Colony recap: Blind Spot

The title of tonight’s episode could probably act as a subtitle for Colony as a whole: Everyone thinks they’re in control and can see what’s coming, but we’re never entirely sure what’s lurking just outside of our vision. And Colony is slowly but surely proving that as much as it’s a show focused on two warring sides, it really is every man for himself.

Before we talk about THAT end twist, though, we need to start at the beginning. We see a SWAT-type team of Red Hats going into a school and violently attacking students, searching their lockers, and taking them away. (Everyone catch the Fahrenheit 451 reference? Another dystopian society and also one that was influenced based on Ray Bradbury’s reactions to the Nazi book burnings during the war.) But the real takeaway of this opening scene is that one particular Red Hat is someone we’ve come to know: Broussard.

Broussard alerts his Resistance buddies that the patterns of the collaborators are getting clearer while Will pays a visit to Phyllis at Homeland Security. He’s slowly but surely gaining the respect of Phyllis and his colleagues, which is good for him and also good for that deal he’s gunning for — getting his son back. Katie, meanwhile, is doing her part for the Resistance by staging a fire in her own home. After putting it out, she calls the fire department, and when Will arrives he’s angry and worried to find Homeland Security searching his house. Clearly, everyone is now suspicious of everyone else, and Jennifer (who believes Katie’s responsible, despite the attack being personal) takes her down to headquarters. Is this Katie’s way of getting a meeting with Phyllis, to snuff out who her husband’s boss is so she can pass on the information? Indeed it is.

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Phyllis asks what happened, and Katie lies accordingly: She was folding laundry, she ran downstairs, and she found the fire had started. She didn’t get a good look at the man who entered her home because he was dressed all in black. Phyllis harbors her own suspicions — she asks how Will and Katie met, and there’s a nice bit of backstory where Katie mentions he came into her bar, before he joined the FBI. (I do believe THAT part is true.) The good news, according to Phyllis, is that now their family is TOTALLY safe. They’re going to have increased protection and make sure every neighbor knows to be vigilant, but it’s a promise that clearly makes Katie feel uncomfortable. When Will finally meets up with her, she just tells him she wants to go home.

This sets Will off, and he goes directly to Phyllis and demands to know what she said to his wife. But Phyllis has more important things to talk to him about: namely, when they searched his house, they found Bram’s tapes of Geromino in his bedroom. She offers to keep them hidden (at least for now) but urges him to make sure there’s nothing else he’s missed that might get him in trouble. Ah, blind spots — we all have them, even if we think we know everything.

NEXT: Not everything is what it seems

Remember that whole “every man for himself” thing? We’re still learning about Maddie, but it seems like she’s getting smart enough to know how to maneuver herself into situations that will benefit her and her sick son. We know now that Maddie works in the “Green Zone,” which seems to be a recruiting agency of some sort for well-off individuals who need help from the “lower class.” Last week, we saw her working a fancy party in catering; this week, her charge is a woman named Charlotte Burgess (Kathryn Morris), and Maddie’s job is to be her assistant in preserving pieces of artwork. When Maddie overhears a conversation about a piece of art that they desperately need to get their hands on, she casually mentions that David, the friend she slept with previously, has one — she knows because she used to work in the gallery that sold it to him. Maddie further elaborates that she was just in his house and knows the locations of his collections, which Charlotte is very keen on taking advantage of. She wants Maddie to work exclusively for her, and Maddie has no problem saying she’ll do it because she needs insulin for her son. Every man for himself, right?

After the Red Hats bring a shaken Katie home, Will confronts his son about the tapes. Bram tells his father that he knows when and where Geronimo’s messages are coming because it’s on the posters — there’s a hidden signal broadcast written on the back that lets people know when to listen. Will promises he’s going to fix this situation, and when Will makes a promise that involves his family, you better believe he’ll follow through. Meanwhile, Katie goes to the Resistance’s hideout, but Broussard isn’t there, and there’s a bit of cryptic talk about why. Katie’s shown people coming and going from the Green Zone, and she’s asked to point out Will’s boss. Katie is hesitant and wants a guarantee that her husband will be safe because there’s only so much stress she can take with these missions. Once her request is granted, she gives them a face to put with a name…and unknowingly puts an entirely new plan into action.

Geronimo — who we now know may or may not actually be Geronimo — gives another address about last week’s raid. This time, though, we see his face, and he also doesn’t bother to hide himself after the broadcast, allowing Will to take him in when they track his location. Will blames him for the fire in their home, but then realizes he’s probably not the man they’re really after. Unfortunately, Snyder has gone all out and told everyone that they’ve captured the man behind it all, so it’s a bit of a downer when Will smartly says he doesn’t think he’s the mastermind behind all of this. Will figures that Geronimo is actually in the Green Zone while Phyllis tells him she destroyed his son’s tapes. When Will gets home, he won’t tell Katie what’s wrong (of course he won’t), but he will tell her he loves her. He notices the photo that’s been taken down and assumes it’s due to the fire, eventually finding it hidden on top of the fridge. After Katie leaves to open the bar, Will goes to see Bram, promising that he took care of the situation. He then asks Bram why he listens to Geronimo in the first place, and Bram admits that he likes Geronimo because he gives him hope — and because he’s the only one that believes someday things might change.

At the Yonk, Katie’s greeted by a surprise visitor. After trying to act civil over a drink, Phyllis launches into a story about her own husband, who was also a military-type man named Ed. She drops a few subtle references about doing a job she never told her husband about and then gives Katie a folder of photos from last week’s raid, with evidence that Katie’s with the Resistance. Phyllis is quietly threatening — but it’s clear she’s treating this like a power play more than anything else, and she merely tells Katie that the people she works with aren’t the kind of people she should want to be. Now? Katie works for her. And, well, Katie’s pretty much backed into too much of a corner not to take the offer.

When Phyllis returns home, she gets a mysterious phone call. “Today was a misstep,” she tells the person on the other end of the line before adding, “I have a new asset. I think she’ll be very valuable.” We’re surprised to find that Phyllis’ husband is technically still alive, though he’s clearly not recovering from his coma-like state anytime soon. We’re then even more surprised when we see who is waiting for her: Broussard. (Your information goes a long way, Katie.) Phyllis isn’t entirely surprised, either, and she doesn’t even seem scared: Her only request is that Broussard kills her husband, as well. For a moment, we think maybe this is all just a heist, but then Broussard ruthlessly murders her…before sticking on his red hat and walking away.

Ah, those blind spots. They do pop up when we least expect them.

Bacon Bits:

• I don’t think we knew until now that Maddie lived basically next door to Will and Katie, though that would make sense given how often she visits. In that case, I’m demanding all the sister bonding time.
• On that note, this show gives me two things I could see all the time: Josh Holloway as a cop and Josh Holloway as a father. Yes, please, to both.
• So, does the Resistance know about Broussard’s actions and his secret missions and just how ruthless he really is? I think so, which is going to be hard for Katie when she realizes just what’s been going on behind her back. Katie is loyal to the cause, but she doesn’t want people to get hurt. And I think it’s going to be hard for her when she realizes one of her closest trustworthy friends has been going and killing behind her back.
• Hi, Adrian Pasdar! Fancy seeing you as Charlotte’s husband! I hope we see more of you in upcoming episodes.