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"Wingman" is the fifteenth episode of the third season of Sanctuary, and the forty-first episode overall in the series.
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Synopsis
Will Zimmerman and Henry Foss's double date goes awry when Helen Magnus insists they do a straight-forward delivery of an abnormal on the way to their dinner reservations.
Plot
Cold Open
Henry Foss and his girlfriend, Erika Myers, are preparing for a romantic dinner at Alfredo's. They run into Will Zimmerman and Abby Corrigan in the hall, and it turns out Henry and Will both made the reservations under Helen Magnus's name. When the men move aside and start to argue about whose date is more important, Henry reveals to Will that he is going to propose to Erika.
Act I
Will is very surprised by Henry's decision to marry Erika after dating for a week and a half. Just when the girls intervene to tell them that they are willing to turn the evening into a double date, Magnus arrives and orders them to deliver an abnormal, a Lepidoptera hominin, to the docks. She cannot do it herself, as she has to monitor another abnormal's birth.
In the car on the way to the harbor, Abby asks if Magnus will be okay on her own. Henry and Will are amused, and remember a number of fights their boss has gotten into [ with Adam Worth in "Breach", with the vampire squid in "Next Tuesday", and with the super abnormals in "End of Nights, Part II" ]. They then meet with Ernie Watts, who delivers a large crate with the lepidoptera inside. Once it is in the car, Erika and Henry notice a strange smell; moments later, Abby faints. They stop to get her outside, realizing that she is allergic to the creatures gases. Then, Will points out that if it releases gases, it is no longer in its larval stage. Just then, the abnormal breaks out of its crate, flies into the open and vanishes into the sewers.
Act II
Will and Henry phone Magnus, who explains that the creature hatched because it was not properly transported -- Ernie used a refrigerator. While Henry tries to use Abby's phone, which has a recording of the creature's cry on it, as a way to lure it, Will and Abby make their way into the sewers. Will recounts a number of other cases where they had to go up against dangerous abnormals [the coleanthropus from "Hero", Jack from "Fragments", the giant salamander and the mind readers from "Firewall", the Morrígan from "Fata Morgana", the southern hemispheric sea scorpion from "Next Tuesday", the insectoid from "Instinct", the basilisk from "The Hollow Men", and the energy abnormal from "Haunted"]. Abby quickly makes him stop, fearing that the knowledge will just make her worry about him.
They continue on their way into the sewers, and Will realizes Abby is trying to find out about his previous relationships. He finally gives in, telling her about Meg leaving him [in "Fata Morgana"] and Clara Griffin being killed [in "End of Nights, Part II"]. When he teases her to tell him about her past relationships, they suddenly run into the lepidoptera. Abby's phone makes a strange noise, spooking the creature, who attacks them and escapes once more.
Act III
Abby has twisted her ankle. She and Will turn around to get back to the others. Meanwhile, Henry and Erika have finished the device that is supposed to lure the lepidoptera to them. Just when Henry wants to propose to Erika, the other two show up, spoiling the moment. At this point, they realize that they have no knockout gas, so Abby asks if one of them could make some. Henry recounts a number of cases where his technical abilities helped save the day.
Will and Erika return to the sewers; Will is not quite as convinced that the plan will work, recounting a number of cases where Henry was not quite as successful as he told Erika. At this point, she reveals that she bought an extra ticket, and wants to ask Henry to go to London with her.
Act IV
Stunned, Will tells Erika that she should talk to Henry about this. Meanwhile, Abby and Henry talk about the latter's abnormal nature, with Henry recounting the history of how Magnus and the others helped him to make peace with his HAP nature. Abby asks if she could see him transform, but he explains that he goes naked during that. They quickly change the subject.
Will and Erika discover that the lepidoptera is shedding the last of its old skin. At that point, Henry activates the luring device, causing the creature to come out of the sewers and violently attack the van with Abby and Henry inside.
Act V
They stop the sound, realizing that the sound they used was one that was that of an aggressive male. Will phones Ernie and makes him send them the file with the female sounds, causing the creature to calm down and approach Will peacefully.
Some time later, Henry and Erika finally tell each other what they want; they realize that their relationship will not work out, as neither is willing to give up his or her life for the other. After one last kiss, Erika leaves the Sanctuary, and all Henry can do is promise to visit some time.
Will brings Abby a new pair of shoes. When he asks what to do next, she clears his desk, and they start to make out.
A sad Henry walks through the Sanctuary's halls when Magnus shows up, asking him to help her with something: it turns out that she made Alfredo's deliver to her home, something the restaurant never does for a normal customer. While they are eating, Will and Abby show up -- half naked -- and steal some of the food. Henry is outraged at this act of theft, but Magnus only smiles at him.
Cast
| Series regular | Character |
|---|---|
| Amanda Tapping | Doctor Helen Magnus |
| Robin Dunne | Doctor Will Zimmerman |
| Ryan Robbins | Henry Foss |
| Guest starring | Character |
| Pascale Hutton | Abby Corrigan |
| Pauline Egan | Erika Myers |
| Peter DeLuise | Ernie Watts |
| Featuring | Character |
| Christine Chatelain | Clara Griffin (archive footage) |
| Rob Hayter | Mothman |
| Robert Lawrenson | Declan MacRae (archive footage) |
| Kandyse McClure | Meg (archive footage) |
Quotes
| [After the Mothman escapes during transport, Will Zimmerman and Henry Foss call Helen Magnus (who's at the Old City Sanctuary) to inform her of the problem.] MAGNUS: Damn that Ernie. The Lepidoptera can only be transported during the early larval stages, he knows that. WILL: He did say something about a faulty cryo-chamber. HENRY: Yeah, so he put bug boy in a fridge. MAGNUS: I beg your pardon? WILL: What Henry means is that we were transporting the abnormal in an alternative...temperature-controlled container. MAGNUS: A refrigerator! WILL: Well, yes, I believe it's also known by that name.... MAGNUS: Because you were in a rush to get on with your evening. Henry: Well, it was just a few minutes from the docks. What was going to happen? MAGNUS: You do realize that question has now ceased to be rhetorical? Henry: Yes, I do now. MAGNUS: Well, at least the creature can't have gone far. After its final molt, the wings still need to mature, but you'll have to capture it before it becomes fully mobile. Henry: Or else? MAGNUS: If it becomes strong enough to fly, there'll be no containing it. Now, are either of you boys eager to do damage control on civilian sightings of a flying Mothman? WILL: - Not so much. Henry: - Uh-uh. WILL: How much time do we have? MAGNUS: Half an hour, forty-five minutes, tops. HENRY: Okay. Well, at least the stunners in the van are fully charged. MAGNUS: No stunners. The Lepidoptera is still a fledgling. You might damage its neural development. WILL: Well, how are we supposed to.... MAGNUS: Tranqs if need be, only at close range, not near the head. Now, get going, and keep me informed. HENRY: Did she sound angry to you? WILL: - Fridge? Really? - Come on. |
Notes
- Trivia: This is a recap episode; a significant number of the scenes are flashbacks using footage from previous episodes. Recaps, and bottle episodes, like Episode 1x09 - "Requiem" and Episode 2x08 - "Next Tuesday", are faster and cheaper to make than regular episodes. It is not uncommon for TV shows to use a bottle or recap episode in the second half of a season to free up resources for an impressive season finale.[1] According to writer Alan McCullough, this episode was designed as a clip show in order to reduce costs.[2]
- Character Error: Helen Magnus says she wants the team to pick up a Lepidoptera larva, and describes it as a vertebrate. Lepidoptera is the order of insects that includes butterflies and moths, which are invertebrates. However, being that this is an humanoid-shaped abnormal described as being a mothman, Magnus's line of "It's more of a vertebrate creature" is a lot more anatomically correct than Abby Corrigan's larger error of saying that Magnus wants them to transport a "slug"; a creature that is a gastropod, not a Lepidoptera.
- Character Error: When Helen Magnus tells the couples she needs them to collect a lepidoptera larvae, Abby Corrigan responds by asking if she wants them to collect a slug. There is no logical reason for this mistake, slugs do not have larvae, they bear no resemblance to lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) and the scientific names aren't remotely similar. An educated, scientifically minded woman wouldn't just pick a random animal out of thin air either.[3]
- Trivia: Ernie Watts, a minor character previously appearing in Episode 0x03 - "Webisode 3", is reintroduced in a similar fashion as Terrance Wexford.
- Casting: Peter DeLuise, who plays Ernie Watts in this episode, worked on Stargate SG-1 with Amanda Tapping, as well as several other members of the DeLuise family. Peter is also a regular director of both series, including this episode.[4]
- Casting: Agam Darshi and Christopher Heyerdahl do not appear in this episode.
- Trivia: The Lepidoptera hominid molts into the adult form. With real butterflies and moths, there are generally five instars, four moltings, of the larval, or caterpillar stage. With each molt the larva gets bigger but retains the same basic shape. Then the insect becomes a pupa. During the pupal stage the insect's body is completely rebuilt into the adult form.[5]
- Trivia: For a knockout gas Henry Foss is going to use 'dimethylchloride'. This gets weird. Methane is one carbon with four hydrogens tacked on. You can replace one or more hydrogens with chlorine, but you can't have more than one methyl for one chlorine. A two carbon molecule with six hydrogens tacked on is ethane, which with a really twisted misuse of language could be called dimethane. Ethyl chloride is a known anaesthetic.[6]
Gallery
References
- ↑ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1751628/trivia/?item=tr2721720
- ↑ sanctuaryspoilers: "Wingman"
- ↑ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1751628/goofs/?item=gf6190925
- ↑ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1751628/trivia/?item=tr6841342
- ↑ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1751628/trivia/?item=tr3026689
- ↑ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1751628/trivia/?item=tr3026732
| ● Sanctuary ● Season 3 ● |
|---|
| ● 01 Kali, Part III ● 02 Firewall ● 03 Bank Job ● 04 Trail of Blood ● 05 Hero II: Broken Arrow ● 06 Animus ● 07 Breach ● 08 For King and Country ● 09 Vigilante ● 10 The Hollow Men ● 11 Pax Romana ● 12 Hangover ● 13 One Night ● 14 Metamorphosis ● 15 Wingman ● 16 Awakening ● 17 Normandy ● 18 Carentan ● 19 Out of the Blue ● 20 Into the Black ● |
| Story Arc : Alfredo's |
|---|
| ● 3x13 One Night ● 3x15 Wingman ● |