The evidence never lies: “Inside Man”
Apr. 14th, 2010 03:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
akinoameA semi-truck swerves in and out of the lane as its panicked driver tries to escape from something. An amnesiac, the only things he can remember are horrifying aliens, a terrible project, and something being loaded into the truck he stole to escape. He loses control and crashes into a ravine, but miraculously, he walks away from the crash unharmed. A driver picks him up on the side of the road, amused when the man has to look at his license to remember his own name, Tyler. But when Tyler insists that the aliens did something to his mind, the driver does what any sensible person would do and leaves the apparent crazy person behind to find his own way home.
Tyler makes his way to Highway Patrol, but they don’t believe him any more than the driver did, and they put him in a cell for the night to wait for the mental hospital to take him in the morning. However, he doesn’t notice one of the officers picking up the phone and telling someone, “He’s here.” Inside the cell, Tyler tries to make sense of it all, remembering only that he’s twenty-six and not insane. But the pressure of trying to remember is giving him frequent migraines, preventing him from recalling anything useful. The officers arrive to take his statement, but they demand he tell them where he hid “the key,” pulling a blaster on him and pressing him against the wall. Struggling to get free, Tyler knocks the ID mask off one of the officers, revealing a DNAlien. Displaying amazing strength, Tyler picks up the metal bunk bed and compresses it against the DNAliens, pinning them to the wall before he escapes. The DNAliens take chase, but a green car pulls over, and Ben orders for Tyler to get in.
The kids introduce themselves and explain that they’ve heard Tyler’s name come up in reference to a Level 5 piece of technology called an oscillator key, which is used to warp space. But Tyler still can’t remember anything about how he got hold of it, or anything about his life before the aliens. DNAliens are searching the ravines for the key, but Tyler does know where he ditched the truck. The team is shocked to see the wreck and how Tyler could have made it out in one piece, but Tyler’s more shocked by the kids’ powers. Chromastone breaks into the truck and finds the oscillator key…along with some DNAliens. A battle ensues, and while the kids fight, Tyler remembers that the key is being used for a hyperspace jumpgate, which will bring a Highbreed fleet to destroy the planet. He tells them this after the DNAliens make a run for it, but Ben’s figured out something else. He’s put all the evidence together and come to a horrible conclusion. He reaches out for Tyler and removes an ID mask, regretfully telling him that he’s a DNAlien.
As Tyler agonizes over this revelation, Ben and the others explain the truth about the DNAliens, as learned in “Max Out” (though they mix up Los Soledad and Santa Mira—apparently, there are a lot of areas with Spanish names in whatever the hell state Bellwood’s in). Tyler realizes that he’d actually been ordered to take the key to Los Soledad, but on the ride, his true personality began to fight for control. Ben explains to Tyler that his human personality has been fighting for control the whole time, and Gwen takes this to mean that all of the DNAliens must be fighting back (sadly, nothing comes of this by “War of the Worlds,” which I have to admit is a shame). Ben asks Tyler for his help in getting rid of the oscillator key, and though Tyler agrees, he insists that they don’t worry about him, since he’s a “monster” (it’s becoming a drinking game watching this word be used for self-degradation since “Pier Pressure” and all throughout season three).
But the key is heavy, and even with Gwen’s powers and Humongousaur’s strength, they can’t get it far enough away before more DNAliens arrive with a ship. Gwen tries to hold off their tractor beam, but when DNAliens lead an attack, Tyler suicidally charges in against them, and Ben argues that no matter what Tyler thinks of his own fate, he won’t stand for this—”No sacrifices.” While Kevin and Tyler try to protect Gwen, Jetray heads to the ship to try to take out the beam, but the DNAliens fend him off. Tyler is soon overwhelmed, and the DNAliens take him to the beam, threatening to overwrite his personality again. Gwen’s shield fails, allowing the beam to take up the oscillator key, and Ben is left with a choice: save Tyler and risk losing the key to the DNAliens, or shoot out the focusing mirror and let the key fall but also risk Tyler’s death. Determined to stick to his “no sacrifices” policy to the last, Jetray rescues Tyler, and the DNAliens fly off with the key. The others all call Ben out on his choice, but he defends his morals, even while Tyler insists it’s hopeless. As “hopeless” isn’t part of his vocabulary (until “The Final Battle,” anyway), Ben uses the Omnitrix’s DNA repair function to separate Tyler from the Xenocyte, restoring his memories and giving him a second chance at a normal life. Affirming that “it’s never hopeless,” Ben insists that now that they have an idea of the Highbreed’s plan (though they need a reminder comes “War of the Worlds” for some reason), they will defeat them.
After Ken in “Max Out,” Tyler is the second DNAlien we actually meet, giving us insight on the DNAlien experience. Like Ken, Tyler has some kind of dissociation about the whole thing—where Ken said “it was like watching someone else” attacking his family, Tyler’s memories paint a picture more of what he wanted to believe than what actually happened. Unlike Ken, Tyler managed to fight off the Xenocyte’s influence. Whether it means he had a stronger will than Ken (ala Matt in the W.I.T.C.H. episode “S is for Self”) is unknown, but in any case, the stress of fighting off the Xenocyte initially cost him his memories. He doesn’t remember anything about himself, and all he does know is information he’s pieced together from the evidence around him: that his driver’s license has his name and age, he’s got a bass pick in his wallet (which Ben can distinguish from a regular guitar pick immediately, despite apparently not being a musician), and aliens are after him because he had the oscillator key they needed. He’s too panicked to notice the other evidence: that he’s far stronger and more durable than a human should be and that there’s no way he should have been able to escape the DNAlien’s base with the truck. When he first flashes back to his “escape,” we see him hiding and spying on the Highbreed, then stealing the truck after they’ve loaded the key. Of course, he realizes later that the truth is he was always supposed to take that truck, and he’d only begun to experience the conflict between his DNAlien side and his human side on the road.
It’s not a stretch to call Tyler “suicidal” after Ben reveals the truth to him. He’s horrifically depressed, and he stops caring about his own wellbeing. Even Gwen points out when he starts tearing apart the truck to expose the key that he’s not taking it well. He’s fine with sacrificing himself to help the others save the world because he doesn’t believe there’s any hope for him left. He insists that Ben and the team concentrate on trying to save the other DNAliens who may be fighting back, all the while despairing over his own condition. He tells Ben that he shouldn’t have bothered saving him and instead let him die if it meant the DNAliens didn’t get the key. It isn’t until Ben uses the DNA repair to restore him that he sees there is hope. His memories come back in full force, no longer suppressed by the Xenocyte trying to overwrite his humanity. Where “Max Out” revealed with Ken’s mutation that the Xenocytes caused severe physical genetic damage, Tyler in “Inside Man” shows us just how bad the psychological damage is too.
This is the second time we see the Omnitrix’s genetic repair function, which of course is the key to ending the war peacefully in “War of the Worlds.” We also see Ben really sticking to his guns on the issue of killing, for the first time. He insists to everybody that he won’t make any sacrifices—that Tyler’s life is just as important to him as saving the entire world. This is also key to the decision he makes in the season finale, along with some other moments we see in season three (his apology to Reiny about the Highbreed in “If All Else Fails,” the flash of regret on his face over letting Vilgax fall in “Primus,” and his similar regret over apparently being unable to save Kraab in “The Final Battle”). Gwen and Kevin are much more pragmatic than Ben when it comes to this issue, and it especially shows for them in season three. They know that it’ll hurt Ben in “The Final Battle” when he doesn’t have time to save Kraab, so Gwen talks Kevin into dragging him onto Ship. But when either of them is put in the position of sacrificing someone to save the world, they take that choice. Kevin goes through with his revenge and (at least apparently—I’ve learned not to count everyone out just yet) lets Ragnarok die if it means saving the Earth and avenging his father’s death. Gwen, in “Time Heals,” asks Ben to sacrifice himself so she has the time to cast the spell that will undo the damage she caused and prevent the bad timeline from existing. Taking those moments into consideration, I wonder if it’s more telling that Ben’s still innocent enough that he wants to avoid killing and sacrifice as much as possible, or that Gwen and Kevin (particularly Gwen, who went through the exact same missions as Ben and doesn’t have Kevin’s shady past to hide behind) are jaded enough that they don’t see the alternatives he does.
And on another note, it is deeply ironic watching Chromastone claim to be indestructible after having seen “Vengeance of Vilgax,” when one good blow with Vilgax’s sword shattered him completely.
“Inside Man” was written by Matt Wayne. Tyler was played by Wallace Langham. Yuri Lowenthal provided the voice of the Omnitrix, as its new permanent voice actor.
Tyler makes his way to Highway Patrol, but they don’t believe him any more than the driver did, and they put him in a cell for the night to wait for the mental hospital to take him in the morning. However, he doesn’t notice one of the officers picking up the phone and telling someone, “He’s here.” Inside the cell, Tyler tries to make sense of it all, remembering only that he’s twenty-six and not insane. But the pressure of trying to remember is giving him frequent migraines, preventing him from recalling anything useful. The officers arrive to take his statement, but they demand he tell them where he hid “the key,” pulling a blaster on him and pressing him against the wall. Struggling to get free, Tyler knocks the ID mask off one of the officers, revealing a DNAlien. Displaying amazing strength, Tyler picks up the metal bunk bed and compresses it against the DNAliens, pinning them to the wall before he escapes. The DNAliens take chase, but a green car pulls over, and Ben orders for Tyler to get in.
The kids introduce themselves and explain that they’ve heard Tyler’s name come up in reference to a Level 5 piece of technology called an oscillator key, which is used to warp space. But Tyler still can’t remember anything about how he got hold of it, or anything about his life before the aliens. DNAliens are searching the ravines for the key, but Tyler does know where he ditched the truck. The team is shocked to see the wreck and how Tyler could have made it out in one piece, but Tyler’s more shocked by the kids’ powers. Chromastone breaks into the truck and finds the oscillator key…along with some DNAliens. A battle ensues, and while the kids fight, Tyler remembers that the key is being used for a hyperspace jumpgate, which will bring a Highbreed fleet to destroy the planet. He tells them this after the DNAliens make a run for it, but Ben’s figured out something else. He’s put all the evidence together and come to a horrible conclusion. He reaches out for Tyler and removes an ID mask, regretfully telling him that he’s a DNAlien.
As Tyler agonizes over this revelation, Ben and the others explain the truth about the DNAliens, as learned in “Max Out” (though they mix up Los Soledad and Santa Mira—apparently, there are a lot of areas with Spanish names in whatever the hell state Bellwood’s in). Tyler realizes that he’d actually been ordered to take the key to Los Soledad, but on the ride, his true personality began to fight for control. Ben explains to Tyler that his human personality has been fighting for control the whole time, and Gwen takes this to mean that all of the DNAliens must be fighting back (sadly, nothing comes of this by “War of the Worlds,” which I have to admit is a shame). Ben asks Tyler for his help in getting rid of the oscillator key, and though Tyler agrees, he insists that they don’t worry about him, since he’s a “monster” (it’s becoming a drinking game watching this word be used for self-degradation since “Pier Pressure” and all throughout season three).
But the key is heavy, and even with Gwen’s powers and Humongousaur’s strength, they can’t get it far enough away before more DNAliens arrive with a ship. Gwen tries to hold off their tractor beam, but when DNAliens lead an attack, Tyler suicidally charges in against them, and Ben argues that no matter what Tyler thinks of his own fate, he won’t stand for this—”No sacrifices.” While Kevin and Tyler try to protect Gwen, Jetray heads to the ship to try to take out the beam, but the DNAliens fend him off. Tyler is soon overwhelmed, and the DNAliens take him to the beam, threatening to overwrite his personality again. Gwen’s shield fails, allowing the beam to take up the oscillator key, and Ben is left with a choice: save Tyler and risk losing the key to the DNAliens, or shoot out the focusing mirror and let the key fall but also risk Tyler’s death. Determined to stick to his “no sacrifices” policy to the last, Jetray rescues Tyler, and the DNAliens fly off with the key. The others all call Ben out on his choice, but he defends his morals, even while Tyler insists it’s hopeless. As “hopeless” isn’t part of his vocabulary (until “The Final Battle,” anyway), Ben uses the Omnitrix’s DNA repair function to separate Tyler from the Xenocyte, restoring his memories and giving him a second chance at a normal life. Affirming that “it’s never hopeless,” Ben insists that now that they have an idea of the Highbreed’s plan (though they need a reminder comes “War of the Worlds” for some reason), they will defeat them.
After Ken in “Max Out,” Tyler is the second DNAlien we actually meet, giving us insight on the DNAlien experience. Like Ken, Tyler has some kind of dissociation about the whole thing—where Ken said “it was like watching someone else” attacking his family, Tyler’s memories paint a picture more of what he wanted to believe than what actually happened. Unlike Ken, Tyler managed to fight off the Xenocyte’s influence. Whether it means he had a stronger will than Ken (ala Matt in the W.I.T.C.H. episode “S is for Self”) is unknown, but in any case, the stress of fighting off the Xenocyte initially cost him his memories. He doesn’t remember anything about himself, and all he does know is information he’s pieced together from the evidence around him: that his driver’s license has his name and age, he’s got a bass pick in his wallet (which Ben can distinguish from a regular guitar pick immediately, despite apparently not being a musician), and aliens are after him because he had the oscillator key they needed. He’s too panicked to notice the other evidence: that he’s far stronger and more durable than a human should be and that there’s no way he should have been able to escape the DNAlien’s base with the truck. When he first flashes back to his “escape,” we see him hiding and spying on the Highbreed, then stealing the truck after they’ve loaded the key. Of course, he realizes later that the truth is he was always supposed to take that truck, and he’d only begun to experience the conflict between his DNAlien side and his human side on the road.
It’s not a stretch to call Tyler “suicidal” after Ben reveals the truth to him. He’s horrifically depressed, and he stops caring about his own wellbeing. Even Gwen points out when he starts tearing apart the truck to expose the key that he’s not taking it well. He’s fine with sacrificing himself to help the others save the world because he doesn’t believe there’s any hope for him left. He insists that Ben and the team concentrate on trying to save the other DNAliens who may be fighting back, all the while despairing over his own condition. He tells Ben that he shouldn’t have bothered saving him and instead let him die if it meant the DNAliens didn’t get the key. It isn’t until Ben uses the DNA repair to restore him that he sees there is hope. His memories come back in full force, no longer suppressed by the Xenocyte trying to overwrite his humanity. Where “Max Out” revealed with Ken’s mutation that the Xenocytes caused severe physical genetic damage, Tyler in “Inside Man” shows us just how bad the psychological damage is too.
This is the second time we see the Omnitrix’s genetic repair function, which of course is the key to ending the war peacefully in “War of the Worlds.” We also see Ben really sticking to his guns on the issue of killing, for the first time. He insists to everybody that he won’t make any sacrifices—that Tyler’s life is just as important to him as saving the entire world. This is also key to the decision he makes in the season finale, along with some other moments we see in season three (his apology to Reiny about the Highbreed in “If All Else Fails,” the flash of regret on his face over letting Vilgax fall in “Primus,” and his similar regret over apparently being unable to save Kraab in “The Final Battle”). Gwen and Kevin are much more pragmatic than Ben when it comes to this issue, and it especially shows for them in season three. They know that it’ll hurt Ben in “The Final Battle” when he doesn’t have time to save Kraab, so Gwen talks Kevin into dragging him onto Ship. But when either of them is put in the position of sacrificing someone to save the world, they take that choice. Kevin goes through with his revenge and (at least apparently—I’ve learned not to count everyone out just yet) lets Ragnarok die if it means saving the Earth and avenging his father’s death. Gwen, in “Time Heals,” asks Ben to sacrifice himself so she has the time to cast the spell that will undo the damage she caused and prevent the bad timeline from existing. Taking those moments into consideration, I wonder if it’s more telling that Ben’s still innocent enough that he wants to avoid killing and sacrifice as much as possible, or that Gwen and Kevin (particularly Gwen, who went through the exact same missions as Ben and doesn’t have Kevin’s shady past to hide behind) are jaded enough that they don’t see the alternatives he does.
And on another note, it is deeply ironic watching Chromastone claim to be indestructible after having seen “Vengeance of Vilgax,” when one good blow with Vilgax’s sword shattered him completely.
“Inside Man” was written by Matt Wayne. Tyler was played by Wallace Langham. Yuri Lowenthal provided the voice of the Omnitrix, as its new permanent voice actor.