Colony; Segregation by Walls or Greed? (Season 1-3)
Before You Watch Colony
Colony TV Series is using the same cliché and elements of all a sci-fi stories like the fight between humans and aliens, spaceships, hi-tech weapons etc., but its plot doesn’t bound the motif to the conflict between two sides of the war. It tries to create various crisis in characters’ lives to push them towards decisions that endanger them or others. Decisions that can be justified easily at first but lead to desperate situations.
After You Watched
The story starts with flying alien-made walls that separate cities and divide them into colonies. The invasion happens very fast and smoothly because invaders have many traitors inside of all governments over the world. They already selected people based on their capabilities and flaws to establish a new ruling class for colonies who are under the supervision of Hosts. Hosts are robot shape creatures that have a core of consciousness in their heads.
This approach and the way new governments get shaped is very similar to Nazi Germany’s policy in some invaded countries. Resistance groups also are born in the same way that happened in the invaded countries during World War II.
The main motif of Colony is placing characters in situations that their decision may jeopardize them or other people around them. Will Bowman (Josh Holloway) who is a former special agent accepts to work with the new police department in order to bring back his son who stuck in Santa Monica and the walls are separating them.
His wife, Katie (Sarah Wayne Callies)who is more adventurous gets involved with a resistant group and her actions jeopardize her sister’s life and then put her own family at risk. She knowingly collaborates with resistance even in dangerous operations that finally leads to be known by police.
The parallel actions of Will as a cop and Katie as a resistance operative creates a brilliant dramatic conflict in the first season. A conflict that finally results in creating harmony between a man who wants to protect and save his family and a woman who wants to save the whole society from invaders.
Again like stories of World War II, there are grey characters like Alan Snyder who is trying to keep his position in politics after the invasion. As the governor of LA, he has caused many deadly attacks to people by alien’s drones and robots but he still shows some humane feelings and actions that always change the course of events especially for Bowman family. Actions such as taking Bram out of the factory before the deadly attack by alien’s spaceship.
Another Enemy
In Season 2, Colony expands its story from the war between resistance and alien’s government to the internal conflicts of resistance camp. When Will and his family bring a part of alien’s host to the resistance camp, they hope that it will be a safe place for their family but soon they learn that the dangerous political competition in the camp will put all at risk.
MacGregor who runs the camp tries to consolidate his power and in this way, he decides to destroy the host that is the only source of information about aliens. Even though later it is revealed that he is a collaborator, the fight of power and leadership is his main motivation.
By showing the disastrous situation in the resistance side that finally leads to the death of Bowman’s younger son, Colony creates despair circumstances without any hope for humans. It gets worse when a host tells Will that they consider humans as their ally in creating a defense system against a powerful enemy who is coming to the earth.
The plot of Colony is based on growing the tension gradually and keeps it at a stable pace. Bowman’s family are escaping from one hell to another one and they never have a true peace of mind. They look strong and hopeful at the first episodes of season 1 but broken and fearful at the end of season 2. And in season 3, they fight to death even though they are not sure which enemy is the priority of the war.
