“Zero Hour” is also the title of one of my favourite Star Trek episodes.

This “Zero Hour” isn’t quite as good as that “Zero Hour,” but it’s still another strong showing from Continuum.

Eschewing the pulse-pounding action of the last few episodes, “Zero Hour” focuses more on big reveals and evolving the characters’ relationships.

Kiera and Brad’s trust is frayed almost to the breaking point following the death of Lucas, and as evidence mounts that his comrades from the future are planning something terrible, their time as allies might be coming to an end.

Alec, meanwhile, is torn with doubt. He’s terrified that every choice he makes could spawn a new dark future. When the fate of the world, of time itself, rests on your shoulders, how can you ever be sure of anything? Is the future written, or can it be changed, and if so, should it?

As he struggles with these issues, Jason reveals what he already told Emily: that Emily was not his mother. Over Jason’s objections, Alec insists on tracking down and meeting the woman his future self married.

What follows is history’s weirdest — and for Jason, most awkward — family reunion ever. Adds a little levity to what has otherwise been a pretty grim season.

In the end, though, meeting the mother of his son does little to dispel Alec’s doubts. Aid, instead, comes from an unexpected source: Curtis.

Kellogg is burdened with doubts. With the minions of his future self still refusing to offer any answers, he must take matters into his own hands, and he comes to discover there is no one Mathew Kellogg won’t screw over — not even Mathew Kellogg.

Although “Zero Hour” lacked anything that would fit the traditional definition of action, I still found it quite exciting, and the hour flew by.

We got a lot of important revelations in this episode, and it went a long way towards both setting the stage for Continuum’s conclusion and fleshing out the backstory of the series to date. Many questions have been answered.

Also, dat paradox.

I also greatly enjoyed Alec’s arc. In the end, it’s always been about him, and his agonizing over the consequences of his choices gets to the very heart of what Continuum is about.

This is, I think, one of the best things about speculative fiction: the ability to take something we all identify with, and turn it up to eleven.

We’ve all doubted ourselves. We’ve all worried that our choices might prove wrong, that our plans might fail, that we may come to ruin despite our best efforts. How much worse, then, to have the weight of all space-time on your shoulders? To know that the future of the human race is in your hands, and that you already failed once?

Fantastic.

Kellogg’s humbling was also great to see. One wonders if there’s anyone left willing to save him. He’s been pretty good at burning his bridges.

My one complaint about this episode — and season four in general, really — is that I’m not digging the continued tension between Kiera and Brad. It feels like a waste of all their development from last season, and it’s all getting a bit soap opera for my taste.

My weird random thought of the night: I wonder who does the cooking for these big dinners with Kiera, Alec, and Liber8? I can’t see Alec being much of a cook. Kiera’s probably used to robots doing all her cooking, or something. Julian probably only knows how to make gluten-free crap. I’m not sure Jason is allowed near sharp things.

Maybe Garza? Wasn’t she running a restaurant at some point?

Anyway.

Overall rating: 7.8/10

Before I get started, I should mention that I watched this episode under less than ideal circumstances. Specifically, Showcase’s video player died about halfway through, and it took over a day for me to get it working again. So that may negatively impact the quality of this review.

Moving on…

The main theme of “Power Hour” seems to be Alec and and Julian trying to change their destinies, with both of them attempting to find new paths as far away as possible from who they became in Kiera’s timeline.

Julian takes a stand by utterly rejecting his Theseus identity… only to discover that he may have already shaped history.

This episode is another recent case of Julian managing to actually be kind of likable, as much as it truly pains me to say that. It seems he may finally be understanding that it’s not all about him, though I wouldn’t be surprised if he relapsed at some point. If he doesn’t, Continuum will deserve major credit for making a character as viscerally despicable as him actually tolerable.

He still has that douchey haircut, though.

I do wonder what game Curtis is playing at. He seems to have a hand in pretty much everything that’s going on, but I can’t begin to guess what his endgame is. I can’t help but wonder if he’s the one everyone should be truly scared of.

Meanwhile, Alec rejects corporate life and decides to help the police department directly… which ends with him serving as a puppet for Kiera, meaning nothing has really changed.

I do think Kiera’s playing with fire. Brad is seeming less trustworthy all the time, she risks burning bridges with one of her staunchest allies by going behind Carlos’ back, and I think her desperation to get home at any cost is going to cause a great deal of grief. We’re already seeing the truth of that.

The action of “Power Hour” comes as Kiera and Garza attempt to sabotage a mysterious new project of Kellogg’s, despite continuing to have what I’m going to call a strained working relationship.

The fights this time weren’t as mind-blowing as we’ve seen in the last two episodes, but it was still plenty entertaining, and the climax was a real shocker.

I’m kind of inclined to agree with Garza’s perspective on matters throughout this whole debacle, honestly. I mean, she’s still a psycho and possibly a pyromaniac, but she’s right.

On a related note, I do like the idea of Garza having a super suit of her own. A character as volatile as her having access to that level of technology can only provide entertainment, and I’m not going to object to the eye candy factor, either.

On the whole, I found “Power Hour” less enjoyable than the previous episodes (though the split viewing couldn’t have helped with that), but still a pretty strong showing.

Overall rating: 7.5/10