Earth: Final Conflict
"Arrival"

Air Date: May 15th, 2000

Mikhail Federov (Garwin Sanders) starts a world-wide bidding war for some mysterious weapons while the Resistance races to find where the weapons are coming from before the Taelons do.

The A plot of "Arrival" starts out with a good hook -- a Taelon shuttle is shot down over the Weddell Sea in Antarctica as Agent Ronald Sandoval (Von Flores) and his secret special ops team try to intercept it. Okay, I'll bite. What the hell is Sandoval doing in the middle of an ice desert waiting for a shuttle? Who shot the shuttle out of the sky and why?

Time isn't wasted on too much exposition as the next scene reveals a figure in the snowstorm firing on two men in arctic combat gear, then running away. Rather than fully reveal the figure's identity we're taken to the next scene. Mikhail Federov, Leader of the Free Republic of Rostok calls to 'invite' Da'an (Leni Parker) to visit his auction of the Taelon shuttle he's found on Rostok soil. The close camera angle on Federov's face allows us to read every line that makes up his cocky smirk. He's so sure that he's got what the Taelons want and that they'll do anything to get it. We soon find out how right he is when Sandoval shows up (under Zo'or's orders) at Federov's residence. Later on, behind closed doors, Sandoval offers Federov twenty billion north American dollars and gold -- Zo'or's money. Zo'or owns the largest gold repository on Earth after all and Sandoval is his accountant. On this point I have to say that Zo'or is dumb to let Sandoval count his beans. I wouldn't trust him to tie my shoes much less keep track of my money.

At the auction Sandoval tries to break up the party by flashing his badge, but the charming Federov puts the arrogant little Taelon protector in his place. Federov puts Sandoval in his place by telling him to put away his badge and bravado, then 'thanking' him for weeding out the wimps in the crowd. Against my better judgment, I like this Federov. Hell, I like anyone who makes Ron Sandoval look bad. Federov is as charming and smoothly sarcastic as Sandoval is blunt and acidic. Both view the other with contempt though they are cut from the same cloth. Garwin Sanders plays him so cool, arrogant, with an undercurrent of ruthlessness, yet charming and cultured. This Russian semi-barbarian in a business suit could be a great asset to the Resistance... if rewarded richly enough.

Then Renée puts him in his place, too. Part of why I keep watching is because I love it when someone can beat Sandoval either verbally or physically and he can't do anything about it. He doesn't learn anything from it, of course. I guess it's the CVI... Even Zo'or is more impatient than usual with Ron. That line about "no" being his personal mantra was the funniest line in the episode.

When Palmer and Federov meet, it's obvious that the handsome Russian leader seems more taken by the beautiful corporate powerhouse than she is by him. Still he pours on the Russian charm and to achieve her ends, Palmer pretends to fall under his spell. Or does she? It's so hard to tell with Renée Palmer; her placid exterior betrays so little of what lay underneath. Whatever Zen boot camp she went to get that kind of discipline, it's working. She's as enigmatic as a Buddha and as dangerous as any oni demon, definitely a match for Mikhail Federov.

I see Mikhail and Renée playing chess in his underground home as a physical metaphor for the mindgame the two are playing. Renée tries to get Lili and Vorjak's location from Federov. She tries to blackmail him, then threaten him, then finally she foregoes her ten percent commission. On the underside of a queen's chess piece are the latitude and longitude of their location in Rostok. As a parting gift he gives her the weapon found in the shuttle and warns her against Sandoval. Maybe Federov has a soft spot after all. I almost wish the two could have a thing going because they have so much in common; they're both wily and ruthless. Both are accustomed to power and are powerful people who aren't afraid to go after what they want. On the other hand they wouldn't last long as an item, well, because.. they're too much alike. Darn.

Aboard the Mothership Sandoval shows Tate the Control Core he took from One Taelon Avenue. Oh, the possibilities in the future about Sandoval's plans for that device are endless. Now that Tate knows about the Core too, I foresee Tate (Richard Zeppieri) growing ambition bones in his spine and wanting to get his hands on it.

In all this braiding of the two plots into a knot at the end I still have many questions that I hope have forthcoming answers in the next season. Why did Sandoval choose Lili in the first place? How do we know to be more accurate that he didn't have someone else in mind to send to Jaridia, say Volunteer Vosser with whom there was a hint of a connection? Was Lili's sabotage in "Crossfire" just a fortunate happenstance that played her into his hands? What, aside from self interest, drove him to ally with the Jaridians? It is here when he sees the Captain again for the first time since her return that we see a new facet in his character and perhaps his motives. Especially when he begrudgingly agrees with Vorjak's assessment of Lili's character as "formidable". It's almost as if he admires her a little.

Earth: Final Conflict's third season ends as I had hoped -- with the return of Captain Marquette. Lisa Howard as the formidable Marine is the most compelling reason to watch the series and I have high hopes for Season Four now that she's back. I wonder what life will be like for Marquette's character as she prepares for parenting a child of an entirely different species from her own. What made her agree to this? Did she fall to Vorjak's charm or is it merely extreme altruism on her part or a combination of the two? Will she live? After the birth can she revert to her former self before Sandoval altered her physiology? I can't wait to see how she'll be as a Jaridian. I'd also like to see how she gets along with Renée and the others after the change. As for the child, where will Lili and Vorjak raise the little one, Earth or Jaridia? It's not clear how long she's been gone from Earth since we last saw her in "In Memory" though I'm guessing it's about nine months...

The connection between Da'an and Marquette could mean the difference between life and death for her and her baby. Will Da'an die giving Lili the energy she needs? Why does he risk his life for her?

Dan Chameroy emotes well as the Jaridian Vorjak under all that prosthetic makeup. I wonder how he'll do on Earth during his extended visit? I'd love to see some backstory on how he met Marquette, and became the father of her child. What is more important, how and why he did he ask Ronald Sandoval for help in the important task of saving his people. It's obvious the two have a connection as seen in the ice cave; Vorjak speaks to Lili with tender familiarity that goes beyond the role of a comrade. In the makeshift infirmary he hovers above Lili's gurney, well, like a worried husband, bellowing impatiently at people around him. I hope to see more of Vorjak in Season Four.

"Arrival" is an apt title for this episode, not just because of Marquette and Vorjak's arrival on Earth. It's a fitting name also for the arrival of a new species in the form of their hybrid child and the anticipated arrival of new allies for humankind in the fight against the Taelons -- the Jaridians.

-- Vivian E. Lee

Earth: Final Conflict is in syndication. Check local listings for show times.

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