Drive: Episode 105: The Extra Mile

I’m a survivor, still am. You know, when no one gives you a break, you take one. And when luck doesn’t come your way, you make your own.

Oh Nathan Fillion, when will you ever learn that Fox is not your friend? Also, in the future, as awesome as many of his shows have been, avoid all things Tim Minear. Why? With Wonderfalls, Firefly and Drive as his track record, an actor can’t count on the steady work.

Serenity: We begin where we ended months ago, with the last scene of the last episode. Talk about taking up air time! Oh wait, this isn’t taking up air time, it’s taking up bandwidth because Fox finally released the last two episodes online. Although, it’s only available to those in the US – and I’m Canadian, hence the reason these last two recaps took so long.

New footage finally begins with Violet and John in the Taurus on the way to Appomattox. They’re playing math games about how long with will take them to get their, considering their top speed is 85 miles an hour. I’m sure, mathematically, their calculations are correct but they failed to take into account an important variable. They’re driving a Ford Taurus and nowhere in their calculations did they include repair time.

Whilst looking for a map to find a shortcut, Violet finds all of John’s meds. At least that stupid little subplot ended, although, so did the whole series in just one more episode.

At the holy crash site, we get Susan’s death replayed, complete with ethereal music. It’s almost as if the show thought we forgot what happened in the last episode. I mean, who do they think is watching this? (No one, apparently.) I’m sure the entire viewing audience (me, a close friend of mine and a few diehard browncoats) have better memories than Dory the Blue Fish.

Leigh gets picked up by a very kind man, to whom she is very rude. Considering she’s now a holy hitchhiker on a mission from the almighty to get to Appomattox, she might be a little nicer to the guy. The only way I see it, is that because he isn’t on the same path as her, he is lesser than she is. Right there – that is my problem with religious fanaticism.

She realizes that the accident was not an accident; it was meant to take her out of the race. So let me get this straight, she takes the word of a dying woman with head injuries, but doesn’t get the message when not only is she eliminated from the race but also nearly killed to ensure she doesn’t continue. Lady, I think someone is trying to tell you to get your ass out of the race.

In the Caravan, the female Jayne Cobb Ivy Chitty is still pointing a gun at Wendy’s head. Calmly, Wendy offers to teach her how to drive, but Ivy Chitty, showing the emotional maturity of a two year-old, keeps saying “I don’t care” with different vocal inflections. After revealing she was a looter in New Orleans, Ivy gives the little speech I quoted at the beginning. I guess Ivy Chitty never met Fox Executives. Even she couldn’t take them on.

Apparently, Ivy Chitty can’t take on Wendy either because in a desperate attempt to get to Sam, does a U-turn on the highway, driving straight for an oncoming vehicle. Ivy Chitty may have selfish greed on her side, but Wendy has maternal instinct, which wins every time.

Just a side note here, the opening credits are still made of awesome.

Corinna and Winston have taken a room at the sleazy motel, to wait for Alex and Sean. Less than trusting, Winston’s wants to open the box they stole form the bank but Corinna stands her ground. Geez, I wonder what they’ll do to pass the time?

Speaking of Tully, he’s pulled into a gym’s parking lot looking for help. It’s owned by an old “friend,” Gil, who isn’t so happy to see him. He must be some kind of backroom doctor, as Tully promises to pay him with Serenity, if he saves Sean. Pay with Serenity? Crap, I can’t justify calling another car Alex drives Serenity.

Gil agrees to treat Sean, but only with a little arm-twisting. Not his arm though, Alex is twisting Gil’s employee’s arm.

Back in the Taurus, Violet won’t be distracted by her father’s lame attempts at deflecting the conversation. Either he tells her what’s going on, or she waves down a state trooper. Violet may be adventurous, but she’s also intuitive and intelligent. There’s no way John’s getting out of this one.

Things aren’t going so well for Ivy Chitty either. Wendy’s been abused and controlled by her husband. We also learn that she lost her first baby, a little girl named Lily, four years previously. Therefore, a small-time criminal from New Orleans isn’t going to stop her from getting to her baby, Sam. What’s really creepy is that she says all of this in a calm voice, like she’s explaining the weather. Ivy Chitty may be a survivor, but so is Wendy. The difference is that Wendy is willing to die despite this, so Ivy Chitty has nothing left with which to threaten her.

The other difference? Ivy is left on the side of the road and Wendy is still in the Caravan.

Back at the Gym, Gil is chastising Tully for a) pretending to be dead and b) stealing from some guy named Moss. Hold on, Nathan Fillion playing a thief wanted by criminals for supposedly stealing from him? I think I’ve seen this before. Whoever this Moss guy is, I’m calling him Niska from now on.

Sean, even unconscious, can’t keep his mouth shut. The only discernable things he mutters are “turn back bro” and “32 million.” Why don’t unconscious people on network television ever say random shit when they’re unconscious, just like everyone else? I think Sean could’ve said something like “I like hubcaps,” or “Squids are eating my eggplant!”

At the motel, Corinna and Winston trade stories about their partners. To sum everything up – neither of them really know anything about Alex and Winston. The one thing they know about each other is that they are both loyal to their partners. The one thing I know is these two really need to get past the flirting part and get naked. They have way more chemistry than Rob and Ellie. Just out of curiousity, did anyone even notice they were gone until I just mentioned them? More importantly, did you care?

Gil has stopped operating on Sean and plays a very dangerous game of “Truth or Dare” with Sean’s life. Only when Alex tells him something true, instead of the made up backstory he tried feeding him early, will Gil staple Sean’s wound and stitch him up. Harsh.

Alex only gets out two truths. 1) Kathryn is worth trading the life of a thief for. 2) Niska isn’t angry at Alex for stealing his money, he’s angry Alex wouldn’t take his money. Thieves don’t take kindly at being called immoral by other thieves. Before he can get to the third, Detective Ehrle has arrived. Okay, how the hell did he find Alex in Tennessee? My suspension of disbelief doesn’t go that far.

Violet and John have stopped off at a diner to have a heart to heart. Violet’s not sure she can trust her Dad but he makes the ultimate confession, he doesn’t know something. What he doesn’t know is how to communicate with Violet. Despite this, he realizes now that he wants, more than anything, to be in the race with his daughter. She can use the money after he’s gone to make sure she’s taken care of. I totally swallow his sincerity but Violet clearly doesn’t as she takes off the second he turns his back. Ouch. She leaves her Dad when he’s trying to get something to mop up her tears? Is Ivy Chitty’s morality contagious?

While Violet is alienating herself from me, Gil is endearing himself by lying to Ehrle. But the detective uses the flimsiest of excuses to search the gym when he sees blood on the floor. Somehow, in a court of law, saying you found blood in a gym that has a boxing ring in it, I don’t think will stand up. I’ve never liked the portrayal of police on television when they refuse to look at any other evidence other than their own gut and personal vendettas. Unfortunately, to keep Ehrle away from Tully, Bobby and Gil have to rough him up a little, which seriously ups the price.

We get a flashback to three days earlier, when reports of a speeding Challenger came across the wires. We also get a flash of the nosy motel manager, from the same motel where Corinna and Winston are hiding, assuring the detective he’s seen the car. This sort of justifies Ehrle’s suspicions about it being Alex’s Serenity parked outside but it still doesn’t make me like this subplot any more. What I do like, is watching Ehrle get smacked around by Gil. I don’t care if this makes me sound like a bad person.

At the same Preston’s where John is trying to buy a car from a group of teens, Leigh is dropped off by her Good Samaritan. She doesn’t even have the manners to thank him and then she promptly starts shoplifting. This is the person God wants to win the race? I’m so sticking with the Flying Spaghetti Monster when it comes to deities.

Corinna, who knows a hell of a lot more about the race than Winston, tries to convince him to get out now. Winston has a better offer; if Sean survives, he can continue on with Alex and Corinna will be Winston’s new partner. He thinks it’s a great idea as he believes she’s cold and calculating but I know it’s a bad idea because they’d be stopping the Pimpala every few miles to make use of the back seat.

Outside the Preston’s, both Leigh and John spot a car left idling and we now have a new partnership in the race.

Ehrle lays out the whole story about Kathryn’s abduction for Gil and Bobby, but Tully, always the clever criminal, has a different story. He uses the robbery in Sweetwater to his advantage, claiming the detective is his partner in the crime, and that the injured kid was the collateral. Gil swallows Alex’s story, as I don’t think he believes that a cop can trail Serenity across state lines. Tully now has the second part of his bill; he has to suffocate Ehrle with a plastic shopping bag. Ehrle’s either thinking “OMG, I’m going to die” or “crap, I’ll have the worst death ever!”

In the stolen Pontiac Solstice, Leigh ignores any attempt by John to be friendly or even basic cordiality. As John talks about Violet as a child, they pass an accident on the road. When I first saw this, I was so afraid it would be Violet, but it’s another team’s car. It serves as a reminder that there are many more teams in this race than the ones we follow and how dangerous the race is. Leigh has flashbacks of her own crash with Susan, as it’s made clear, from the lack of speed of any of the EMS workers, that no one made it out of the crash alive.

Sean is definitely the winner of the MVP award for this race. Not only does he save everybody’s ass in Sweetwater, but also he wakes up at just the right moment to casue the distraction Tully needs. Using the plastic bag as a way of incapacitating Gil, Tully makes a deal with Bobby – put the gun down, and everybody lives. The realism of the plastic bag going in and out of Gil’s mouth is way creepier than anything I’ve seen on television this year. Bobby chooses to save Gil, for which Gill shows a distinct lack of gratitude but it explains how Tully is going to keep Serenity, as he turns the gun on Gil and demands the keys back.

Alex drugs Gil and Bobby with Morphine and sends Sean outside while he has a talk with Ehrle. He tells the detective as much as he can before calling 911 to report Gill and Bobby. The problem with Ehrle and Tully is worked out as Alex puts him on the correct mission. The detective isn’t to find out the truth. He’s just to find Kathryn. If he figures out the truth, that’s a bonus.

The next morning, John and Leigh arrive in Appomattox to find few other teams at the checkpoint. The only clue they have to continue is a candy jar from Bright Properties. That’s a long way to go, and a hell of a lot to go through for a sugar rush.

Winston’s none too pleased with the rise of the sun and repeats his offer to Corinna. I’m not too sure if she’s agreeing, or just to stall for time, she opens the box.

The clue is two hot candies, leaving John, the logical one and Leigh, the one supposedly blessed with divine inspiration, stumped.

Tully and Sean arrive just in time to hear what is inside the box, the solution to the two hot candies clue. The answer to the clue is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. Turns out the jump start is a misnomer, because they’re now about 7 hours behind everyone who went to Appomattox. “So much for the jump start,” Tully quips.

In Appomattox, Leigh finally admits to John that Susan died. Her holy-mission façade drops as she says good-bye to him and gets back on the road. As for John, he is still waiting for Violet. As for Violet, she’s still driving looking as devastated as ever.

Ivy Chitty’s wandering up and down the highway is interrupted by a phone – Wendy’s phone. On the other end of the line is Richard demanding to know where Wendy is. What is so brilliant is that no matter how much you dislike Ivy Chitty, no one can help but cheer as she tells off Richard for being such a bastard. I know it’s only her greed talking, but it’s good to hear. Regrettably, despite what Wendy believed, Richard didn’t know where the safe-house was until Ivy tells him he’s going to get run over in Walton, Ohio.

The episode ends with Wendy speeding towards the safe-house and me wondering, then WTF were the ladies in the safe-house panicking about? If Richard doesn’t know, why did they call? Although, Wendy does have an advantage over Richard; he’s just cruel. Wendy is bat-shit insane.