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

I think Kellogg has made a grave tactical error by going after Emily. Not only has he antagonized the smartest and most ruthless man in the twenty-first century, he’s made it personal.

The last time something happened to Emily, Alec traveled through time, destroyed an entire branch of the Continuum, and murdered himself to save her.

Imagine what he’ll do to Kellogg.

So, yes, “Rush Hour” is focused on the efforts to rescue Emily.

Kellogg demands Alec undo the damage of his hack in exchange for Emily’s release. Alec allows Kellogg to believe has has acquiesced, but he, Lucas, and Kiera have other plans. Meanwhile, Travis and Garza plan their own, more permanent, solution to the Kellogg problem.

This is once again another busy episode, though, and there is a little more to it than the Search for Emily. We see further development of Liber8’s relationship with Alec and Kiera, get a little more insight into Jason’s past/Alec’s former future, and we see the rather unwelcome return of an old friend.

Yes, Dillon’s back, and I can only assume this is a precursor to some fairly bad stuff. Dillon had pretty much gone off the deep end before Sonya blew him up, and it’s pretty much a rule in fiction that if a bad person is disfigured, they get much worse afterward. He looks like a Sith lord now — it’s not exactly subtle.

This is a bit of another example of Continuum having confusing timelines without the need for time travel, though. One gets the impression it’s only been a couple weeks — at the very most — since Sonya bombed the precinct, yet Dillon has already made a full recovery.

Kiera’s scenes were a bit of a mixed bag this time around. On the one hand, we have more of her pining for future, which I’m not fond of. It felt like we put that to rest a while ago, and bringing her desire to return home back to the forefront seems to be throwing a lot of good development out the window.

On the other hand, her sparring with Kellogg was pure gold. She’s always at her best when she’s playing the badass, and that was certainly the case here. The contempt rolling off her was so searing it’s a wonder Kellogg still has eyebrows.

“Rush Hour” started out a bit slow, but the latter half of the episode was once again an example of Continuum going completely balls to the walls with insane action and constant reversals. Good luck finding a moment to catch your breath.

Emily again stars in an absolutely crazy and thoroughly entertaining fight scene. Whoever the stunt coordinator on this show is, they need a raise. Most Hollywood blockbusters can’t produce fight sequences this good.

On the whole, the second episode of Continuum’s final season is another very strong showing. “Rush Hour” offers nary a dull moment, and is once again a shining example of why Continuum is a show that will be missed, and why I’m so glad it got to end on its own terms.

The ending does seem to invalidate the efforts of the characters throughout the episode, but I don’t think we’ve seen the end of this particular arc, so I’m not going to let it bother me much.

Overall rating: 8/10