BWW Recap: Coincidences Don't Exist for INTRUDERS

Last Saturday, BBC America achieved its highest-rated Saturday evening on record, thanks to "Doctor Who" and a little new show called "Intruders." The latter's premiere episode, which netted about 1 Million viewers in total, was a lot to handle. I get that. But if, like me, you managed to get past (or even, dare I say, enjoy) the convoluted storyline and kitten murders (RIP Loopy), you were likely running to BBC America's website to watch the second episode. Those questions need answering!

Okay, so maybe it's too soon for answers. What kind of show answers big questions in the second episode? Instead, the mystery deepens even further, and I'm even more intrigued.

We return, at the beginning of the episode, to dreary coastal Oregon, where Madison's mother frantically searches for her missing daughter. As she runs up and down the beach calling her daughter's name, we leave her and find Madison, standing in a train station staring up at a clock. As the clock strikes nine (note the magic number), Madison has flashbacks to dark alleyways and mysterious buildings in Chinatown. Something in these flashbacks prompts her to look in her jacket pockets, where she finds a leather-bound journal engraved with a gold nine - just like the one on the business card from Shepherd. In it, she finds an envelope full of cash, keys to an unknown lock, and a train ticket to, literally, anywhere. Inscribed on the first page, is the same disturbing phrase we read in Donna's suicide note: "In the beginning, there was death." It must be a Qui Reverti thing.

Meanwhile, in Seattle, Jack continues the search for his missing wife and visits the ultra-sleek law office where she works. The firm's lobby is disturbingly silent. There's not a person in sight; only a few chairs and a futuristic telephone occupy the space. Jack examines the phone - complete with light-up base - like it's a piece of technology he's never seen before. Could this underline a fundamental difference between the average person's and Qui Reverti's understanding of how life and death work? We've been told repeatedly that coincidences don't exist, so I'm answering that one with a resounding yes.

Once Jack makes it behind that shadowy dividing wall, it becomes certain that this law firm is hiding something - or at least, Todd Crane is. He seems like your typical city lawyer at first, but the more Jack speaks to him, the more secretive he becomes. He must be nervous about Jack stumbling upon something, because he has Jack escorted out of the office. As Jack waits for the elevator, he turns to glance toward the lobby and sees two shadowy men standing behind the wall, watching him to ensure he actually leaves. This image - the shadowy men - is perfect. Crane is hiding something behind that wall, something that must be guarded at all costs. Right now, to Jack, Crane's secrets are cloudy and unclear, but he is determined to solve the mystery and clarify the shadows. See? Perfect imagery.

Allow me to get nerdy on you for a moment and examine another technical element of the show. Something I failed to mention about the premiere was the incredibly subtle editing techniques utilized by the creative team. Editors in the thriller genre tend to have a heavy hand when it comes to sound editing, blasting viewers with over-dramatic screams and unrealistic explosions. On the other hand, the editors on "Intruders" (thankfully!) never over-do the soundtrack. If anything, they delicately examine the soundscape and refine it with precision, creating dialogue and ambiance so quiet that the storyline becomes more realistic, and therefore much more creepy and unsettling. It works perfectly against the muted color scheme and forces you to really listen to what the characters say.

But I digress. Let's return to the mystery. Back in Oregon, local police investigate Madison's disappearance, and we meet Madison's dad, Simon O'Donnell. Once the police finish their interrogation, Simon suggests that Madison ran off to look for what happened to her real parents. Her "real" parents?! Who are you, then? Madison just became that much more interesting.

Naturally, the next person to knock at the O'Donnell's door is "Special Agent" Shepherd, who gains an invite into the house by promising to bring Madison back "happily ever after." (We know Shepherd better than that, though. I'll believe it when I see it.) Moments after arriving, Shepherd gets Mr. and Mrs. O'Donnell out of the house by revealing Mrs. O'Donnell's affair with a man named Nick Olson. Shepherd shoots upstairs to Madison's room. On her nightstand, next to the now-broken sand dollar, Madison's journal practically begs to be read by Shepherd. Remember that moment, right before Madison (or was it Marcus?) drowned her cat, when she scribbled something in her journal? Shepherd uncovers the mysterious note and finds an all too familiar threat: "What goes around comes around." Shepherd may have been mad before, but now he's mad and furious - a deadly combination.

While Shepherd ransacks the O'Donnell house, we meet Oz Turner's replacement for his conspiracy-laden podcast: Tim Truth. He states that he knows Qui Reverti is listening - and he's not afraid. Personally, I would be. That Shepherd is one clever assassin.

Things are starting to make sense - for now. Jack, however, remains troubled. He receives an unsettling call from an unknown number, telling him to go home, that Amy is gone. He looks up and notices a man in black watching him from a nearby bridge. It's time to act. After some searching, he tracks down George Brackett, the cab driver that returned Amy's phone. He learns that Amy told George that she lived in Russia, was a member of the Czar's secret service, and assassinated a labor strike leader...in 1883. This is all too familiar to Jack - in a flashback, we learn that Amy once awoke, from a sound sleep, muttering in Russian before mumbling the same sentence found in the introduction of Madison's journal.

We're starting to learn more about Qui Reverti. Everything that Oz suspected about the organization was true, and Amy and Madison are clearly old souls somehow returning to life in new bodies. Madison (or Marcus?) serves as our surrogate when she reads from her newly discovered Qui Reverti book, which warns of side effects to the body-jumping process and claims that the ultimate lie taught to humans is that death is the final punishment. The book, which is really more like an instruction manual to reincarnation, claims to prove that there is no such thing as true death. Qui Reverti can continually return to life. This is the immortality that Anderson and Oz Turner so desperately sought to uncover.

But what's with the reoccurring number nine? We still don't know, but it keeps popping up throughout the episode. In Chinatown, the building Shepherd enters is marked with a hanging neon sign, which displays the Chinese character for the number, and Shepherd enters room 126, which adds to - yep - nine. Things get heated when Shepherd confronts elderly Mrs. Ng, who explains no book was made for Marcus Fox (whose book does Madison have, then?), and that the girl's body is too young. Shepherd clearly did something wrong here, and Mrs. Ng warns that they'll all be punished if "they" - whoever "they" are - find out. In true Shepherd form, he murders them all, presumably to keep them quiet. Our favorite assassin just took it up a notch. He's a rogue. He wants anyone who knows anything about his plans, regardless of whether or not they're members of Qui Reverti, dead. Keep it coming, Shepherd. Let's see where your allegiances truly lie.

Back in Seattle, Jack recognizes a condominium from a photo he saw in Amy's phone and teams up with George to gather intel about the building's residents. While George recounts what he discovered, Jack notices two men following them down an alley, and the two men take off in a sprint. One of the men almost murders Jack, but his partner stops him with a mysterious command: "No! She said no!" Who is "she?" Is it Amy, or is it another new character we've yet to meet? Things finally calm down, and Jack's phone rings; it's his neighbor, Brud Zimmerman. Jack answers and informs them about Amy's disappearance...and the phone cuts out. As Jack goes to hang up, he hears a familiar voice - it's Amy. Amy! Where is she?! Turns out, she's at home - or so she says. The line disconnects before Jack can ask anything else. As he leaves, he glances up at the condo and sees Crane, standing on the balcony, watching him. It's no coincidence that Madison/Marcus wants so desperately to get to Seattle, and it's definitely no coincidence that Amy chose that city as her business destination. Something's going on here, and Crane's at its center.

Last week, they baited the hook. This week, they cast the line. Let's see how they reel us in. In case you can't tell, I'm confident they will.

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