V - "We Can't Win"

Spoiler Level - High

Wow! This is the first episode that actually felt like V since the pilot! Multiple resistance cells! Ordinary people (including high school science teachers!) trying to find out the truth about the Visitors! The Visitors trying to win over the people of Earth by making big fancy presentations of gifts to solve the Earth's problems! Humans taking sides-- some seeing the downside to the Visitors gifts, others questioning what they see, and others willingly selling out! Lots of running around underground!

I think it's a little weird that the human resistance movement is also becoming known as the Fifth Column. The expression "fifth column" comes from a group trying to bring down something from the inside. Imagine it's a building, that's held up by five stone columns-- one in each corner and a fifth one in the center. The outside army attacks from each corner, taking out each corner column, and the insiders attack the fifth column from within. Even if the outside attackers fail, the inside attackers-- the "fifth columnists"-- can still bring it down by destroying the center column. When both the inside and outside work together, victory is assured.

So having the human resistance -- the ones attacking from the outside-- be called the Fifth Column seems a little backwards. But if you figure in this version, the humans are following John May's lead, who was on the inside and chose the name Fifth Column, then it makes sense. Names take on a life of their own.

And with the the Fifth Column being treated as terrorists, the FBI is helping the Visitors to stop them-- again, a classic V point being brought more to the forefront in this episode. So I guess it works if you figure the Fifth Column may have to be a resistance to human forces as well.

The social commentary is more subtle but it is slowly creeping back in. This episode was a HUGE step in the right direction.