Colony Season 1 Episode 4 Review: Blind Spot
Carissa Pavlica
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This show just gets better and better.
After Colony Season 1 Episode 4, I have more questions than ever. With so many of them surrounding Phyllis, it's a shame she won't be around to give us the answers.
Katie dug herself in deeper with the Resistance while Phyllis warned her they are not the people she believed them to be. Of course, she also wanted Katie as an asset of her own. Still, the way Phyllis cared for Will left open questions about her exact role in everything.
Will we ever get answers? Are we getting closer to understanding more about the "hosts" by any chance?
The entire time I'm watching Colony, I'm chastising myself for not being more sympathetic to the Resistance. I'm really freaked out about the fact that I seem to understand the motivations of the occupation, at least Homeland Security, more than the insurgents.
I can only hope that means exactly what Phyllis was trying to get across to Katie.
The people you have gotten involved with are not who they appear to be. These kinds of movements prey on idealists like you. You want to make a difference, but they will use you and cast you aside. They will destroy your life without conscience. You're wondering if you have a choice. You don't. You work for me now.
Phyllis
If not, at least it means the characters are not written in black and white, and what Colony is serving up is complex and worthy of discussion. I can dig that.
It became apparent on Colony Season 1 Episode 3 that they were going to use the information Katie gave them about Phyllis to take Phyllis out of the game, but having Katie allow their own house to be bombed to get even more intel was really risky given Will's position.
I'm sure Katie wasn't any more aware than Will that Bram was recording Geronimo's broadcasts and keeping them in the closet, but after what Will has seen on his new job, she should have known her entire house would be open for scrutiny merely by being a target of the Resistance.
Phyllis was such a confusing character. She really seemed to have Will's best interests at heart, and even when she talked to him about the Resistance and their hosts and warned him about making sure the tapes weren't the only thing he overlooked at home, it was impossible to tell on which side she truly fell.
For example, she noted that lying has become so pervasive that it's impossible to tell the truth. She wasn't just talking about Katie lying to Will, but about the lies they tell each other everyday about their hosts and all the good that would come as a result of their occupation.
Did she really believe what the hosts had to say, or was she regurgitating the lies like everybody else?
At her home, before she was killed, she was on the phone with someone telling them she had recruited Katie as an asset. She also noted that "their" perception of time makes something unpredictable. But we don't know if she meant ours or the hosts, making her one of us or one of them.
She could be a body-snatched host. Her husband could have gone wrong in the process. No, I cannot let go of that theory. I'm sorry.
Broussard, meanwhile, is also on the inside of Homeland Security as a Red Hat! He records what they are doing daily, making charts of their own to track patterns of behavior and what not to aid in the actions of the Resistance.
Did that reveal shock the hell out of anyone else? You'd think he would do his job terribly to ensure they didn't get their man, but instead he just hung back and let the other Red Hats brutalize citizens while he watched and recorded.
He knows what's ahead for people because they have their raids planned days in advance. They do nothing to help those on the firing line. What would Katie think of that? Then again, she just sacrificed Phyllis for the bigger picture herself. Surely she knew that's what they were going to do to her.
Will did catch a "Geronimo," but he's right that the guy was likely only a mouthpiece. He didn't seem like the type to lead, but instead was giving lip service to the Resistance. Will they have another in reserve to pick up where he left off?
I guess they'll find out if another round of posters goes up.
Proxy Snyder mentioned that he had delivered the news of Geronimo's capture "upstairs" via a woman named Helena, and Ally Walker was in the book of Green Zone photos Katie was looking through when she pointed out Phyllis. Might they be one and the same?
Certainly Ally Walker's face wasn't included in the book for nothing. Maybe she'll be taking over for Phyllis now that she's gone.
We're getting closer and closer to the Green Zone, through the pipe Will and Beau discovered, through Phyllis' house and Maddie's seeking work out there.
It also cannot be coincidental that Maddie's administrative job had her brushing up against Kathryn Morris as Charlotte and Adrian Pasdar as Nolan, right? They're not just your run of the mill guest stars. There will be more to their story for sure. What will be found in the Green Zone?
And what is it, exactly? Where all the rich people live, or is it completely unoccupied because the hosts have made deals with all of them? Or is it body snatched hosts? (Haha...I keep tugging!)
There are so many layers to Colony, and the characters are just as nuanced as the storytelling. There are no real answers at this point, but the most intriguing television doesn't deliver those by dumping them before you. You need some time to put the pieces together.
So what do you think? Is Katie Will's blind spot? What was Phyllis' and what are some others that might be lurking around ready to bite some of these characters in the ass? If you drop by, I'd love to know what you think.
If you didn't know, Colony was renewed for a second season today, so don't waste any time getting caught up! You can watch Colony online for the full story. It's well worth the time!
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.
