Terra Nova: Instinct

After last week's pilot, Instinct had a lot to live up to. It obviously couldn't be as spectacular effects-wise or the show would run out of money fast, but it still has to look good, as that's part of the appeal. Plus, as a second (or in this case, third) episode, it has to be accessable for those who missed the pilot, while not being a total rehash for those who did catch it the week before. Luckily the show succeeds in that regard, and kept the effects up to with tons of Pterosaurs on screen at one point.

The show also kept the family at the heart of the show as well, blending it with the dinosaur action quite nicely. After a cold open establishing a mysterious threat that attacks a couple soldiers on a supply run, we're reintroduced to the Shannons in a good couple of scenes that reestablish what we learned last week (Jim's been away for a while, Zoe is used to sleeping with Elizabeth, Maddy is smart and has a crush on a young soldier, Reynolds, Josh has to do labour around Terra Nova with Skye as punishment for their excursion last episode), and more details we learned last week also organically pop up throughout the episode, as do more scenes of family togetherness (my favorite involves an overwhelmed Jim trying to handle the kids and making dinner alone.) We also see Jim and Elizabeth are trying to reignite their romantic relationship, but their attempts to do so keep comically getting interrupted by a noisy Pterosaur.

The episode also introduces a new character: Malcolm, the head science officer who dated Elizabeth in college and who we later learn recruited her to Terra Nova. Of course, Jim is none too happy when he finds out they dated and suspects Malcolm recruited Elizabeth because he's still into her and assumed her husband would be stuck in the future in jail. Whether or not this was his intention is still up in the air at this point, but he seems to be an interesting, even somewhat comical character so far (He attempts to name the new breed of Pterosaur after himself at episode's end) and hopefully this potential love triangle doesn't get too soapy.

Of course, there was still plenty of action in this episode, as Taylor, the Shannons and Malcolm tried to find out first what attacked the soldiers in the woods (until they were discovered mauled and clawed at, the assumption was it was sixers, who only get mentioned this week.). When they find out the culprit is the small, but deadly Pterosaurs (after the second interruption of Jim and Elizabeth's romance turns violent) and after hundreds of Pterosaurs attack the market, we learn that they're migrating to breed and Terra Nova is built on their breeding ground. Also, there are potentially millions of them on the way. Uh Oh. This leads to Taylor and Jim going to hunt for specimens so Elizabeth and Malcolm can come up with a defense for the attack.

My only complaint of the episode would be that we don't actually see any of the hunt, nor do we see much of the actual defense the next day, when Jim and Taylor take a vehicle loaded with strong,  secreted Pterasaur pheromones out to a different place to trick the Pterosaurs into creating a new breeding ground. We hear about these things, and we hear about how they save the day but we don't really get to see them do it, which is a bit disappointing. I can only hope that the money they saved by not showing them save the day, was put to good use in a future episode. We did get a good scene though of Pterasaurs getting into the Shannon's house where the kids, Skye, and Reynolds are and a good scene of Josh saving Zoe, who did not get into the safer room and is about to be attacked.

In the end, with the day saved and the kids asleep, Jim and Elizabeth finally get the chance to reignite their romance. Terra Nova manages to keep up the quality for their first non-premiere episode. While I hope future episodes do more showing than telling, I can appreciate their reasons for doing so. I'm still a big fan  of Terra Nova. And hopefully, it only gets better.

Grade: Totally Awesome! (Great)

Memorable Moments

Dinosaur Scene Count: At least 6, counting the two minor Pterosaur scenes at the beginning. Maybe 7. I lost track.

Best Dinosaur Moment: The Pterasaurs attacking the market was terrific.

-Calling this right now: Zoe's Venus Flytrap (which she got this week) will be significant later on.

-Josh was less annoying this week! His plot involved trying to buy a guitar, which was fairly expensive. The only thing the guy will trade it for is Josh's necklace from his girlfriend, which he won't let go of. In the end Skye makes a bet with him for the money that he'll obviously win (she bets they won't survive the night of the Pterosaur strike) and then says he can owe her, when he doesn't want to take the money. I still say his girlfriend comes back.

-Jim's taken off-guard when Maddy asks how to tell if a boy likes you in another good family moment.