Plot Summary - Diana leads a second Visitor Invasion of Earth, while Nathan attempts to cut a deal with Diana to make Los Angeles an "open city".   Elizabeth continues her strange metamorphosis, while Robert makes a heroic sacrifice for the Resistance.  Second of two parts.
 
Detailed Review -

• After Diana's escape, Mike and Ham discuss their situation, including the fact that Diana should be dead from the effects of the red-dust toxin.  Ham explains his presence by saying that he was suspicious of Diana's "death" and went to the morgue to investigate, where he discovered that the body being passed off as Diana's was a year-old Visitor corpse.  When the police arrive, Mike tries to speak to them, but the cops pull their guns and begin firing.  Ham swings by in his car and Mike jumps in, and a high-speed chase ensues.  Mike is eventually able to shoot out one of the police car's tires, forcing it to flip.

• Elizabeth completes her metamorphosis and emerges as a fully grown woman.  Robert and Juliet take the dazed girl back to Robert's ranch.

• On the Mothership, Diana is introduced to Lydia, the Fleet Security Officer.  She is informed that the Visitor home planet is now a barren wasteland, and Diana mounts a full scale offensive on Earth.  She gives Captain Roland a special assignment - to find Elizabeth and return her to Diana.

• Robert discovers that the phone is out of service at the ranch, but is unconcerned.  Juliet manages to stabilize Elizabeth's condition though she is unable to speak.  Julie cautiously introduces Elizabeth to the new configuration that her body has taken, but Elizabeth remains confused and disoriented.

• Robert finally spots the Visitors who have amassed outside the ranch - he and Julie grab some guns to deal with the troop.  Hiding Elizabeth under a table, they begin shooting but find themselves overwhelmed by the sheer force of numbers of the Visitors.  As the home is invaded, Julie and Robert are captured - when suddenly the red-dust toxin begins working, choking and killing the Visitors.  Juliet checks a Visitor device and discovers Elizabeth's picture on its monitor.

• When the invasion reports are given to Diana, she sees a pattern: in those areas which have both a warm and cold season, the effects of the red dust on the Visitors is still fatal.  She realizes that the toxin needs a dormant cycle to regenerate, and decides to head back to L.A. to ensure that no more of it is placed into the atmosphere.

• In Los Angeles and all over the world are scenes of violence and terror.  Club Creole is packed with scared refugees when Juliet, Robert, and Elizabeth arrive there asking for sanctuary.  Despite Elizabeth's metamorphosis, Willie still recognizes her.  Elias agrees to their request, and Julie leaves the group to check in at Science Frontiers.

• When Ham and Mike arrive back in the city, they find the streets bombed and fires everywhere.  They decide to go to Club Creole, but before they can leave they witness a man being gunned down in the street by a Visitor.  They turn the car around and Mike shoots several of the Visitors.

• While Nathan is watching the scenes of mayhem replayed on the TV in his office, Diana laser blasts her way through his office doors.   Holding a gun on him, she informs Nathan that all toxin storage tanks have been seized.  Threatening to kill Nathan and Julie, who had just entered the office, Nathan stalls Diana by explaining that the pulse-ometer on his wrist is set to release the red-dust into the atmosphere if it is either removed from his wrist or if his pulse stops.  He offers Diana a bargain: if she will guarantee that there will be no armed troops in L.A., he will not release the red dust into the atmosphere.  Diana demands that the captured Mothership be returned to the Visitors as well, and leaves to consider Nathan's offer.

• Juliet is shocked that Nathan has sold out so quickly to the Visitors, until he reveals that additional laboratory tests have shown that the red dust toxin is actually harmful to humans.

• At Club Creole, Elias hides Robert and Elizabeth in a secret series of rooms beneath the club, which were originally used as a bordello during Prohibition.  Hearing noises upstairs, he returns to the Club to find a Visitor troop rounding up the people in the restaurant.  Shooting one, he jumps behind the bar.  As another Visitor approaches the bar, Ham and Mike arrive and are able to kill the remaining Visitors.

• Diana explains to Lydia aboard the Mothership that she is merely using her acceptance of Nathan's bargain to stall for time before the arrival of the Particle Beam Triax, which has the ability to vaporize 100 square meters of land without nuclear fallout.   Lydia is shocked that Diana has requested the Triax without the Leader's approval, as its job is to protect the main space lanes, and watches with concern as a beam from the Triax obliterates one of Jupiter's moons.

• On television, Nathan announces that he has set up a provisional government with L.A. as an open city.  The Resistance members debate their options - Ham wants to kill Nathan outright, while Julie and Mike determine that keeping the Mothership out of Diana's hands should be their first priority.  Mike questions Julie's loyalties... Ham, meanwhile, leaves the Resistance meeting in a state of anger.

• Julie returns to Science Frontiers and warns Nathan that what he has done will mostly like result in an attempt being made on his life.  He agrees to double his security at the treaty signing if Julie will accompany him.  He also tries to convince Julie to stay the night at Science Frontiers for safety, but she refuses.

• At Club Creole, Mike plans the Resistance attack on the Mothership.  Piloting the ship is not a big worry, as there is an auto-pilot option, but the group does not have the proper code to start the Mothership's engine reactor.  Elizabeth agrees to go along with the group in case they need her to activate the engines.  When Julie informs the others that she must be with Nathan in order for him to remove many of the Mothership's guards, Mike once again gets jealous.

• Lydia intercepts a message from the commander of the Triax, meant for Diana, which demands that he be allowed to return to deep space or he will contact the Leader.  Lydia destroys the message.  Diana plans to leave the treaty conference just before the Triax arrives to reduce the city to rubble.

• The Resistance force heads to the Mothership, while news crews arrive to cover the peace conference.  In the rafters above the crews, Ham begins assembling a high powered rifle.

• The Resistance members are able to reach the Main Bridge of the Mothership.  When Willie points out the flight controls, Elizabeth uses her powers to bring the engines on line.  As Robert starts the launch sequence, Lydia's ship is informed that the downed Mothership is preparing for lift-off.   When Nathan's security guards arrive near the bridge, shots are fired and Robert takes a bullet in the stomach.  Elizabeth runs to him, but Robert forces her to return to the flight controls.

• With the Triax only 3 minutes from Earth orbit, Willie attempts to bandage Robert's wound, but knows the injury is fatal.  Robert activates the engines, and the security guards leave the ship just before it takes off.

• At the conference, Ham shoots one of Diana's guards and attempts to shoot Diana.  As pandemonium breaks out in the studio, Diana is trapped by the shooting.

• When the previously downed Mothership reaches space, they are confronted by the Triax, which Willie recognizes.  Knowing that the firepower of the Mothership is no match for it, Robert knows that the Mothership will have to ram the Triax in order to stop it.  After bidding a tearful goodbye to Elizabeth and the others, he sets the Mothership to a collision course while the others head to the shuttle bay.  Lydia, watching the developments, is unable to fire on the Resistance because the Triax is in her line of fire.

• Security guards at the conference search for the sniper, but Ham has managed to get out of the building.  Diana leaves in her shuttle, while Nathan thanks Julie for saving his life.

• The shuttle holding the Resistance members is wracked by the shock waves from the massive explosion as Robert rams the Triax.

• With Diana back on the Mothership, she interrupts Lydia, who is sending a transmission to the Leader informing him of Diana's incompetence and insubordination.  When Diana threatens to blame Lydia, who was in charge at the time, Lydia cancels the message.

• Back at Club Creole, Elias announces that the Visitors are pulling out of the city - it seems that Nathan and Diana's bargain will stand.  Willie and Elizabeth hold a Visitor ritual for Robert, and Julie promises Elizabeth that the will find Robin.

• Outside of L.A., Robin attempts to enter the city but discovers Visitor troopers checking all cars.  Hemmed in by other vehicles, she sneaks out the side door of her car and heads into the woods.

Bloopers and Nitpicks -

• During the chase scene with the police, an officer says "Let's try and run 'em off the road" --  however, his lips don't move.  Dialogue was added later.

• No reason is ever given for the cops attack on Ham and Mike, either.  Doesn't make sense! Deb reckons that they are Bates men, as in the previous episode, Bates had ordered his men to follow Ham, and Ham had announced that he was heading to the tracking station.   I had thought of this too... but figured it was too early for Bates to have the police department in his back pocket!  But, it's probably still the right explanation!

• When Mike shoots at the three Visitors who have just shot an innocent man, all three fall back dead even though he only fires once!   There are also no scorchmarks on any of them.

•  Deb also found another "stock footage alert":  the scene during Diana's second invasion of Earth, in which a pick-up truck full of guys with guns and homemade bombs speeds in and blows up a Visitor shuttle, was lifted directly from the miniseries.

• And another nitpick from Deb:  Bates holds up his wrist to show off his "pulse-ometer". It's big and bulky and very noticable, although it doesn't appear to be on his wrist in future episodes (or even the rest of this one).

• Collin wonders:  How exactly did Robert Maxwell learn to fly a Mother Ship?  It that part of every anthropologist's college education?

• (Julie confronts Nathan about his deal with Diana)                                                                                           Julie:  All you had to do was release the red dust!                                                                                        Nathan:  It's not quite that simple.  Take a look at this.  These are laboratory animals that were               exposed to heavy doses of the red dust - you can see the results: mutations, sterility, death...                     Julie:  That's impossible.  I tested it on myself!  Our data showed that the red dust was harmless to life on Earth.                                                                                                                                                               Nathan:  We were wrong.  We're at the threshold right now.                                                                          Julie:   So we can't use the red dust anymore without...                                                                                Nathan:  Without destroying all life on earth.

• (Resistance reaction to Nathan's bargain with Diana)                                                                                      Mike:  It's obvious that Bates is in bed with Diana.                                                                                           Willie:  Really?  I did not know that.                                                                                                                   Elias:   It's a figure of speech, Willie.                                                                                                               Willie:  With Diana, one never knows.

• (Willie's ineptitude in battle is noticed by Elias)                                                                                                Elias:  Willie, how'd you ever get into the Visitor army anyway?                                                                    Willie:  Drafted!

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