First Wave: The Edge

A well-meaning scientist tries to give Cade the edge over the Gua by injectng him with some of their DNA. As he changes, Jordan, Eddie and Joshua attempt to reverse the process, but must be prepared to kill Cade to save humanity from an unstoppable killer.

After weeks of Gua threats, it's interesting to see the efforts of someone acting insanely but sort of sensibly as they decide that to stop the Gua threat humanity needs a super-soldier. As Cade is the Twice-Blessed Man, it must follow that he's the one who needs to be given powers beyond those of normal people. Of course, the doctor realizes too late what he's done (about the point where Cade attacks him) and must fix his mistake. But he dies before he gets the chance.

Thus the episode becomes a character study between the four main characters as mistrust and fear builds between them: Joshua, the alien no one is sure can be trusted, Cade acting out of character and more violently as he becomes an alien and Jordan and Eddie caught in the middle trying to support each other but knowing they may have to kill their friend to save others.

It's a tricky decision to have to make, and the writing goes all the way with the concept, Eddie being forced to pull the trigger. You expect Cade to live, but quite how is a mystery. We also learn some salient points about the Gua in their natural form, not to mention the fact that they're a lot more vulnerable as human husks. The leads play their roles well, keeping the tension palpable as the story rushes towards a strong no-holds-barred conclusion. How this will affect the relationships between the team, especially in light of Cade's growing feelings for Jordan, remains to be seen, and Cade's final cure may not be so definite judging by the way it's not totally clear that he's going to be okay, and there's no way to know how he was changed back without going through it all again...

****

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