Welcome back to The Outpost, Garret Spears. Yes, your chiseled good looks and cold, calculating demeanor have returned to whence they came and this should be fun. Or will it? It appears you’ve made a new friend while incarcerated, but we’ll talk about the ramification of that later.
Right now, this is the official SPOILER alert for those of you who have not yet seen episode 208 of “The Outpost.” SPOILERS, SPOILERS, thrice I say SPOILERS are ahead. You have been warned. If you’re okay with that, please continue on and enjoy.
So here’s the play in episode 208, “A Crown for a Queen.” Talon takes off after Garret and the Queen, eventually catching up with them. But she wasn’t alone. Tobin also joined the hunt and I’m going to say right here how much I enjoyed the battle. Tobin and Talon against Garret and a few Prime Order guards at a little encampment. There were swords, there were arrows, there were kick-ass moves (Talon with the pole vault two-footed kick. Nice) and the glint of steel in the sunlight. It was my kind of thing.
The Outpost — “A Crown for The Queen” — Image Number: OUT208_0001b.jpg — Pictured: Jessica Green as Talon — Photo: Aleksander Letic/NBCU International — © 2019 Outpost TV LLC. Courtesy of Electric Entertainment.
First, bravo to Tobin for pulling himself up from the cups and joining the fray. Let’s be honest, Tobin deserved to find a little comfort a the Nightshade after his bride ran off at the altar. I suspect it was happy hour at the Nightshade, so can we really blame him for reverting to form a bit. The man has a mighty thirst and after essentially getting a swift kick to the jellies by his intended, a few libations seemed to be the next step…then a few more.
But he rallied, didn’t he? He caught up with Talon, engaged the bad guys and, may I add, disarmed Garret in the battle. It was glorious and forced Garret to run off with Gwynn where Talon eventually caught up to him, defeated him and then put him in a sleeper hold that would have made Ric Flair proud. And that’s how Garret ended up back at The Outpost. But again, we’ll get to that in a bit.
Let’s stay with Tobin, who was left alone to continue the battle when Talon ran after Garret. He fought, he won, and then as he staggered to face a lone archer, did his best Boramir impersonation, getting four shafts to various parts of his body. Look, I don’t advocate for a brand of machismo that sends you walking a straight line toward an archer who demonstrates with the first shaft that he’s pretty accurate. But our Tobin did. He kept walking, kept facing down the Orks….er, the archer, and ended up with four arrows in him before Talon (who finally got back) felled the archer. Tobin, you are a stud, man. I just hope the Steward of Gondor will appreciate it. Ooops, got my stories mixed up again.
You know, poor Garret is getting some real shade thrown at him via social media. And with good reason. Jake Stormoen has given us a Garret that is icy cold in his resolve, unnervingly calm in his menace, and brainwashed. That scene where and Gwynn are by the fire and he just seethes with resentment and contempt is really dynamic and fun. It’s such a departure from the Garret of season 1. Yes, I know he’s brainwashed at the moment, but I’m still #TeamGarret even as he bathes in the scented scummy soap of villainy. That’s it, Garret, scrub it in deep, my friend.
The Outpost — “A Crown for The Queen” — Image Number: OUT208_0003b.jpg — Pictured: Aaron Fontaine as Tobin — Photo: Aleksander Letic/NBCU International — © 2019 Outpost TV LLC. Courtesy of Electric Entertainment.
However, Garret may be incarcerated at The Outpost, with Janzo tasked with trying to break through the conditioning and chemical dependency that this new persona need, but he’s certainly got some game to play. As we see, there’s at least one Outpost guard who secretly swears allegiance to The Three (Wow, gang signs even back then.). And that makes sense, doesn’t it? The Three are like a great octopus with their tentacles running throughout the realm. It would be folly to think they don’t have a network of spies and infiltrators all over the place to keep them apprised of the goings-on within the realm. You know, loyalty and all that.
Janzo’s in a bit of quandary as well. The queen deduces fairly easily that Janzo freed Naya and is unhappy. So, Janzo needs to cure Garret, figure out the plagueling issue, run the Nightshade, all with the threat of the queen’s fury like a thunder cloud over the whole pizza party. I mean, what’s a madcap scientist/brewer/ladies man to do with that kind of pressure? Oh, and he needs to make sure Tobin heals from his wounds. No problem, just a routine week at The Outpost for Janzo.
But hey, Munt is there to help, right? I mean, Janzo sees a second plagueling cured and Munt offers clarity on why Janzo may still be upset. Matter-of-fact, that’s our Munt. So what is it about daylight and those plants? I’m intrigued, to say the least.
While all this is going on, Tobin is taken back to the Outpost and he gets to have a nice moment with the queen. He’s recovering and showing a softer, grateful side while the queen sits at his side, caressing his hair and holding his hand. Talk about confusing messages. So, for all intents and purposes, we’ve got the love triangle once again engaged. Hold it, I think it has become a love quadrangle.
The Outpost — “A Crown for The Queen” — Image Number: OUT208_0006b.jpg — Pictured (L-R): Back of Imogen Waterhouse as Gwynn and Anand Desai-Barochia as Janzo — Photo: Aleksander Letic/NBCU International — © 2019 Outpost TV LLC. Courtesy of Electric Entertainment.
We’ve got Tobin, Garret (when he gets healthy), Gwynn and Talon all awkwardly mingling on the Lido Deck of The Love Boat. Julie is suggesting shuffleboard while Isaac mixes some cocktails and the potential for relationship confusion seems to be growing. Who will end up with whom? I’ve got my thoughts, but we’ll just see how things progress. And that’s not counting Janzo pining away from afar, though I suspect Naya may be out of sight, but not out of mind. Ah, love at The Outpost, it is a mighty and head-shaking thing.
Speaking of relationships, this Zed guy is not a Blackblood I’m getting positive vibes from. He just can’t grasp Talon’s affection for humans, nor does he seem to have any grasp of one’s word or honor. He refused to go with Talon to save the queen. While I understand his maniacal obsession to save his people, his decision-making and lack of trying to curry Talon’s favor seems foolish on many levels. Are all Blackbloods so shortsighted?
He seems to be kind of amending his story as he goes and I find his petulant stance toward humans kind of irritating. However, Talon is kind of at that weird crossroads where there are things she wants to believe and things her instincts are telling her. It’s a confusing time for our heroine. She’s off now with Zed to find that stone that will complete the key. Again, I wonder why her mother didn’t bring the Blackbloods back when she had the power.
The Outpost — “A Crown for The Queen” — Image Number: OUT208_0005b.jpg — Pictured: Reece Ritchie as Zed — Photo: Aleksander Letic/NBCU International — © 2019 Outpost TV LLC. Courtesy of Electric Entertainment.
The queen asks that question as well, which I think is a nice clue that there’s more to this than meets the eye – or what Zed says. It would behoove Talon to keep her wits about her, the sword at the ready, and Zed at arm’s length.
We got a little Holy Three action, too. Spears’ capture kind of threw them for a loop and set them to bickering. They fear what the queen is trying to create at the Outpost to resist them and decide it’s time to throw their full military might at Rosmund. Which means we would seem to be on the precipice of some fighting. Yes! Let’s get the swords out, boys, it’s time to cut, slash and impale with a Conan-like gusto.
I’m for that action. Until then, keep a close eye on Garret and his “friends,” Tobin’s recovery, Janzo’s research, and a companion for Talon that I don’t trust at all. Things are heating up, my friends. But this whole Garret thing, it’s got me worried. When I did the feature on him weeks ago, he’d said there would be a healthy dose of redemption needed by the character. I can now see what he means. He will have much to answer for if and when he comes back to his normal self. Oh, and we did find out that he brought some medicine with him. He took a “hit” while on the trail, I noted. Brainwashed and on the juice. Garret, you’re better than that, man.
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