would be a war that I'm not ever sure that we could win. But I am sure that I don't control Mutant X anymore. So it's up to you.
Brennan: What if we say yes?
Adam: As long as I'm on the run, you're not the focus. By making myself a target, that's the only way that I can protect you.
Jesse: Adam, there's got to be another way.
Adam: There isn't.
Shalimar: We just found you. We can't lose you again.
Adam: You won't. Look, leaving Mutant X was the hardest thing I've ever done. You're not just my life's work, you are my life. I'll risk everything to protect you.
Trivia & Nitpicks: For those who are keeping score, this episode is fun for Lexa's ever-diminishing body count. In the opening sequence, Lexa kills 7 people. When she returns to Maxxlon with Shalimar and Brennan, however, Shalimar counts 6 bodies. Back at Sanctuary, Lexa tells her Dominion contact that she butchered 5. In all, Lexa kills around 9 people in this episode: 7 at Maxxlon and two other Project Nine doctors.
In the opening sequence, Lexa shatters the glass of Dr. Arnot's office when he attempts to shut her out. Yet there is no glass on the floor when Lexa, Shalimar, and Brennan enter the room.
It's already been established in previous episodes that Shalimar (and ferals in general) can identify individuals by the scent of their blood. So when Shalimar steps into Lexa's room, shouldn't she already know that the blood on Lexa isn't her own?
The Mutant X'ers have been known to change outfits just to walk up and down the stairs at Sanctuary. But when Lexa wakes up covered in someone else's blood, she goes through the rest of the episode in the same clothes. Ewww.
As in "Brother's Keeper," Shalimar and Brennan talk about Lexa as though she's not sitting right behind them in the Helix, plainly within earshot.
At Maxxlon, Shalimar discovers the dead doctor's name by picking up his nametag, which says 'R. Arnot.' Though the R. could stand for any number of names, she tells Jesse to look up Remy Arnot in the database.
Once Lexa hears that Dr. Arnot worked on Project Nine, she immediately looks for his Dominion tattoo, and warns Brennan and Shalimar that they are in a Dominion facility. This reaction doesn’t really make sense, since her neural implant was supposed to have been installed at Genomex. Is this an early hint that Lexa already knew about the connections between the two organizations?
It's interesting that when The Dominion's recon team arrives at Maxxlon, they (like Tony LaPorta in "Cirque des Merveilles") don't seem to recognize Lexa or Mutant X. The ignorance of individual Dominion groups of one another could be an indication of the large scope of The Dominion's operation, or of its secretiveness.
Lexa tells her Dominion contact that she was the one who killed the men at Maxxlon when he calls her. Once again, if The Dominion Council is truly monitoring Sanctuary's incoming and outgoing calls as closely as they say they are "A Normal Life," they should have discovered the truth about Lexa far earlier in the game.
Adam must know that the Dominion can track his untraceable communications into Sanctuary--after the fiasco in “A Normal Life.” Therefore, every time he appears in Sanctuary, he must know that he's not just putting himself in danger, but risking Mutant X's safety as well.
When Jesse discovers that Adam had attempted a program to remove Lexa’s implant, why doesn’t he try to contact Adam?
Adam tells Lexa that Jesse has feelings for her. Does this strike anyone else as slightly creepy? Does Adam have hidden cameras in Jesse's room or something?
We've seen the cage Jesse traps Lexa in before, in "No Exit." Since the cage was created to be mutant-safe, it's weird that the floor isn't molecular-proof, isn't it? Also, when Jesse phases through the floor, he fortunately falls close enough to the second floor catwalk to grab the railing. In actuality, the end of the cage is further away from the catwalk, and Jesse should have missed the railing and fallen straight down to the first floor instead...which isn't really a problem for him, given that he does exactly that in "Dream Lover" without suffering any damage.
The Fixers, the dreaded assassins sent by The Dominion to terminate Lexa, turn out to be just two regular people who aren't even wearing power-resistant suits. Ooo, scary. Had Lexa been at her best, she could have taken them herself.
REM sleep comes with paralysis, Jesse.
A short lesson in neuroanatomy for ya, Adam. The occipital lobe is actually in the back of the head. And if you activate the right motor cortex, only the left hand should move.
Adam’s reasoning at the end of this episode makes absolutely no sense. His remaining on the run may make him a hidden target, but it also makes Mutant X a target--in plain sight
Return to The Mutant X Warehouse
She's Come Undone: Episode #317.
Tag: Discovering that their teammate Lexa is the subject of a covert experiment that is controlling her, the Mutant X team hunts for the doctor responsible. [ Transcript]
Cast & Crew: Written by Michelle Lovretta; Directed by Timothy Bond
George Buza.... Lexa's Dominion Contact
John Blackwood.... Dr. Remy Arnot
Peter Cockett.... Dr. John Gonsalves
David Frish....Dominion Council member
Stefen Hayes.... Male assassin
Ian Leung....Dominion Council member
David J. MacNeill....Dominion Council member
Darren Marsman....Reid guard
Cheryl Quiacos.... Female assassin
Jeff Seymour....Dominion Council Head
John Stoneham, Sr.... Dr. Samuel Howell
Official Synopsis: Lexa (Karen Cliche) arrives at Maxxlon Laboratories, overrides the security system and enters the building wearing a long coat and sunglasses. Two guards come at her, but she takes them out with powerful lasers and moves into the main lab where she uses a solar flare to knock out the lab tech. She walks toward Dr. Remy Arnot’s (John Blackwood) office where he is feverishly typing on his computer. Just as Lexa reaches the office, two glass doors slide into place to lock her out, but she easily shatters the glass and enters. When Arnot pulls a gun, Lexa grabs it and sends him flying into a cabinet that contains a knife collection. During the encounter, Lexa’s sunglasses fall off, revealing her eyes, which are solid white. Arnot begs Lexa not to kill him, but she picks up a knife and drives it down. Just then, Lexa bolts awake in her room at Sanctuary. Shalimar (Victoria Pratt), having heard her shouting, runs in. Lexa says she had a nightmare, but Shalimar’s feral senses pick up a strange odor and she turns on the light to find that Lexa is covered in blood. Horrified, Lexa tells Shalimar she’s not hurt -- it’s someone else’s blood. In the lab, Jesse (Forbes March) does a bioscan on Lexa’s body and when he reaches the metal implant on the back of her head, Lexa says it was deactivated by the Dominion. Brennan (Victor Webster) enters and tells them that Lexa took the Helix out three hours earlier and he’s in the process of retracing her route. A short time later, Brennan, Shalimar and Lexa arrive at Maxxlon and find Arnot dead in his office. When Shalimar comlinks Jesse and asks him to research Arnot, he soon discovers the man worked for Genomex as part of “Project Nine.” Hearing this, Lexa lifts Arnot’s sleeve to reveal a symbol tattooed on his inner elbow. Lexa then urgently tells Brennan and Shalimar they must leave right away. As they rush out, two Dominion operatives dressed as repairmen enter. Jumping behind a desk to hide, Lexa throws a light blast which blinds the men and allows Brennan and Shalimar to take them out. Lexa then reveals that Maxxlon is a Dominion facility and she’s attacked her own people, but doesn’t know why. Jesse then orders Brennan to bring Lexa back right away as she was a subject in “Project Nine.” Back in Sanctuary, Lexa talks to her Dominion contact, who insists she come to the headquarters until they figure out what’s happening. Just as Lexa hangs up Adam’s (John Shea) hologram appears and tells her not to turn herself in. Angry that Adam waited so long to reveal he’s alive, Lexa refuses to listen. Meanwhile, Jesse shows Brennan and Shalimar a 3D image of Lexa’s spinal cord. They see thousands of tentacles sprouting from the implant into her brain, which Jesse says is letting someone control her nervous system. A short time later, Lexa walks past Jesse on her way out of Sanctuary, ignoring his pleas for her to stay. Desperate, Jesse uses a tablet to lower two grid-like doors on either side of Lexa, trapping her inside. He then explains to an enraged Lexa that as long as she’s under someone else’s control, they can’t risk letting her out. Jesse researches “Project Nine” and learns that in addition to Arnot, three other doctors were involved. Brennan and Shalimar head out to the female doctor’s home first. There, Shalimar opens a closet door and the woman’s dead body falls out. She notices a photo in her clenched fist and upon taking a closer look sees that it’s Dr. John Gonsalves (Peter Cockett). The team then realizes he is the one behind everything. Lexa’s Dominion contact is told by the board members that since they have no leads on Arnot’s killer they are sending two Assassins out. Moments later, Jesse is monitoring Lexa’s cell when the Dominion contact breaks into the line and warns that Lexa will be killed if she takes further action against them. When the call ends, Jesse realizes that Lexa has passed out. Jesse enters the cell and Lexa comes to and admits to him she’s scared before kissing him. Lexa then pulls away, throws Jesse to the ground and locks him inside the cell. Trapped, Jesse watches as Lexa’s eyes turn white as Gonsalves takes control. After she leaves, Jesse phases through the floor and drops into the Media Area just as Brennan comlinks him to say that Gonsalves is the man controlling Lexa. Jesse then informs him that Lexa escaped and that the epinephrine in the Helix’s med-kit should interfere with Lexa’s dreamlike state long enough to bring her back to Sanctuary. Tracking Lexa’s signal to Reid Laboratories, Brennan and Shalimar race inside and are confronted by two guards. Shalimar stays behind to deal with them as Brennan goes for Lexa. He finds her just as she kills the third doctor from “Project Nine.” Lexa then turns on Brennan, who injects the epinephrine into her neck. Lexa screams in pain and her eyes turn to their normal blue just before she falls unconscious. Back at Sanctuary, Jesse visits Lexa in her cell and says he’s run simulations of removing the implant, but Lexa died each time. He walks away and is met by Adam, only this time it’s no hologram. Brennan and Shalimar enter and Adam explains he came back to help Jesse save Lexa. Moments later, Adam and Jesse insert needles into Lexa’s implant and begin cauterizing the tentacles. Lexa’s eyes suddenly turn white and the tentacles multiply rapidly. With Lexa’s life draining, Jesse pulls the implant out of her neck and is relieved when she takes a breath. That night, the severed implant twitches and the team realizes Gonsalves is trying to connect. As Jesse traces him through the device, Brennan and Shalimar work on a plan to stop the Assassins. A short time later, Brennan watches Shalimar disguised as Lexa outside a warehouse when one of the Assassins appears. Brennan fires a tesla coil, but she jumps out of the way and Brennan races after her just as a second Assassin approaches Shalimar. Brennan and Shalimar engage in battle with the Assassins and take them both down. Inside the warehouse, Jesse and Lexa confront Gonsalves, but he fires at them and runs outside. The team quickly surrounds him and Lexa knocks him out with a barrage of kicks and punches. Back at Sanctuary, Adam’s hologram appears to the team and explains that before he left, he became aware that a separate faction of the Dominion was working against them and has been using them for their own agenda. Adam insists that a terrible war is coming and the only way to ensure their safety is for him to remain on the run as the Dominion’s main target.
Quotes:
Shalimar: Lexa? I heard shouting, are you okay?
Lexa: Yeah, sorry. I just had a brutal nightmare. I could use an aspirin too.
Shalimar: I think one of us needs to lay off the tequila.
Lexa: Is this really necessary?
Jesse: Well, let's see. You can't remember the last three hours and you woke up covered in blood. So yeah, I'd kinda say it is. Relax. I'm gonna do a bio scan just to rule out anything internal.
Lexa: I think you just like playing doctor.
Jesse: Yeah, you wish.
Jesse: Your implant. You never did say what Eckhart used it for.
Lexa: Well, trust me, it's a non-issue. It was just a data jack. The Dominion deactivated it years ago. Maybe this was all just a bad dream...and a nosebleed?
Brennan: Doubt it. I checked out the Helix. Looks like you took her out solo a few hours ago.
Lexa: That doesn't make sense. Where'd I go?
Brennan: I can reconstruct the flight path.
Jesse: Yeah, but you can't go back there, Lexa. Not if there's any chance your nightmare was real.
Brennan: Shal and I will handle the recon.
Lexa: Yeah, now who's dreaming?
Brennan: Shal, you buying this whole amnesia crap?
Shalimar: Think she's lying?
Brennan: Who, Complexa? I mean, c'mon. When has she ever told us the whole story? I'm just saying, you know, if it was me, and I woke up covered in someone else's blood, I'm sure I'd remember what happened.
Shalimar: Well, maybe she doesn't want to remember.
Brennan: Yeah, maybe she's just trying to hide something else.
Lexa: You lied to me. You told me this thing was neutralized; someone's activating it again.
The Voice: That isn't possible.
Lexa: Really? Tell that to the five men I just butchered at Maxxlon, including Dr. Arnot.
The Voice: You need to come in.
Lexa: No.
The Voice: I can contain this for now. But once The Board learns someone's using you against us-- [Lexa cuts him off]
Adam: Don't go in.
Lexa: Am I dreaming?
Adam: I've been waiting for the right time to tell you that I'm still alive, but under the circumstances I couldn't wait any longer. Lexa, we both know what's happening to you. It's time for you to face it.
Lexa: It really is you, isn't it? Only Adam Kane would be arrogant enough to show up here after a year with advice instead of apologies. Well, you picked a lousy time to go Ghost of Christmas Past on me, Adam. You told me you would handle this and you failed. Don't you dare expect me to trust you now.
Adam: You're thinking with your anger again. That's a mistake.
Lexa: So was waiting a year to contact us.
Jesse: Welcome to Project Nine.
Brennan: The hell is that thing?
Jesse: It's a neural jack. It hijacks Lexa's central nervous system, gives somebody complete remote control over her.
Brennan: Oh, great. She's a firecracker on a good day. How're we supposed to trust her now?
Shalimar: So Eckhart did this?
Jesse: She tried leaving the GSA after what Eckhart did to her brother. That was her punishment.
Shalimar: We've got to get it out of her.
Jesse: I don't think I can. Adam worked on the problem for years, ran dozens of different extraction scenerios. In 97% of them, she died.
Lexa: Can't talk, Jess. I'm in a hurry.
Jesse: We know about Project Nine. We don't blame you. None of this is any of your fault.
Lexa: Oh. Well, thank you.
Jesse: Don't thank me yet. [locks her in the cage]
Lexa: Don't do this Jess, come on!
Jesse: I gotta. You're a weapon as long as someone's controlling you, and I can't let you out until we get their finger off the trigger.
Jesse: Can I get you anything?
Lexa: Yeah, how about out?
Jesse: I can't. Is it even worth saying I'm sorry?
Lexa: Just words, Jess. You really want to help me? Get this thing out of me.
Jesse: They attached a sensor to your implant. Any attempt to remove it, and it sends an electrical surge into your brain. Instant hemorrhage. I wish there was another way.
Lexa: Yeah, well find one. Because you know what? I'd rather be dead than someone's puppet.
Jesse: Lexa--
Lexa: My life, my risk.
Adam: There's 300 feet of rock above you. I don't think you have that kind of time.
Lexa: If you're gonna keep popping up like this, you really should start wearing a bell.
Adam: You remember when I first brought you here, I told you there was a point at which your independence became a liability. The safest place for you is right in here. Let the others handle this.
Lexa: You gave up the right to advise us when you abandoned Mutant X.
Adam: I didn't abandon anything.
Lexa: Really? They've been through hell this past year! Where were you?
Adam: I'm sorry I couldn't have been here for you when your brother passed away.
Lexa: I don't know what kind of game you're playing here, Adam. But Mutant X doesn't need you anymore, and you know what? I never did.
Adam: All that matters to me is that you need them. I worked back channels to have you inserted here, not so that you could save them, but so that they could save you from what you were becoming.
Lexa: Well, you wasted your time. Thanks to this thing, I'm back to my old tricks.
Adam: There's a chance we can change that. Jesse lied to you. He let his feelings for you cloud his judgement. There's a chance, a small chance, that I can remove the implant, all right? BUT it's risky, and you have to trust me.
Lexa: Do me a favor. Hold your breath on that one.
Adam: Fine. I can't force you to let me help. But the offer still stands.
The Voice: Mr. Kilmartin.
Jesse: What? Who? How did you--
The Voice: No time for eloquent questions.
Jesse: What is that?
The Voice: Profiles on each of the doctors responsible for Project Nine. It's the last help I can offer her. I just hope it's enough.
Jesse: What do you mean by that?
The Voice: If Lexa takes any further aaction against The Dominion, I won't be able to hide it from them. In plain English, Mr. Kilmartin, she will be terminated!
Jesse: All right. Now you go tell the Dominion that if they go near Lexa or any member of my team, I will become a threat to their survival.
Jesse: Are you okay?
Lexa: No, Jess, I'm not. Having someone inside my head, knowing he can make me do whatever he wants...I refuse to be that powerless. I won't.
Jesse: Hey. You're about the least powerless woman I know. Any more powerful, and I'll have to buy you a cape.
Lexa: Let me out of here, Jess.
Jesse: I can't. Look, I just spoke to your contact with the Dominion. If you attack and get caught one more time--
Lexa: I know, they'll kill me.
Jesse: Yeah.
Lexa: I'm too dangerous to them like this. You know what, they'll find out eventually, so I guess dead if you do, dead if you don't.
Jesse: Hey, I am never gonna let that happen. [she kisses him] What was that?
Lexa: That was goodbye.
Guard: Freeze! Don't move!
Brennan: You got this?
Shalimar: Oh, yeah.
Guard: I said freeze!
Shalimar: I don't know about the odds here, boys. Hardly seems fair.
Brennan: You just killed the only chance we had of fixing you.
Lexa: I'm working just fine.
Adam: Jesse, we have to do this!
Jesse: Adam, you have a way of turning up when I least wanna see you. You shouldn't have told her. You knew she'd want to take the risk.
Adam: It's hers to take. Jesse, caring for someone means telling them all truths. Even the ones you want to protect them from. It took me a long time to learn that.
Jesse: But you still haven't. You want to help? Try putting yourself out there. [Adam touches him]
Adam: That's exactly what I'm doing.
Shalimar: Oh my god. It's really you this time.
Brennan: This time? Yeah, well I guess we're all really good at keeping your secrets, huh?
Shalimar: Why now?
Adam: Lexa.
Jesse: The surgical procedure. You're thinking it will work with the two of us. Well, will it? Are you sure?
Adam: I'm sure it's her only chance. Trust me.
Brennan: Well, that's the issue, isn't it?
Lexa: Jess? If this doesn't work, kill Gonsalves for me.
Jesse: Don't worry. You can kill him yourself.
Brennan: Look, Shalimar, Lexa's gonna be fine. We're all fighting for her now.
Shalimar: Sometimes that isn't enough.
Brennan: Well, I think we should be worried about what happens after the surgery. Jess said the Dominion sent a bunch of assassins after her.
Shalimar: What? And they think we're just gonna let that happen?
Brennan: They think it's the only way to stop her. Jess said they won't bend on it.
Shalimar: Yeah, we'll see about that.
The Voice: My hands are tied. Lexa is a threat to us.
Shalimar: She's risked her life for you countless times! You owe her more than this.
Brennan: All we're asking is that you call off your dogs.
The Voice: The assassins are already on her trail. You're the ones who let Lexa out to kill again, leaving proof of her crimes. If you're looking to assign blame, look to yourselves.
Brennan: Then meet us halfway, all right? Buy us some time. She wasn't in control of herself.
The Voice: And I am not in control of them. I cannot stop this.
Jesse: Adam, it's building up too fast.
Adam: Stay calm. We can do this.
Jesse: Computer, what's happening?
Adam: Status?
Computer: Approaching nervous system overload.
Jesse: Adam, what do we do?
Adam: Stay calm.
Jesse: It's not working.
Computer: Blood pressure falling.
Jesse: The implant had detected us; it's flooding her synapses. It's killing her! Adam, this is what happened before. We're losing her.
Adam: Jesse, sit down. Jesse, don't stop!
Jesse: We've gotta get it out of her now.
Adam: Her system can handle the stress--
Jesse: I've been through this! If we wait, she will die.
Adam: Jesse, this is not a simulation.
Jesse: Computer, sever primary nerve connection now!
Adam: Computer, abort!
Lexa: How'd we do?
Jesse: Well, you weren't much help. But we were unbelievable.
Shalimar: Why are you leaving?
Adam: Because I made myself a target as soon as I came here. Now my enemies know I'm alive.
Shalimar: What about Lexa? It isn't over.
Brennan: He doesn't care.
Adam: You're right, Brennan. That's exactly why I came here, putting myself in personal danger, because I don't care.
Brennan: Like the danger you put us in when you abandoned us?
Adam: You were ready.
Brennan: We were scared. Whatever was going on, whatever your big secret was, you didn't just run from me. You ran from us, and that's what I can't forgive.
Shalimar: Brennan, stop it!
Brennan: No. We buried him, and he let us. That's sick.
Shalimar: He didn't mean it.
Adam: It's okay.
Shalimar: Are we gonna see you again?
Adam: If I'm lucky.
Lexa: Boy, you guys really do give up easy.
Jesse: Woah, no, no, no, no. You should be in bed.
Lexa: I was. Until this woke me. Guess who's trying to reach out and touch somebody.
Brennan: Can you use that to track the signal back?
Jesse: Now that it's out of her, hell yeah.
Lexa: Good. Because once you find him, I'm going along for the clean up.
Shalimar: No. No, you're too weak. You need some time to heal.
Lexa: Not until I make him pay. After everything he did to me, I need this, Shal, okay?
Brennan: This is crazy. The Dominion knows as much about that implant as we do. They probably have their assassins tracking the signal right now.
Shalimar: So let 'em. Everybody wants a piece of Lexa? Let's make sure there's enough of her to go around.
Shalimar: That's a big knife. Compensating for something?
Brennan: They just never want to stay down.
Shalimar: Took ya long enough. You're getting rusty.
John Gonsalves: What are you doing here? Did you finish the job?
Jesse: Yeah, about that. She quit.
John: What's this? What did you do?
Lexa: Aw. Sorry, Doc. This puppet's cut her strings.
John Gonsalves: Don't be rash, Lexa. We could still enjoy a profitable partnership. All of us.
Lexa: Pass. But I'm about to enjoy the hell out of the next ten seconds. [she punches him]
John: You should be thanking me. When Eckhart brought you to me, you were just an average operative. Under my control, you became a virtuoso of violence.
Lexa: I disagree. [she punches him] I was never average.
Brennan: Ten points.
Lexa: First installment for the Dominion. I always pay my debts. All of them.
Adam: Brennan was right. I abandoned you. But I had my reasons, and it's time you heard them.
Brennan: We're listening.
Adam: During the last year that we were together, I became aware of certain factions that were working against us. But I wasn't quite sure who our enemy was until recent events confirmed my suspicions. Our enemy is the Dominion.
Lexa: What are you talking about?
Adam: All the plagues that you've stopped, all the genetic research that you've gathered for them, there's a faction within the Dominion that has been diverting all this for their own secret agenda.
Shalimar: You mean for this past year we've been fighting for the wrong side? Adam, how could you let us do that?
Adam: 'Cause I didn't know the whole truth--'cause I didn't know how deep the corruption went because I didn't know who to trust.
Lexa: You mean me? You didn't know if you could trust me?
Jesse: So why come back at all? You say all the secrecy's been for our own good.
Brennan: He needs something from us. Don't you?
Adam: This year's been hard on all of us. But Mutant X hasn't just survived, you've thrived. And I come to you now because I think you're ready.
Jesse: Ready for what?
Adam: For war. This new face of the Dominion threatens everything we stand for, everything we've ever stood for. Forget Ashlocke, you can forget Eckhart, this would be a war unlike any we've ever fought. It would be a war that I'm not ever sure that we could win. But I am sure that I don't control Mutant X anymore. So it's up to you.
Brennan: What if we say yes?
Adam: As long as I'm on the run, you're not the focus. By making myself a target, that's the only way that I can protect you.
Jesse: Adam, there's got to be another way.
Adam: There isn't.
Shalimar: We just found you. We can't lose you again.
Adam: You won't. Look, leaving Mutant X was the hardest thing I've ever done. You're not just my life's work, you are my life. I'll risk everything to protect you.
Trivia & Nitpicks: For those who are keeping score, this episode is fun for Lexa's ever-diminishing body count. In the opening sequence, Lexa kills 7 people. When she returns to Maxxlon with Shalimar and Brennan, however, Shalimar counts 6 bodies. Back at Sanctuary, Lexa tells her Dominion contact that she butchered 5. In all, Lexa kills around 9 people in this episode: 7 at Maxxlon and two other Project Nine doctors.
In the opening sequence, Lexa shatters the glass of Dr. Arnot's office when he attempts to shut her out. Yet there is no glass on the floor when Lexa, Shalimar, and Brennan enter the room.
It's already been established in previous episodes that Shalimar (and ferals in general) can identify individuals by the scent of their blood. So when Shalimar steps into Lexa's room, shouldn't she already know that the blood on Lexa isn't her own?
The Mutant X'ers have been known to change outfits just to walk up and down the stairs at Sanctuary. But when Lexa wakes up covered in someone else's blood, she goes through the rest of the episode in the same clothes. Ewww.
As in "Brother's Keeper," Shalimar and Brennan talk about Lexa as though she's not sitting right behind them in the Helix, plainly within earshot.
At Maxxlon, Shalimar discovers the dead doctor's name by picking up his nametag, which says 'R. Arnot.' Though the R. could stand for any number of names, she tells Jesse to look up Remy Arnot in the database.
Once Lexa hears that Dr. Arnot worked on Project Nine, she immediately looks for his Dominion tattoo, and warns Brennan and Shalimar that they are in a Dominion facility. This reaction doesn’t really make sense, since her neural implant was supposed to have been installed at Genomex. Is this an early hint that Lexa already knew about the connections between the two organizations?
It's interesting that when The Dominion's recon team arrives at Maxxlon, they (like Tony LaPorta in "Cirque des Merveilles") don't seem to recognize Lexa or Mutant X. The ignorance of individual Dominion groups of one another could be an indication of the large scope of The Dominion's operation, or of its secretiveness.
Lexa tells her Dominion contact that she was the one who killed the men at Maxxlon when he calls her. Once again, if The Dominion Council is truly monitoring Sanctuary's incoming and outgoing calls as closely as they say they are "A Normal Life," they should have discovered the truth about Lexa far earlier in the game.
Adam must know that the Dominion can track his untraceable communications into Sanctuary--after the fiasco in “A Normal Life.” Therefore, every time he appears in Sanctuary, he must know that he's not just putting himself in danger, but risking Mutant X's safety as well.
When Jesse discovers that Adam had attempted a program to remove Lexa’s implant, why doesn’t he try to contact Adam?
Adam tells Lexa that Jesse has feelings for her. Does this strike anyone else as slightly creepy? Does Adam have hidden cameras in Jesse's room or something?
We've seen the cage Jesse traps Lexa in before, in "No Exit." Since the cage was created to be mutant-safe, it's weird that the floor isn't molecular-proof, isn't it? Also, when Jesse phases through the floor, he fortunately falls close enough to the second floor catwalk to grab the railing. In actuality, the end of the cage is further away from the catwalk, and Jesse should have missed the railing and fallen straight down to the first floor instead...which isn't really a problem for him, given that he does exactly that in "Dream Lover" without suffering any damage.
The Fixers, the dreaded assassins sent by The Dominion to terminate Lexa, turn out to be just two regular people who aren't even wearing power-resistant suits. Ooo, scary. Had Lexa been at her best, she could have taken them herself.
REM sleep comes with paralysis, Jesse.
A short lesson in neuroanatomy for ya, Adam. The occipital lobe is actually in the back of the head. And if you activate the right motor cortex, only the left hand should move.
Adam’s reasoning at the end of this episode makes absolutely no sense. His remaining on the run may make him a hidden target, but it also makes Mutant X a target--in plain sight
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