n last year's season finale, Shalimar (Pratt) discovered that her estranged father's company was involved with uber-villian Eckhart (Tom McCamus) and genetic manipulation and testing. It was also uncovered that leader Adam was keeping secrets from the team. In the end, they were caught in an explosion that Shalimar's grief-stricken father set off.
As the third-season premiere opens, it's mass confusion as the survivors of the explosion are being tended to by rescue personnel. Brennan (Webster), Jesse (Forbes) and Shalimar are trying to find the people they care about, but the news isn't good. Emma is dead, Adam's missing and Shalimar's father is in critical condition. Shell-shocked by the events, the three return to Sanctuary to try and locate Adam (John Shea).
When they get a signal that Adam's on the move, Brennan and Shalimar rush to the area, with Jesse monitoring things from Sanctuary. But all Brennan and Shalimar find is Eckhart. He tells them he has Adam and the only way they will get him back is to give him Adam's research on his deteriorating medical condition. They return to Sanctuary to regroup. While they do believe Eckhart has Adam, they don't know Adam's password to get into the computer that holds the research.
An intruder suddenly appears who has the ability to control light. She tells them that everything they thought they knew about Adam, their mission and Sanctuary was a lie. However, she does want to help them get Adam back if he's still alive. Her name is Lexa (Cliche), and she knows what Adam's password is. She worked with Adam in the beginning of Mutant X, and she says she knows he was working for someone else.
The team is shocked by her information, but they agree to go along with her plan to rescue Adam. Whether they can trust her is a completely different matter. What happens in the confrontation with Eckhart will shake them to the core, challenging everything they've been led to believe and sending them in a direction they never could have imagined.
Shocking events lead to a new direction
It's a risky proposition to take an established and successful series in a completely different direction, especially when it means calling last year's hero's motives into question. While there's always been a foundation that there was more going on with Adam than we knew about, it's another thing to swallow that he might have less than honorable goals in mind. His mysterious motives will no doubt be explored in the upcoming season as John Shea makes guest appearances.
Killing off Emma is another surprise, considering Emma became such an interesting character last year. However, Karen Cliche has no trouble mixing it up in the season premiere which introduces her character. It's especially fun when she calls Brennan cute names like "Sparky." She has a bit of an attitude, and that's just fine.
"Into the Moonless Night" does define the new direction of the series, and Mason Eckhart is around to order people's deaths and make lots of trouble. The episode is nicely written and provides an ending for some elements of the series, while opening up a beginning for other elements. There are a couple threads left hanging, including the one that has to do with Shalimar's father. Why she would go traipsing off when her father might be dying is one thing (well, Adam's life is at stake), but it would have been nice to get an update on his condition somewhere through the episode. Instead, it's as if he is forgotten about.
In many ways, it's back to square one with this season. All the rules have changed, and new rules need to be established. Mutant X has always been an action-packed series with likable characters and uncomplicated plots. It looks as if the producers are about to add some complications to those plots. Whether that will gum up the works completely or end up adding some texture to the series remains to be seen.
