When a kid dies of what appears to be electricity rushing to his brain, Cade answers an e-mail that directs him to the town of Normal.

At first it seems we’ve gone back to First Wave’s favourite concept: people having sex. However, similarly to last season’s Cul de Sac, an outwardly normal place (hence the name) hides an unpleasant secret. All the clues as to what’s going on are revealed near the start, and the clever viewer can probably piece things together. Me, I didn’t see how things were interconnected, which made it more enjoyable. The best aspect of this story is that it’s not just a Gua experiment Cade has to stop; there are two twists on top of that as he discovers the Gua resistance and learns what the purpose of the experiment is. These are the kind of things the series needs more of, rather than doing what’s expected of it.

The actual concept of the experiment is especially horrible, more so when you see someone being put through the process towards the end of the episode. Also good is the fact that Cade is simply ferried around by people in this story, not knowing who to trust and finding enemies and allies in unusual places. Just as something seems to be unlikely to happen (a police officer trusting him after he’s caught breaking into a lab, for one), an explanation comes that covers it. It’s unusual for this show to have rock-solid character motivations, but these ones are nicely drawn and their actions make sense. A good, and scary, piece of SF drama.

****

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