Afterlife 1x06 'Escape'

by Jon Nyqvist

Jonathan and Aurora are re-united, but it's far from a heart warming reunion. Both still imprisoned by Trias, they plan a daring escape with the help of some old friends...

Let's see where we're at with Afterlife, then. Last episode was all about Aurora's trials as she suffered the effects of the Devil's Tear, reliving her worst memory and giving us more insight into what makes her tick - and a terrifying night of abuse that gave birth to the Aurora we know and love today. However, this is where it all kicks in. Jonathan and Aurora, back in black for the first time since the jaw-dropping pilot. At last.

And this show still knows how to kick things off with a bang - throwing Jonathan into a pitched battle with an unseen assailant - all we see of his opponent is flashes of hair and weapons. The fight's pretty evenly matched so far, as despite being outclassed in the fighting department Jonathan's still showing his trademark resilience, but things are about to take two surprising turns. After some kind of signal to his attacker, we see them at last! It's Aurora! We get about a second to process that before she sinks a sword into his chest! Jonathan hits the deck, and Aurora looks coldly up to Trias, mockingly applauding her from up in the stalls. Wham!

It's Alias territory as we jump back in time two days (it's an old device - open with a shock and then leap back, so you can take your time building up to the opening moments again), as we follow Vergil scurrying through the shadows of Raven Hill Manor. He's heading for the dungeon, where Trias is busy interrogating Jonathan. Well, maybe 'interrogate' is too strong a word - Jonathan's as affable as always, despite his situation. You have to love an old school wisecracker like Jon at times like this. Trias leaves Jon alone - and then who should show up but Diana. Jon groans, the sporadic appearances by this phantom starting to grate on him by now. Flicking over to Aurora's cell, Vergil pays his former boss a visit. He's busy cooking up an escape plan, but he's going to need some help - and it looks like he's found it, with two mystery hooded figures who owe Jon a debt (the villagers he saved way back in 1x01?) ready to infiltrate the arena on Vergil's orders.

Jonathan has a vision of an army of nightmarish creatures swarming out of a dark forest before waking up back in his cell - our potential Big Bads, by the looks of them! Jon finds Vergil waiting, giving him a part to play in the escape plan. Jon's naturally suspicious, but it's the only lifeline he's got at the moment, so he goes along with it. Over by the arena, Vergil's two assistants are burying two barrels of something over by the main arena gates. Anyone who's seen Robin Hood Prince Of Thieves will be nodding by this stage, but I won't spoil things just yet. Jon tells Trias he was Aurora's lover - and this gets an angry reaction out of Captain One Eye. Trias stomps off past Aurora, and it's Vergil's turn to play as he suggests a great way for Trias to take his revenge on Aurora. He's a wily one, is Vergil, and making a strong case for Make Me A Regular to boot! Diana pops back to reassure Jon he'll be out of there soon, while we see that Vergil has successfully talked Trias into following his idea, whatever it is. Vergil meets his assistants again - the game is set. The next morning, Jon wakes up (and is that a cheeky Lost reference in the close ups of the eyes snapping open?) and is dragged out to the Arena, as is Aurora. Jon is led into the arena - there's no obvious way out here, and a crowd baying for blood and not caring whose it is. Aurora is led out (with a neat slow-mo moment), and Jon starts to put the pieces together at last...

The plan is whoever draws first blood gets to be the one who 'kills' the other, so it's time for the moment you've been waiting for - Jonathan vs. Aurora. These two have a brilliantly choreographed fight - with pauses to throw a few quips at each other throughout - and it's clear they have a good understanding of each other. Aurora's the better fighter, but Jonathan's smarter, keeping things even. There's a moment where they both find themselves pressed close together where the old UST pops up - nicely summed up by the direction 'They linger slightly longer than two people trying to kill each other should.' Nice. Their fight continues, another dazzling display of combat, until Aurora strikes the 'killing' blow - and their words from the Teaser are cleverly reversed now we know the story behind the battle. Aurora's prize? Death by crossbow. Hey! Now, that just ain't fair. Thank the Lord for Vergil and his two merry hooded figures - Marius and Kate! Rah. In a neat sequence of slow-mo cuts as everything kicks off once again, Marius and Kate set off the explosives they buried by the gate, and there is a customary earth-shattering ka-boom. With Marius picking off Trias' crossbowmen, it's down to Aurora and Jon to fight their way out, and the efficiency with which they do this makes for a great moment. Back to back, covering one another, doing the hero thing. Go team. The gang meet up just outside the gates, with escape hinging on something called 'The Reaver' - but Vergil takes an arrow! Noo! Trias smugly lowers his longbow as we black out once again...

We rejoin the team on the run through the backstreets of Raven Hill, with the badly wounded Vergil offering to sacrifice himself for the others. Aurora considers it but the others are horrified at the prospect, so Jon makes the call. Vergil stays. They need a diversion to get to the Reaver, and Aurora finds herself volunteered (and oh, how I'm going to love her and Jon sniping at each other. I can tell already) to help Jon out. With Trias closing in, the duo are waiting to spring their trap, unaware that another of his goons is about to get the drop on them! Marius, Kate and Vergil make it to a hangar and we see the Reaver at last - a huge airship, jet black and quite possibly the epitome of airbourne cool in this world. Liking it. Back on the roof, Jon helpfully shoves Aurora out of the way of the incoming thug (and, sadly, right off the roof and into the path of more Raven goons), and while Jon has his hands full up top, Aurora's on familiar ground down below - outnumbered and fighting for her life! She should be getting quite good at this by now... So how's Jon going to rescue her? That's right - a beautiful Star Wars homage as he grabs a laundry rope and swings past to scoop her up, echoing his move from the pilot (which he cheekily comments on). Trias gets to the hangar just as the Reaver is ready to fly, and in an emergency call, Aurora gets the navigational sails deployed to stop him blowing up the gas balloons - which, unfortunately, tear off as the ship makes its Millennium Falcon-style escape through the roof. The ship makes it into the sunset, but with Vergil dying from a poisoned arrow (ouch) and no way to steer the ship, they're at the mercy of the winds now. Thing is, those winds are carrying them North, towards the Darklands - and that's where the wild things are, ladies and gentlemen! The duo admit to each other that they've both seen the monsters (although Aurora declines to mention the little spot of doom growing on her hand) - and that's where we leave them.

I love this show now. It's official. Earlier episodes got bogged down in character-building flashbacks, which I appreciate were necessary, but here a full episode of uncut Afterlife action shows how ridiculously fun this show can be. Jon and Aurora are absolute gold when they're together, their relationship covering all the bases from kick arse combat, snappy one-liners and simmering romantic tension, coupled with moments of genuine emotion whenever they allow themselves to open up a bit, As quite closed characters emotionally, it's good to see that they connect with each other on so many levels - there's bags of development potential here. As for the episode itself, there's a few classic homages dotted around, including a real Star Wars vibe to Act IV, and it's only the relative shortness of the script that lets it down - I want more, damn it! So Afterlife returns to the heights set by the pilot at last, and from here on in as we get to the meat of the season's arc, things can only get better.

ZPM RATING: