Photo: Ben Mark Holzberg/CBS
The Other Drama: Russia, America, and Being the Bad Guys
We finally learn what Project Atlas is, and it is not good. The United States had been working on a weapon that would let them turn asteroids into weapons! That asteroid that hit Russia in the first episode wasn’t the work of Mother Nature. Using some of Tanz’s technology (Unbeknownst to Darius) they were attempting to aim asteroids to hit a target! The target was supposed to be the ocean – but they missed. (Don’t ask about the science here. It’s science fiction with a capital “F.”
Once Grace and Darius learn this they understand why Russia is furious and rightly doesn’t trust the U.S.. This idea was one that would allow the US to wipe out a country and not have to take responsibility for it. It’s also why they are promising to shoot down any rocket the US tries to send up, and took out all the satellites that could hit Sampson.
Honestly, can you blame them? In this story the US had no problem with wiping out a billion people. Even though it was a forced situation, Project Atlas shows they weren’t against the idea of mass murder to begin with. In the case of Sampson, it’s not like they were going to try and help the people in those countries evacuate and relocate in parts of the world that would (in their theory) be habitable. It’s scary to imagine a government so unconcerned with the well-being of the planet as a whole.
This is one reason why Salvation is so darn timely right now. It’s truly metaphoric. Can you say “Paris Accord”? However, Russia doesn’t come off scot-free. The killing of Katya was brutal, and done in part to set Darius and Grace up for murder. Other than that it wasn’t truly necessary. As for Professor Croft being alive, the rule is unless they are pronounced dead on-camera anything is possible. So, even though it’s implied that he’s being taken away to be killed, we still haven’t seen it! Stay tuned.
Military Rule
Another thing that’s striking in Salvation is the role of the Pentagon. Most television shows focus in on agencies like the CIA or branches of the military like the Navy in NCIS. The level of autonomy the Secretary of Defense and Pentagon has or does not have it has is something I’ve not given much thought to before. It’s a little unnerving to see the kinds of decisions being made by a bunch of generals. Even Harris, as mad as he is with Grace for lying, is appalled that the Secretary of Defense isn’t willing to anything to get Darius and Grace back.
Salvation “Seeing Red/From Russia, With Love” – The Wrap Up
Of course Claire Rayburn (Erica Luttrell) is just gleeful about all the trouble Grace got in. She probably thinks now that Darius and Grace have this huge split she can get back with Harris. From the looks of things though, Harris seems to have realized that sleeping with people he works with is just not a good idea. Banging the barmaid was much safer.
Watching Salvation, “Seeing Red/From Russia, With Love” is a reminder that individuals can take a stand and make a difference. Grace was motivated to go to Russia because she couldn’t understand why the US government & Russia weren’t willing talk. Granted, most of us don’t have millions of dollars at our disposal or the kind of inside information Grace and Darius had. Still, it’s telling that the solution to avoiding a nuclear showdown came not from the government, but from individuals laying it all on the line.
As for Jillian and Liam, they’re back together because now she understands why he didn’t tell her and how much he must love her. What’s more interesting is that she’s now going to be running the group deciding on the 160 people for the Salvation spaceship. I can’t help but think her Grandfather is going to come back in play around this. Get ready for him to show up unexpectedly at Tanz.
What’s Next?
The next episode is called “Patriot Games.” Now that the Russians are willing to work with America – so long as Darius and Grace are heading up the project, we can expect people like Claire will be trying to undercut that. What’s concerning is this episode 8 and then there’s only two more left in the season. Will it get a renewal or will they at least be able to wrap it up well? That’s hard to say. It’s ratings haven’t been great, but as the show has improved so has the interest in it. If you look at the individual episode ratings on IMDb they’ve steadily gone up.
Unfortunately, if you made your decisions about Salvation based on the first couple of episodes, you may have stopped watching, which is too bad. Despite its slow start I’ve actually come to enjoy this show. Dear CBS, for what it’s worth, I’ve noticed that Salvation has started sparking fan videos. That’s always a good sign that interest is picking up. I’ll leave you this one highlighting Salvation, “Seeing Red/From Russia, With Love.”
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