by Jon Nyqvist
Beat up and near death, Aurora is rescued by a family who too has suffered greatly. As Aurora gets back on her feet in the care of the family, memories of her first "assignment" come back to haunt her.
Back with the always-enjoyable Afterlife now, as we have the next Aurora-centric episode. This show's cinematic eye for action sequences and snappy dialogue makes it a firm favourite of mine, although I'm still waiting for the split nature of the show to settle down - the cuts between the Afterlife and the real world and the alternating focus on Jonathan and then Aurora has left the show's first three episodes feeling somewhat disjointed, but even so it's still good fun to sit through.
1x04 opens with a wagon-bound family travelling down a dusty countryside road. Despite the potential for cliches here, Nyqvist somehow always manages to avoid them, with Lianna and her two little girls projecting their characters in just a handful of pages. The wagon train encounters a body on the road, and it's none other than our favourite hitwoman Aurora! It's the first time we've seen her since Trias chucked her off a balcony, and she doesn't seem to have had a good run of luck since then.
Act I takes us back into Aurora's past, as an 18-year-old version of her spars with Lynn. Well, I say 'spar,' 'gets her arse kicked' would be a more accurate description. This is Aurora minus the eight years of training, you see. After a cheeky Karate Kid reference, Aurora signals her commitment to this life, with a telling line about 'not wanting to be part of a world where she's the victim.' Some past trauma that she needs to overcome, perhaps? Interesting... Back in the Afterlife, Aurora is being cared for by Lianna, and we flash forward a week to find Aurora's all better, although Lianna doesn't need a degree in Dramatic Irony to know that Aurora spells 'trouble.' Well, not literally. You know what I mean. Anyway. Grandma Tia's less than thrilled at the prospect of Aurora being in the family farm, but as Aurora joins them for dinner there's still plenty of suspicion floating around. Aurora gets the hint and prepares to get out of the family's hair first thing in the morning.
After Vergil arrives back at Raven Hill in Act II to find Aurora deposed and Trias back in charge, Aurora wakes from a fitful night's sleep to find Lianna's oldest but silent daughter Nera looking in on her. As Nera leans in, she suddenly morphs into a hideous beastie ('HR Giger would scream like a girl at this thing,' as the stage direction so wittily puts it) and attacks her - it's Freaky Dream Of The Week! Aurora's frantic screaming wakes the whole house, and when Lianna tries to come to her rescue she gets a boot in the face from the wildly thrashing Aurora for her trouble. Aurora finally drags herself back to the land of the living, and it's time to flash back to the Real World once more. A nervous Aurora waits in her hotel room for Lynn to arrive, bringing a briefcase holding a gun and a dossier - it's the night of Aurora's first kill! We cut back to the Afterlife as Lianna repairs Aurora's stitches, and she tells the story of why Nera is mute. Lianna's husband stood up to black-clad men who showed up one day to demand protection money (members of Aurora's Ravens?), and when he refused they came back a few days later, leaving little Nera beaten and abused in a field and her husband missing, presumed dead. The story gets a tear out of Aurora - looks like she knows what happened is probably her fault, directly or otherwise. Back at Raven Hill, Trias asks Vergil if he knew why Aurora was so interested in finding Jonathan, but the ever-loyal Vergil ain't saying a thing. Trias isn't too fussed - as we saw last episode, he's already got his hands on Jonathan and he plans on torturing the truth out of him all by himself! Back on the farm, Aurora wanders out into the sunshine and finds an unlikely friend in Nera (the real one, not the freaky Giger one), who seems happy to have Aurora around. Aurora's about ready to be on her way again, but over breakfast Lianna pleads with her not to go looking for revenge - whether she believes Aurora's going to come back in one piece or not, she clearly seems to be growing to like our young assassin, but Aurora knows what she has to do. Out in the front garden, liitle Jakob is busy playing swordsman when a fresh gang of thugs show up - and it looks like it's time for Aurora to defend her new family!
Act III, and Lianna hears a scream and races outside to find the Ravens threatening Jakob - but as Nera tries to pull a Psycho and get some stabby payback on one of the goons, things quickly go even more south than they already have... and Enter The Aurora. Splat. Bye bye, Goon #1. We'll miss you. A blur of motion later and everyone but Smiley, leader of the thugs, is on the ground. Man, some of the moments in this show need to be filmed! A horrified Smiley recognises Aurora at last, distracts her and gets away, and despite what could have been a classic 'hit fleeing villain in the back' moment, he escapes, off to tell Trias that she's still alive. As Aurora slowly turns to see the shocked Lianna and her family watching her, it's flashback time. Young Aurora is sizing up her mark in an exclusive nightspot, but we're not with her long before we're back at the farm, and as Lianna angrily rails on her, Aurora reveals something about her by accident. She slips as she mention's Nera's name, specifically the abuse she suffered at the hands of the Ravens, and Lianna double takes as we all realise that maybe Aurora has more in common with Nera than was first made apparent... Meanwhile, back at Raven Hill Manor, Trias is told of Aurora's return and prepares to ride out to sort her out once and for all, while Aurora tries to persuade Lianna to pack up and go before the Ravens come back. But what's this? Lianna lays out Aurora! Looks like that old maternal instinct is alive and well after all, eh?
Back in flashback territory as we begin Act IV, Young Aurora is fixing her make up when Lynn angrily tells her to get her head back in the game. Aurora seems to know what she's doing, but Lynn is obviously not convinced as Aurora struts back onto the dance floor. Back on the farm, the captive Aurora finds Nera looking in on her, clutching a knife - will the bond between these two get Aurora out of a tight spot? Out front, a tense Lianna tries to negotiate the safety of her family in return for handing Aurora over, but as Trias is led into the room where Aurora lies, he's about to get a nasty surprise of the Aurora kind - Nera cut the ropes! Aurora takes out Smiley, grabs Lianna and sets the room on fire, taking out all of Trias' goon squad, but luckily Nera and Tia get the rest of the family to safety. Another gloriously cinematic moment follows as Aurora strides towards Trias, the raging flames behind her giving her the appearance of a Fury with one hell of a migraine and looking for somebody to punish for it, but she's quickly surrounded by more Raven thugs. The stand off cuts back to Young Aurora, busy seducing her target, suave playboy Van Beckett - and putting four rounds in his chest without blinking. If you were ever in any doubt that this girl was a stone cold killer, there's your proof. But back in the Afterlife, we don't get to see what happens to Aurora - we follow Lianna as she leads her family to safety, and Aurora's fate remains unknown...
Wow. Afterlife finally kicks into the higher gear it's been promising since the pilot, the slow build of tension throughout the episode and careful use of flashbacks meaning this episode's structure really clicks into place. At the moment, Aurora's a much stronger character than Jonathan and this really gives her a chance to shine, demonstrating her more noble, moralistic side as she does her level best to keep Lianna and her family out of danger, offering to leave twice before her mercy backfires and she's almost sold out, as well as a more tender side to her with the interaction with little Nera. This girl could carry the whole show on her own, to be honest, and the flashbacks here serve to enhance the main story instead of obstructing it as they did in 'Twin.' Bravo. Great stuff all round.
ZPM RATING:
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