#213 Disturbing Behavior (3) – Primer

Written by Ronald D. Moore
Directed by Paul Shapiro

While staking out the Sheriff’s office, Michael and Maria discuss the possibility that Laurie Dupree may be a descendent of Michael’s human DNA donor. When they see Laurie being taken off in an ambulance, they follow after her and eventually witness the ambulance crashing. As they pull Laurie from the wreck a sniper fires bullets at them, and in order to escape Michael has to use his powers in front of Laurie.

Michael calls Max and Isabel saying he thinks Laurie is crazy, but Max tells Michel to get her talking so they can find out more about the blue crystals. Not getting anywhere with Laurie, Maria decides to give it to her straight. She tells her she can either trust them, or run to the Mexican border. Laurie decides to run, but Maria and Michael catch up with her. Maria then tells Michael he needs to either tell Laurie the truth about who he is, or make a personal connection with her. Michael goes to Laurie telling her to trust him; that he will not turn his back on her. Michael further tells Laurie that although he’s not her grandpa, he’d like to meet him. Laurie tells Michael her Grandpa is in Tucson, Arizona.

As they arrive at Laurie’s lavish home, they discover her grandfather has passed on. Laurie’s Aunt Mary and Uncle Bobby, now in control of the Dupree estate, are shocked to see Michael, who looks exactly like their dead father. Michael explains to them how Laurie was kidnapped and is surprised when her relatives don’t react, only saying that Laurie is crazy. Laurie’s relatives then give Michael fifty thousand dollars telling him to leave, and stay away from Laurie forever.

Kyle and Tess stumble on Valenti in the family room using large woodcutting tools to work out his frustration. They discover Grant Sorenson is suing him. Valenti then goes out to the woods to meet with Sorenson to work out their differences. Grant screams and attacks Valenti, but quickly snaps out of it, acting like he has no idea what happened. Valenti goes to Agent Duff telling her to put Sorenson under surveillance; Sorenson is the kidnapper. Valenti tells Duff about Sorenson’s behavior, but Duff doesn’t buy it. She tells Valenti Grant just brought her the kidnapper’s gun, which he found in the woods. Why would he do that if he was the kidnapper, she asks? Dejected, Valenti leaves for home only to have Duff come back to him for help a few hours later. She tells him they have connected Grant Sorenson to all of the evidence they have found, and for whatever reason Valenti seems to know more about the case than anyone. Duff then tells Valenti that if he helps her close the case, she will make sure he gets his badge back.

Meanwhile, at the Crashdown, Isabel tells Alex and Liz to help cover for Maria and Michael while they’re gone with Laurie. When Sean shows up looking for Maria, he asks Liz to come with him to help calm his Aunt Amy. When Liz admits to Amy that Maria is with Michael, Amy tells Liz she’s not leaving until Maria calls on Liz’s cell phone and she can talk to her. When Maria does call Liz, Amy intercepts the call insisting she talk to Michael. Amy then tells Michael to take care of her daughter, as Sean suggests they call the police. Liz and Sean get into a playful pillow fight just as Max shows up wanting to talk to Liz, telling her he needs her help. Liz and Max leave to go and investigate the blue crystals using Brody’s high tech equipment. Liz determines the crystals are a kind of parasite.

Liz dispatches Isabel to question Grant about his experiments in Frazier Woods. Afterwards, Isabel tells Max and Liz about the water table under Frazier Woods, which seems to be the common thread in all of his experiments. They conclude the parasites might need water to survive, and on a map discover a stream running from where Laurie was buried to the site of the 1947 crash. Max admits the parasites may have been on their ship when it crashed. Liz then makes a joke about phoning home for answers, and Brody walks in. Seeing Brody, Isabel gets the idea to try and use him as a vessel to contact their planet. Isabel convinces Brody to let her put him under hypnosis, saying it could help him find out more about his abduction. Isabel forces a connection with Larek through him, stopping Brody’s heart in the process. Max tells Larek they need his help, and asks him about the crystals. Larek asks if Max means the Gandarium. If it is the Gandarium, he says, Earth is infected and they need to get off the planet now. Larek then leaves Brody’s body.

William Sadler Commentary

“It’s nice not to be the uptight authoritarian…”