TV REVIEW: Ethan Takes Center Stage in Extant’s Finale

Extant switches its focus from Molly to Ethan for the season one finale “Ascension”

By Chelsea Hensley

For a show that began with Molly dominating so much its time, it’s strange that Extant‘s finale “Ascension” revolves so much around Ethan.  To its credit, Extant has done a good job tracing his journey as he tries to figure out who or what he is, and hits its peak this episode as he says goodbye to Molly by demanding to know why her feelings for her other son differ from those for him. With Odin’s suggestions of his parents not really caring for him surely bouncing around in the back of Ethan’s brain, he believes Molly doesn’t really love him, which is why she got so angry at his attempt at protecting her from the offspring last week.

Though I struggle with the idea of Molly being so indifferent to Ethan (considering that she’s been attentive to him despite her single episode mention of John not being able to teach affection to a machine), Ethan picking up on her apparent preference for the offspring is an important step. After Molly and John finally exchanged words on the subject last week, Ethan realizing it as well is a natural second step. It’s still almost painful to see them part ways (as Molly heads back into space) on such bad terms, with Molly unable to articulate an answer to his question about her differing feelings for her two sons. It’s even more affecting when they finally speak again as Molly’s preparing to die stranded in space while Ethan works to save her on Earth. Their conversation (Ethan apologizing for being mad at her, and Molly telling him she doesn’t want him hurt either) was very, very sweet  and the most emotionally resonant conversation the two have had all season.

Image © CBS

Back on Earth, Ethan’s more interesting. Once we get past the weirdly slow-moving determination of whether or not he has been rigged to explode, Ethan offers to venture into ISEA himself and face off with the offspring in order to help Molly. The relationship between Ethan and the offspring is a very interesting one, with the two seeming to cancel each other out. Ethan’s immune to the offspring’s mental traps, but he’s still vulnerable to the offspring’s more paranormal abilities. Besides an indication episodes ago that Ethan can move much faster than humans, there’s little to suggest that he’s physically superior to the offspring. Still, their first confrontation is fascinating, standing on opposite sides of a glass door, but it goes even further once Ethan’s ensured Molly’s launch and essentially sacrificed himself. He vows not to hurt the offspring again, not after he threw the ball through the window, and even as he’s about to explode he warns the offspring to run.

Though Extant‘s first season has been deeply flawed, it’s so strong thematically that it makes me wish for a second season. Someone involved knows what they’re doing in that regard, and while the broad strokes are successful, the smaller details are sloppy.

Take the threat of the spores which, despite being the big event, is easily the weakest element of the finale. When the spores were explained, were a huge revelation, and once we hit the finale I can’t remember why they were ever important. It’s not very clear what the risks are, despite everyone repeating how the spores will reach Earth (while inconveniently not mentioning to each other exactly what that would mean). Extant‘s much more mundane drama than sci-fi epic, in presentation if not in content, and it shows. Molly and Sean’s time in space doesn’t feel as urgent as last week’s episode promised. More physical scenes are obviously not the show’s forte, and the Molly and everyone else’s concerns don’t translate offscreen. But the entire plotline’s success lies in its facilitation of Ethan’s self-discovery.

“Ascension” feels very much like Ethan’s story, even with Molly saving the world in space. With Extant doing a much better job in all the emotional areas, “Before the Blood” seems like it was Molly’s real finale. She reunited with her son after episodes spent searching for him, which seems a valid place to draw her story mostly to a close. The finale seems to leave her behind, even as the first half of the episode follows her closely, and adopts Ethan as its focal point as he saves the day and discovers his purpose. Him returning to the world via computer monitor, now “everywhere,” isn’t very surprising, but it is intriguing. What does this mean for Ethan now? Will he ever get his body back? Will he want his body back?

Somewhere along the way Extant became very much about the children. Though the offspring spends the episode attempting to foil Molly’s plans, he remains sympathetic. It helps that we don’t see him actually doing anything, and we already know he’s being pushed into it. And by the time the finale concludes there’s just as much question as what’s next for him. While Ethan reunites with his family, the offspring wanders the streets alone before being picked up by a concerned couple? Is this going to be his family now? What’s he going to do now that the plan of releasing the spores has been foiled? Is he going to find his way back to Molly?

With no word yet on a second season, I do fear we may never know the answers.

Stray Observations

• Why did Odin just disappear? Same with Yasumoto and Sparks. You’d think after planting a bomb in a cyborg child and dominating most of the season with plans of immortality and hallucinations of a dead daughter that they’d return in the finale. But this is just more proof that this finale was very not about Molly.
• I don’t know how allowing Ethan to go into ISEA equated with keeping him safe to avoid the bomb going off, but I’ll overlook it.

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