Colony recap: Yoknapatawpha

For the past few weeks, Colony has amped up its intensity through world building and relationship building. It’s been a balancing act for the show to weave a mythology while focusing on the individual players in Colony’s world, but I think the show has done a commendable job — and it made tonight’s hour that much more satisfying to see everything come to a head. (R.I.P., The Yonk.)

Last week, we saw the unnecessary hanging of Luis, a.k.a. “Geronimo,” a moment we’re reminded of when we pick up pretty much right where we left off. Well, maybe not right where we left off. There’s a bit of a prelude before we get to our main characters, and that prelude is an unidentified woman who lives on the other side of the wall, in a very, VERY nice mansion. She’s interrupted from her casual yoga by a phone call, as the broadcast of the hanging plays out on the television, and gets into a discussion about Snyder’s actions. Two important things here: We get our first real look at the wall, how big it is, and far it stretches… almost into the ocean. Also, we only see her side of the conversation and it’s never clear who she’s talking to, nor is it confirmed who she is — but we’ll assume that she’s Helena (more on her later).

Back to where we actually left off: Snyder notices things aren’t sitting well with Will, who’s bothered by the whole Luis situation. Snyder defends himself, because he thinks he shut down the Resistance by showing people they should think twice about joining up. Will is thinking he just pissed a lot people off. I’m going to side with Will in this case. Meanwhile, the Red Hats are rocking out in the van in front of them, because who knew Red Hats could be so chill? Broussard, hiding in back, instructs them to take the auxiliary route, and once they do all hell breaks loose. All the Red Hats are attacked in the ambush, and Snyder and Will are both caught off guard and caught in the middle of the fire fight. Directed by Broussard, everything delves into chaos as the Red Hats attack their van, though Will’s tactical skills manage to save them both. They get away and abandon their car; Katie, meanwhile, has been clocking time — 98 seconds — so that Broussard and his men have ample time to get away before the drones come.

Will wants to take Snyder somewhere safe, and although Snyder is a little wary of Will’s intentions, Will immediately shoots him down. “Today I don’t work for you. You work for me.” That’s the old FBI spirit, Will! By the time they get to The Yonk (because of course they’re going to The Yonk), Katie has returned and hidden her Resistance gear in her secret hiding place. She’s “doing inventory,” and no one is suspicious, although we know we’re coming dangerously close to that probably not being the case anymore.

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Will explains Snyder’s presence by telling her about the ambush, and correctly deduces it was a Resistance move — the one that the food raid was a drill for in “98 Seconds.” Katie manages to get a few moments alone with her husband in the back room because she’s now completely worried. “It’s crazy risking your life for that man,” she argues, but Will doesn’t want her to get caught up in this. Snyder wants them to call in the cavalry, which means Will needs to leave and find a payphone somewhere. Oh, and Will’s also been grazed by a bullet, so clearly, this is a great day all around.

The Resistance, meanwhile, is licking their wounds. Broussard admits Snyder got out, largely because of Will, who is proving to be a bigger menace to them than they realize. Katie calls them and says she knows where Snyder is, but again, she’s only giving them the information under the condition that Will doesn’t get hurt. Broussard promises, but right now, I trust him about as much as I trust someone telling me that all the coffee shops in New York are going out of business.

NEXT: The ten duel commandments

For an episode rooted so much in tension and action, there were some really significant and quiet character moments, and Snyder and Katie getting to talk was one of them. Snyder’s aware that she doesn’t like him, and he tries to get Katie to open up about her family and her past. She does, kind of, and in return we learn information about Snyder’s own life, which makes us realize maybe he’s not as much of a monster as he is someone who’s just caught in a position where he’s trying to do his best with what he has. He’s from Long Island; he lived in Palo Alto, but they relocated him when they plucked him out to lead… which was AFTER the Arrival happened. He explains to Katie that they’re not the only colony — there are others, seven particularly, that are located in the Pacific Northwest but beyond that, the number is unclear. And what about outside the colonies? That’s apparently somewhere you don’t want to be.

Will comes back sooner than Katie planned for, and they have another private moment while she patches him up. Will tells her they need to let Snyder get what’s coming to them, which is a fun conversation once they realize Snyder’s been pretty much on the other side of the door the whole time. But he’s ready to give them information, and this time, he may be serious: His contacts in Santa Monica can confirm Charlie is alive. Snyder says there’s too much red tape for him to get him back on his own, but he’s negotiating with the Chief of Staff of the entire Los Angeles colony: a woman named Helena (potentially the woman we saw at the beginning of the hour) who has the power to make this happen. Will and Katie are skeptical, for the right reasons, but Snyder wouldn’t lie about family! He’s on their side!

Broussard shows up dressed as a Red Hat and asks to be let inside. Katie directs him around the bar while Will and Snyder hide, and Broussard manages to catch a moment with her alone in the basement where he tells her all they want is Snyder. If they can get him, they’ll spare Will. Broussard leaves with no issue, but Will soon realizes they’re not safe — although they’d been hiding, Snyder’s jacket was left out on one of the chairs. They board up the bar as much as they can and prepare to fight, but Katie’s on the verge of a breakdown that, when it happens, is pretty epic to watch. She’s had it with threats to their family! Sarah Wayne Callies has been a treat to watch in this series, and she’s really given Katie a depth that allows us to relate to her and what she’s going through.

On the other side of the door, Broussard and his team are waiting to attack while Broussard tries to work out his Feelings (with a capital “F.”) While they wait for their attack, we get more tidbits of information: According to Snyder, every person in the colony was filtered through an algorithm, which is how they knew whom to select for Red Hats. The hosts know everything about them and already had information about them when they arrived, which is how they knew to appoint Snyder in his position. We learned a lot in this episode, but the one thing we didn’t learn is who these “hosts” or “aliens” (?) really are, aside from Snyder mysteriously telling Will, “it’s a humbling moment realizing how insignificant we all are.”

Will hears snipers on the roof signaling the start of the attack and tells Katie to get out, while all hell breaks loose for the second time this hour. Things go from bad to worse when a Red Hat corners Will, but he’s saved by his knight in shining armor: Katie, of course. While Katie is reeling from having just shot someone (this poor woman), she ends up in a stand-off with Broussard. It’s a tense moment because we know both of them might actually be at the point where they could shoot each other — and Katie knows Broussard wouldn’t throw away his shot — but Will steps in before anything can happen. Broussard asks where Snyder is, and Will directs the Red Hats outside, trying to distract them by saying Snyder escaped. But Snyder is really hiding under the bar, and when Will reveals him after all is said and done, Snyder is pissed. Really pissed. Royally pissed. I can’t say I blame him.

Will and Katie finally get an uninterrupted moment to themselves, where Will does the good husband thing of talking her down from her guilt about shooting someone. He also tells her the truth about Geronimo, and how the trial was a farce. Does knowing this change Katie’s feelings on Snyder? Does it make her even less liable to trust him when it comes to promises? Probably, but that won’t stop both Will and Katie from trying to get their son back. And perhaps Katie should be more concerned with the fallout from the events of this hour: Her actions and loyalty toward Will haven’t put her in a good spot with the Resistance. Quayle now believes she’s a double agent, while for the first time, Broussard might be having a change of heart.

Four episodes of Colony remain and again, we ask the question: Who can you trust? Who is really on your side? And who will stand by you through it all?