Sanctuary Webisodes 5-8 : Review
I had not watched the Webisodes for quite a while, so I was excited to do a rewatch and write a review. My intention was to just write a review for webisodes 1-4, because from what I could remember 5-8 were very similar to “Fata Morgana”. After my rewatch of them last night, I realized that I really needed to write a review for them. This may jump around a little bit. I couldn’t decide how I was going to organize my thoughts - but I think it is pretty much chronological.
I like that in this webisode we get to learn a little bit more about Ashley, and see her interact with her mother. I know Ashley was really only in one season of the show, but I think they could have done a better job developing her relationship with Helen. As much as I love “Eulogy”, I don’t feel like we had the chance to get to know Ashley enough to mourn her death (but that is for a different episode review). Along with a lack of mother/daughter relationship, there was also a lack of Ashley reacting to the news about her father. At least in the webisodes, we see that Ashley is upset about the news and doesn’t know quite how to handle the distraction. Her argument with Helen had me mad at first. She should be old enough to be a little bit more mature about the situation. However, I was about her age when I found out my parents were getting a divorce, and I know I certainly did not act mature about it. Later, when she is talking with Will, she gets really creepy (I don't know whether to think she is being serious or trying to be twisted just to get at Will):
“You ever look at a ghoul? A really nasty one, right in the eye before you send it packing? You see one of two things. You see fear, it knows it's dead meat and that's kind of sad but others, the really bad ones, they never stop wanting to take you down right up until the moment you pull the trigger, and those kills, they're the sweetest. Sometimes when I nail something that mean and terrible, when I watch it die, I feel... well, it's hard to explain but trust me it's a thousand times more cathartic than lying on a couch crying about how your life sucks, Doctor!” (Webisode 7)
When Magnus runs into the crypt, she yells “Doctor!” - calling to Will. It was so weird to hear her call him that. I know she addresses him a few times as Dr. Zimmerman (“Requiem” comes to mind), but for some reason this made me laugh. What also reminds me of “Requiem” is Will’s concern for how Ashley is handling the news of her father. I think it was a little weird that he went to Ashley, because they don’t really seem to interact at all - though since it is his job and he may certainly be more comfortable talking to a stranger about their feelings.
Steve - what an interesting abnormal. I think it is cool to see the abnormals working with the team - rather than just staying at the Sanctuary. Seeing them participate in things gives them more depth. We know some of them are there for the safety of humanity, but many are there for their own safety, so it would make sense that they would be doing more than sitting around. Take Big Guy for example - he is not just living there, he is an active member of the Sanctuary. Which brings up an interesting thought that came to me while watching this again. Helen’s line “That’s why I’ll need a ride later tonight” kind of stuck out to me. It is really only in the webisodes and “Sanctuary For All” that we see Helen being chauffeured around by Biggie.
How wonderful it is to have Henry back! I am guessing that he wasn’t an abnormal in the webisodes: “I am a normal, boring homo sapien just like yourself. My great, great grandfather was Magnus' original weaponsmith back in London.” But even in the episodes he didn’t tell Will he was a HAP. And he truly does have the best lines ever:
“There you go. It's a calibration issue these long range acoustic devices get a bit wonky when you jostle them.”
“I’m gonna tell your mother!”
The story of the Cabalis Nocturum and the Morrigan was very interesting to me. I just recently finished rewatching Stargate SG-1. The last couple seasons had a few episodes about Merlin and Morgan le Fay. It was neat to hear Terrance (Paul McGillion - another Stargate person!) tell Helen the whole history leading up to the witches being put in the crypt. That is one of the many reasons I love this show! It makes history/myths/legends cool.
Helen: “Longevity is not a gift. It’s a curse. It means loneliness. Isolation. It means being less human.”
From other episodes (specifically “Pavor Nocturnus”), we know that Helen does not see her longevity as a cool super-power. She has talked about the loneliness and the loss. From the stories she tells, and the names she drops, it doesn’t seem like she lived a life of isolation. But I guess even in a crowded room you can be alone. It is interesting though, because I have never seen her as an abnormal - as “less human.” Abnormals obviously are important to her, and by saying that being “less human” is a curse, isn’t that the same as saying being an abnormal is a curse? I think “Pavor Nocturnus” taught her many things about accepting who/what she was. But imagine living 150 years thinking it was a curse.
I forgot that Webisode 8 ended with a cliffhanger. It was great to see Helen knocked out and bleeding. There are so few episodes where someone gets the upper hand in a fight.
Picture Credit: Sanctuary-Caps | Transcript Credit: Sanctuary Network