(Season 1, Episode 13 – “Revelations – Part 2″ – Season Finale)
I have to admit, I was pretty damned disappointed in this season finale for Sanctuary. Don’t get me wrong, I’m really digging the series, but for a season ending climax, this was pretty lacking in the excitement factor. The big confrontation between the Cabal and the Five was a no-show. Instead we got a bunch of “tests” in the heart of the labyrinth.
Across town, and by town I mean the globe, we had Ashley and Henry at the mercy of the Cabal. Both of these incidents took up most of the episode, leaving just enough time to set up next season. That’s fine if that’s how you want to do it, but give us a little bit of payoff here. The most tension we had was all the posturing between the boys club Dr. Magnus finds herself a part of. Adolescents, indeed.
While it was disappointing to see Dr. Watson pass, at the same time there is some real potential in bringing the invisible girl on board. Not only are they in need of a hot chick who gets naked all the time, because what show isn’t, but it gives Will someone to connect to. And brings in an incredibly fresh set of eyes to the zaniness of the Sanctuary.
I know Will was supposed to be the every man thrust into this crazy world for us to relate to, but it didn’t really happen that way. Maybe he was just too “special” in his own right, but he acclimated almost immediately to the insanity of the Sanctuary and became just another Scooby in the gang.
Now with Clara Griffin we truly have someone who is just “one of us.” Plus, maybe Will can be a little more normal, too. The guy isn’t an abnormal after all, and we’ve rarely seen him taking in life outside the Sanctuary.
The bottom line for this episode was that while it was a good setup for future excitement, I thought it was a terrible installment for a season finale. I never got a sense of any real danger for our core cast. The threat of the Cabal wasn’t even as dire as it was presented in last week’s episode.
And again, nothing really happened. Maybe they should have just gone ahead and made it a two-hour finale so we could get the immediate sense of threat and danger that last week gave us leading up to the cliffhanger ending. What do you think? Was it a good hour to leave things on or did you find it lacking in some way, too?
Clacked by Jason Hughes 
on Jan 10, 2009 @ 16:00 EST5EDT
Ashley Magnus becomes a teleport, turns evil and is now working for the Cabal, and steals the most powerful weapon of all, the Source blood, that the Cabal could use for practically world domination?
HOW is that not a magnificent cliff-hanger? My heart RACED through the final two minutes.
*POST AUTHOR*
You’re right, and I should have been more specific. The cliffhanger was very good and sets up next season brilliantly. It was the 58 minutes leading up to it that left me a little wanting. I guess I would have liked the threat level a little more serious throughout, and some real tension or excitement. The tests just weren’t all that threatening.
Crap! I forgot to record it somehow. Ashley became evil? Cool. She’ll make a groovy evil chick.
I enjoy Sanctuary very much, yet at the same time, I think it is having problems by “borrowing” too many ideas, styles and themes from similar TV series/genre, including “Heroes,” “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” and “The X-Men.”
And Robin Dunne’s character is a little too…bland. I’ve noticed his voice is always so, uh, moderated.
And what about Bigfoot? They never even mentioned him in this episode.
And did I detect a hint of mutual attraction between John Druitt and James Watson? The fact that they both were also attracted to Helen Magnus certainly mixed up the “ship” signals for this series.
You weren’t imagining it. There is some DEFINITE history between those two. In fact, this is the first fandom I’ve EVER written slash for (unless you count Torchwood but that’s CANON). There’s no way they weren’t lovers at some point. Which actually wasn’t as uncommon in the Victorian era as some people think.
I find the serial arc to be a little derivative. However, the self-contained stories have been excellent.
I think I’d like them to try and wrap up the current arc over the next season, then move forward from there with something more original.
Peter Wingfield was awesome, as usual.
I found it to be a little to predictable. SciFi has not done anything original. I would go as far to say not very many people are doing original.
It seems, throw in a sexy hot chick, and few naked hot chick moments, get the sexy hot chick to go bad. Now we have a Bad Girl/Sexy hot chick, and everyone drools and watches it. Predictable! Disgusting!
Is that all TV is about these days? Come on some of us have a mind!