Sanctuary 4x11 The Depths

This episode of “the Life & Times of Helen Magnus” (aka Sanctuary) brings the best of ‘The Bickersons’, ‘Magnus Knows Best’, and ‘A Woman With A (very long) Past’.


Helen & Will head to Bolivia to rescue a rare abnormal from the clutches of SCIU once again – only they’re a bit late. When the SCIU team’s actions end up with all of them being killed, except for Helen (bruised ribs), Will (gunshot) and the feathered serpent abnormal (just a bit pissed off) – Helen stumbles upon some “miracle” water, which brings great healing powers, but a severe withdrawl/crash to follow.

Thus brings the rest of the journey with Helen and Will going through the lows (Will whining/Helen rebuttal) and highs (Will whining/Helen explaining) of the addiction, and a lot of dirty laundry that needs at least some rinsing off.

--
H: we have to keep moving forward
W: fine. Standard operating procedure, Helen Magnus style, I guess.
H: what the hell is that supposed to mean?
W: oh, you know, ‘Once more to the breach, England, et cetera, et cetera.’ No matter how stupid dangerous. I’m saying this is not the first time I’ve been stuck in a bad place with you.
H: I understand how being in a tight space can stress anyone out. I don’t have to be claustrophobic to know that we are under tons of rock with no map. We just have to keep moving.
W: no, no, no, no, no. We have to go back. I need air
H: then keep moving.
W: I’m sick of being the expendable human on the ticket. I’m going back.
H: really? Wow, I thought you were tougher than that. We. Are moving. Forward.
W: Fine. Dammit.

Is it bad that I LIKE the fact that Will is always the “expendable human on the ticket”?

--
H: you’re welcome
W: for what? You talk to me like I’m a child.
H: anger is a great motivator…overcomes fear every time.
W: well, that’s your M.O. isn’t it? Achieve the result by any means necessary.
H: you need to rest, and I recommend silence.

Haha that’s Helen’s way of politely saying – “SHUT UP, Will”

--
W: listen Magnus, about before…
H: you mean when you accused me of recklessly endangering your life?
W: ah yeah, I guess that was kind of childish.
H: let’s just call it withdrawl. … anger, accusations, they’re all just chemical misfires.
W: sure. Blame the water.
H: do you really think I’d risk your life cavalierly?
W: I think you’re so jaded that you need the risk of death to hold your attention. … or worse, you don’t think that death will ever catch you.
H: wow. Thank you for your honesty.
W: even this… we only ever talk when it suits you on your terms, and I’d better get on board or get out of the way.
H: Look, I already apologized for the way I handled saving Abby. Trust me, it won’t happen again.
W: I have no doubt about that.
H: we need to stop talking. Now.
W: this is war for you. Living under combat conditions.
H: imagine doing it for five lifetimes.
W: imagine having one lifetime to do everything that matters to you. Magnus, you could give a hundred years to the sanctuary and still have hundreds more to go. I only get one set of days. I think you need to appreciate what it means if I give them all to you.
Will walks away
H: (whispers to herself) I think about it every day.

If they’re trying to make me dislike Will even more than I do, they’re doing a very fine job of it. Will has this notion that he deserves to be on the same level playing field as Magnus, and – I hate to break it to you, Will – you’re not even close to being in her league, and never will be.


--
W: Magnus, just let me be.
H: you can’t trust your judgement right now
W: oh, and I can trust yours?
H: Yes.
W: Magnus, no.
(she forces him to drink)
H: Will, I…
W: thanks.

I love that she forces him to drink. I’m sick of him being a whiny brat for the moment.

--
H: now that your head is clear, you know that I did the right thing. You’re feeling stronger, your wound is healing again.
W: never felt better.
H: stop walking away from me, please. … I need to rest.
W: we have to keep moving. …okay, fine. You did the right thing. I still get to hate you for it.
H: go ahead. I always do what others can’t. that’s my job. If I had listened to you, Abby would be dead right now, you’d be bleeding out in the corner of this cave system, LIFE IS NOT A BLOODY POPULARITY CONTEST. I could have let her die. I could have consoled you at her funeral, or I could save her…even though it meant risking our friendship, and I did that much, Will.
W: either way, the show must go on. You can’t get close to anybody because you’re just going to lose them, right?
H: would you blame me if that were true?
W: Magnus, what good is your lifetime if you don’t allow yourself to connect with anyone? You surround yourself with people who would do anything for you, and then you turn your back on them when they don’t live up to your standards.
H: that’s ridiculous
W: John Druitt,
H: you can’t even begin to judge that…
W: Griffin, Watson, and now me. Are we all just expendable in your mind? Is that how you cope? … … Ashley.
H: … you bastard.

Yeah, my sentiments exactly, Helen. When is Will ever going to realize how excruciating it is for Helen to live all of these lifetimes and losing all of the people that she has? And then having to go back and watch herself relive 113 of those years and change none of it.

Right now, I really want to give Helen Magnus a big hug.

All I can say is, they didn’t call this episode “The Depths” just because they’re stuck down in a cave far underground. The conversation is getting pretty “deep” as well.


--
H: Not a chance
W: you know, we are ALWAYS going with your crazy schemes. For once, why don’t you try returning the favor? For ONCE.
H: you’re on the downward side of a dose.
W: okay, okay, here we go. Helen Magnus knows best.
H: Will, please. Before we say anything else we might regret… you’re feeling angry, paranoid, have a sip of this. And then we can work out a plan together.
W: Don’t mind if I do

Oh, Willy-boy. Haven’t you learned by now? Helen. Magnus. Is. ALWAYS. Right.
Remember that for future reference, please.

--
H: This is madness, Will. Yes, you may have found us a pathway out of here, but when that withdrawl hits…
W: it’ll be epic
H: it will kill you. And soon.
W: that’s why you have to keep me moving, no matter what you have to do to save me
H: said one junkie to the other.

LOL So NOW Will wants Helen’s help. Jeez, make up your mind, child. You can’t keep insulting her, and then sweet talking her. Sheesh.


--
W: give me five minutes
H: that’s not a good idea
W: FIVE minutes
H: STOP WASTING MY TIME. Get up there. You need to keep moving.
W: ugh. Why me? Of all the cops, profilers, cryptozoologists in the world, you chose me. The 8-year old kid whose mother was killed in a monster attack. That’s not a coincidence, Magnus.
H: come on, keep moving.
W: My Harvard scholarship – that was your money, wasn’t it? All this time I thought I was making my own decisions, but I was already on your damn payroll
H: yes. Yes, I paid for your education, because I thought you’d more than earned it. But I never forced you to do anything. If you had said no to joining the sanctuary, we wouldn’t be here today. Believe me, Will, if I could control life like a bloody chess game, a lot of things would have turned out very differently.
W: I guess we’ll never know the truth, will we?

I love the reference back to the pilot episode, and how Will came to the sanctuary. I also love that he figured out one of her secrets – that she paid for his education.

--
W: oh no, no, there’s no way
H: that’s not you talking. The Will Zimmerman I know wants to be with Abby, and have everything he ever wanted to prove me wrong about living a balanced life. Come on, get up.
W: leave me here. Leave me
H: you can do this.
W: Magnus, you go.
H: that’s not an option. Come on.
W: oh no, no, no, no.
H: I’m going back for more water. (takes the monitor off his wrist) I don’t have any idea how much longer I can keep going.
W: You’re not going to make it.
H: you see, now you’re just trying to piss me off.
W: Magnus….I don’t regret….I don’t regret…regret anything, but please, please don’t do this. Cuz if you do, we’re both gonna die down here.

Wow. Sorry, I just somehow got a strong Sam/Jack SG1 “solitudes” vibe at this point. But I must say, RDA is still much cuter at near-death than RD.

--
W: this remind you of anyone? A certain literary figure?
H: your hero, Sherlock Holmes?
W: a 7% solution.

Awwww now I miss James.

--
W: You know, we could just … declare amnesty. Forget about everything we said.
H: amnesty, yes. Forgetting, no. … look, Will. You need to understand – you were never part of some master plan. I may have a long view of things now, but the first time around I was taking chances just like anyone. When I asked you to come here, I had no idea if it would turn out to be a brilliant move, or a total disaster.
W: … and?
H: many disasters… most brilliant. … I had 113 years of not knowing if I’d see any of you again. What if something I’d done in the past had changed everything?
W: but it didn’t.
H: watching everything unfold again, for better or worse, watching every mistake I made play out again…I had to let terrible things happen, Will, and do nothing to change them. I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy.
W: well, don’t I feel like the jerk.
H: you didn’t know because I didn’t tell you.
W: because you carry the whole weight yourself.
H: I always have.
W: I’m not your protégé anymore, Magnus.
H: not after everything you said to me in the caves, you’re not.
W: I need to be your partner.
H: ah.
W: and I think it’s time you told me what you’ve been hiding since you got back
H: not yet. … you’ll know when you need to, I promise you. Until then, Will, you just have to trust me.

Awww, ya gotta love Magnus for keeping her secrets. I love when she said she’d grant amesty, but won’t forget. Yes, Will said some harsh things to her – even things that being in withdrawl doesn’t justify – but Will has to learn one day that just because Magnus has survived five lifetimes doesn’t mean that she doesn’t get hurt emotionally at harsh words.

So, that’s the Magnus/Will part of the episode.

Meanwhile, back at the Sanctuary…

Henry is taping a video for his unborn child, Alice/Alistair, and is showing his latest invention – the Full Outer Shell Safety Shield System - F.O.S.S.S.S. Oy. Henry must be taking lessons from Tesla in how to name inventions.

On the first hookup – there’s JUST a bit of a ‘power overload’ problem. (which almost fries him on the spot). On the second try – JUST a bit of a kickback (as he goes flying back on his ass). “Back to square one” LOL Hank.

I love the things he’s telling his kid in this video – like how he never knew his parents, and wants to have this in case the same happens to his kid. I also love how he mentions that Magnus insists on everything backed up on analog, vinyl & paper.



Random notes:
-- “I’d say we have about 48 hours to clear the area, or we’ll wind up answering for this.”
Methinks Magnus is getting just a bit frustrated at going up against SCIU and having to save their butts.

-- Martin Wood really loves to torture Amanda, doesn’t he? Had it been an ice cave they were in, I would have had even more flashes to Sam/Jack in Stargate’s “Solitudes” episode – especially the part where Magnus leaves Will to go back for more water.

-- a Quetzalcoatl mention? Wow. That was another point where my Sanctuary & Stargate fans collided again. One of the SG1 books was based around Quetzalcoatl.

-- Magnus has really taken a whumping this season, hasn’t she? I love how she gets back up and carries on with nary a wince. Although, in the past two episodes, it’s been great to see that she can show some vulnerability when injured or feeling subpar. In the last episode it was when she was in the van when it was knocked over by the bomb blast. In this one, it’s when she shows her withdrawl symptoms.

-- Where is John Druitt and his teleporting capabilities when you need them? There’s no way that I’m believing he’s dead.

-- How many lifetimes is it going to take before the entire world finally realizes that Helen Magnus is almost always right? Moran said she knew about her. Well, she didn’t seem to know enough to believe that Helen knows what she’s talking about.

-- I love that they did a lot of the tiling during the beginning where Helen takes the bullet out of Will. Writer Gillian Horvath mentioned that the episode was about 10 minutes too long, and the bullet extraction scene was about 5 minutes originally, so using the tiling and speeding that part up like they did was so much more interesting to watch.

And even more full-scene tiling when Magnus goes back for more water towards the end. I really like how they’re doing this longer in scenes than we’ve seen them do with the occasional short few-seconds of tiling.

-- Magnus & Will bitchfests are so adorable. I just wish Will would stop his incessant whining all the time. Yes, I know he was in withdrawl during much of the whining this time, but Will’s whining has become as ubiquitous as Robin dropping his pants. However, I love Magnus/Druitt fights much better than Magnus/Will bickerings.

-- “Anger is a great motivator…overcomes fear every time.” How I love the wit & wisdom of Helen Magnus.

-- at least we got a “Bloody Hell” or two in this one as well.

-- Henry Foss, you are SO adorkable.

-- can we just call that miracle water “tretonin”, please?

-- that serpent reminded me of the one in Hollow Earth, the one they couldn’t stare directly at.

-- nice recalls back to the pilot and Will’s backstory – and I figured it would come out that Magnus paid for his education through the years. It was also great to have the references back to Helen’s 113 year seclusion, and how she felt tortured by not being able to change the mistakes she had done originally.

-- “Helen Magnus knows best” DUH.

-- I love that Helen still keeps it all “need to know”, and doesn’t tell Will everything. A lady needs her secrets, and we know Helen has some BIG ones.

-- after the great screen time for Kate & Biggie last week, it really made me miss them even more this week.

-- For some reason, I got a strange “Goonies” vibe during this episode – without One-eyed Willie’s treasure, though.