Some questions were answered and some plots were advanced, but the latest episode of Charlie Jade felt a little flat. It could be that watching it while trying to put kids to bed had an impact on it but watching it a second time did not help.

A memorial is taking place in each of the three Verses. Julius Galt is injecting his multipersonal eulogy with much vitriol and scowling. The terrorists responsible will be brought to justice. Ms. Rompkin is giving her Alpha version of the same speech complete with make-up department tears. Gammaverse has someone I don’t remember seeing before wrapping up where Essa left off.

Charlie and Karl are watching over a cemetery with binoculars. They’re burying Elliot Krogg. 01 Boxer is there along with Krogg’s still drugged up girl Karen. Before they’re able to “get this bastard into the ground,” a mob appears and dumps Kroggs pine box and begins to desecrate the body. It’s a fairly heinous scene, luckily it wasn’t very graphic. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a show do that, so I give them full marks for envelope pushing. Charlie mentions to Karl that he wasn’t the only one who got an anonymous tip. 01 Boxer and Karen are whisked away amidst the hullaballoo but there’s someone else there and Charlie needs to find him.

Karen is taken to a safe house where some Vex-cor goons ask her questions. She remembers her time with 01 Boxer and begins “remembering” falsities about who Krogged work with in sabotaging the project. She names all the board members and they’re summarily rounded up.

Julius confronts Boxer who doesn’t seem to care. It’s been his plan all along to use Krogg to remove the board and insert himself into a position of power.

Charlie tracks down the safe house but arrives too late. The only person left is a female federal agent who he deals with adroitly – in one of the best bits of the show. He goes back to Lubinsky and they talk and Charlie reveals his motivation is to take his gun, put it in 01’s mouth and blow his brains out. He also reveals he can’t sleep in this place, and hasn’t slept for a while. It’s then you remember he’s not a cop. All the do-right-ery and professional gun wielding fools you for a time and it’s this moment that brings you back. He’s just a guy looking to get paid, but now it’s becoming personal.

Boxer is getting his toenails painted and he tells the goon doctor, Conklin, to get rid of Karen. He doesn’t need her anymore.

Charlie’s gone on walk about. Being in Beta is apparently starting to wear on him. At one point the Verses change and he is – or feels like he is – bank in Alphaverse. He’s on a rainy street and he sees across the way a man he recognizes. He calls out the man’s name, Jobbo, and the man stops a moment like he hears something, but then moves on.

He uses a techno-doohickey to break into and steal a car. He ends up at Paula’s restaurant. She says he looks like he could use a shower, so he follows her back to her place. The moment here is odd. You know Charlie’s reasons for his being there, but Paula gives the impression she knows something too and it feels like two people in a strained relationship making up after a bad fight. Charlie showers, she peaks at his ass but oddly doesn’t smirk, she actually looks concerned, and they start eating fish and chips and beer. They don’t have fish and chips in Alpha, Charlie likes them. The newspaper holding the chips has a picture of Conklin, Charlie recognizes him and leaves.

Back in Alphaverse, Jasmine sneaks into her old home where Jobbo and his woman are either waiting for her or are there to clean the place out. (Remember, it’s not hers anymore.) Jobbo is a greasy, lecherous, aging rock star type dirtbag. He does the typical licking of her face and reminds her she’s property. They leave.

Meanwhile, Reena is still staggering around Cape Town. She comes out of her hiding place, wanders around the street and is recognized by a youthful or small vagrant. He tries to bash her on the head with a bottle, but she recovers, punches him in the face and crams him into a dumpster. She jumps into a rescue vehicle and tells the driver to go. He takes her back to his place and does what you do when threatened at knife point by a crazy hobo lady bleeding from the head – you get stoned and party.

EMT guy passes out and she roots around the house and finds a gun in his drawer. She falls asleep in the bathtube. EMT guy wakes up later and she points a gun at him while he’s watching a news report of the terrorist. She says she’s no terrorist, but she ties him up and tries to get some sleep. He frees himself and is able to alert authorities. However, someone intercepts the call and gets there first. I’m not sure who it was, actually. It could be Vex-Cor, it could be Gamma agents looking to help her. Whoever it was, shot EMT guy, she tries to escape but is taken in a van. Moments later, armed troops show up but there’s no one but EMT guys freshly capped corpse.

Charlie follows Conklin to his office where he’s holding Karen. He’s about to give her a “mild sedative” when Charlie stops him, jams the syringe into his chest and asks if it was enough to kill her. He balks a bit but finally says yes it was. Charlie knocks him out (after an hysterical punch attempt by the doctor) and takes Karen away in a wheelchair. She’s nearly comatose. We later see them on the grounds of some facility and when he says I should take you back, she squeezes his and he stays for a while longer.

This episode was kind of a downer. I don’t mean in the emotional sense, rather in the expectations I had. There wasn’t any narration this time which shows the viewer that Charlie, Reena and 01 Boxer are the main characters. I would think Karl Lubinsky in his role as Everyman would be the one narrating. At some point he’ll come into contact with all the players, it would make sense. But his screen time is precious and I can see them not wanting to waste it on narration.

No, the problems this time around weren’t the shocking bits or the uncomfortable bits. Those served very well to push the story forward. What feel flat this week, and while eventually drag the show down, are the lengthy spin shots of Reena while she freaks out. We get it, she’s lost and frightened. Charlie Jade would do well as more of a film noir type show and it’s done so thus far. What I enjoy are the camera shots that look like someone dropped the camera in the hallway, the fish-eye lens close-ups and jittery zooms. Each Verse not only has its own color, but its own camera style. It’s subtle, but it helps pick them apart. But the spinning, fading shots of Reena are getting tiresome. If this character doesn’t find a meaning in this show soon, I’m just gonna hope she gets put out of her misery.

However, I did try and watch a few other Sci-Fi shows last night and let’s just say I’m glad this show is on. Even when flat it’s a breath of fresh air.

Two and a half shiny blue stones.