When Treehuggers Go Vigilante

I’ve gotten into Eleventh Hour…mostly because of Rufus Sewell…so I’ve decided to start recapping. Hopefully, I’ll be able to go back and recap the episodes I’ve missed.

The episode starts with patrons in a bar watching a car chase on their local news. A helicopter report named Terry is up in the air reporting on the resulting crash when he seems to have problems. The anchor asks him if he can see anything going on on the ground, but Terry responds he is blind. The police tell him to climb higher but he’s panicking. Someone off camera orders them to cut the feed and the screen goes fuzzy as Terry’s copter spins out of control.

The next day, Dr. Jacob Hood (Rufus Sewell) and FBI agent Rachel Young (Marley Shelton) arrive at the crime scene. Rachel says that they are getting some help on this case and Hood spots him. A young man runs up, all excited. He is Agent Felix Lee. He tells the two about the previous few minutes. He tells them that Terry was part of the Hostage Rescue Team, along with the director. Hood wonders why the sight went while Felix offers a theory of River Blindness, caused by nematodes. Hood shoots it down. Felix does offer Terry’s wedding ring. The clock ticks to eleven and we go to credits.

Hood and Young visit Terry’s widow. Hey, remember Center Stage? It’s the actress who played Maureen, the school’s queen bee. She’s crying about her husband and Hood explains that Terry suffered from Rapid Onset Blindness. He asks her if her husband had complained of other symptoms. She says no and that Terry took his job seriously. She suffers some pain and reveals she is pregnant, crying that she didn’t want to raise a child alone. Hood promises to tell her if they find anything. Hood and Young leave to go to the studio, to watch Terry’s footage.

They sit with Terry’s assistant, now junior reporter. She worries about Erica, Terry’s wife. Hood thanks her, calling her Debbie. He notices the following: Terry turning the volume down on his headset, a lingering rash, and sweating when it is cold. Debbie beats herself up for not noticing and notes it began two weeks ago. Rachel gets a phone call while Debbie talks about being told Erica was pregnant. Meanwhile, the wife has gone blind and rushed to the hospital.

Hood talks to a doctor. He’s confused about Erica’s condition. He does say that he’s seen a lot of patients with odd symptoms, like a traffic cop who couldn’t write tickets. Hood says “Minamata,” a city in Japan where they first learned the damage of heavy metal poisoning. The doctor goes to test for it, leaving Hood to go find the source. Meanwhile, some guy empties his RV out as a trooper scolds him for polluting the environment. The guy gives him a ticket.

It is mercury poisoning. It is curable but Erica can’t be given treatment because she is pregnant. They tell her she and the baby are in trouble and they need her permission to perform an emergency C-section. Erica panics—she is only in her second trimester—and asks for percentage. It is low but Hood tells her that the two will get sicker if she doesn’t get treatment. Erica is determined not to lose the baby. And we tick to commercial…

Rachel says they are bringing a team from the EPA while Hood tries to figure out what contaminated these people. Rachel says they only have four cases but Felix comes out to say that there are 25 new cases reported by other hospitals. Rachel asks where they start and Hood replies with immersive garbology. Felix is all for it until…He learns it is going through people’s garbage. Rachel expresses her disgust as they go through the garbage. Hood figures they either ate or drank the mercury. An officer approaches—he’s the traffic cop. He isn’t as toxic so Hood asks him for help. He has more dietary concerns than me. Rachel finds milk and the officer notes he uses the same brand. Hood tests the carton and it comes back…positive. Felix is sent to issue a recall for Lake Fresh as the company investigates production.

Debbie is busy putting together a memorial segment for Terry as the trooper from Mr. RV comes to see her. They are married and he consoles her. It is so sweet if you didn’t already know he’s a little psychotic.

Felix gets results from someone at Lake Fresh, calling Rachel. The equipment is clean at both plants but the milk is tainted. So they have to trace the milk to the dairy farm, but Felix narrows it down to one—Andoria Farms. As Rachel and Hood travel to the farm, our trooper friend goes to get an old, broke down refrigerator. Oh yeah, totally psychotic. As he buys it, our two heroes arrive at the farm. The owner gives them a tour and Hood notes that there aren’t as many cows. The owner says he sold some to raise money but Hood notices a freshly plowed field. He calls in Felix to bring in a digger. They find a dead cow.

Felix talks with the farmer, saying his family farms as well. He takes the “I understand” approach with the farmer. The farmer admits he thought the cow had Mad Cow and put her down. Hood informs him that it was mercury poisoning and that he should’ve contacted the Health Department. The farmer is taking into custody as the doctor gives Erica a sonogram. He says the baby looks fine but Erica is in danger from the mercury poisoning. He encourages her to have the C-section, revealing her baby is a boy.

Back at the farm, Hood gets a call. He had asked a friend to run a model on an alternative treatment for Erica but it didn’t work. Felix asks Hood how he deals with the people no longer being just names. Hood honestly replies he doesn’t know. Rachel comes up and asks if there is a way to find the source of the poisoning. Hood says she is standing it in and she notices she’s standing in manure. Hood analyzing it to find fish bones, fish meat used to supplement the cows’ diet. Felix finds the fish, tainted with mercury. Hood focuses on the herring. He goes down to the lake and notes that herring normally don’t carry mercury. Rachel wonders how they will search Lake Michigan but Hood says they’ll just follow the seagulls. They follow the gulls into a scene from The Birds, with the gulls attacking the car. A gun shot scares off the birds as Debbie’s husband came to save the day. They let him have a gun?!?! Tick to commercial…

Debbie’s husband works for the Department of Fish and Wildlife and says he’s seen the alarming harm we’ve done to the environment. He blames the government but Rachel reminds him they aren’t the enemy. Hood gets a gull’s GPS transmitter and Hood follows it to the source of the mercury poisoning. He sends a scuba diver down and they lift up…the old refrigerator. We all knew where this was going the minute the husband entered the picture, right? Hood opens it to find liquid mercury, Felix focuses on the maggots and Rachel notes the glass. Felix says it is from old barometers, which contained liquid mercury. Hood and Rachel play verbal ping-pong, impressing Felix. The two have a great repertoire.

Hood is called back to the hospital after Erica suffers a setback. Hood goes in to talk to her. Erica is scared and can’t ask her husband, earning Rachel’s sympathy. Erica asks Hood what he would tell his wife. Important note: Hood’s wife died a few years ago from cancer. The question chokes him up and he tells her to go with her heart. Rachel watches, concerned as Debbie comes for a visit. Hood comes out to tell them she will have the baby. Debbie talks to Hood as Felix comes up. He has found out how much barometers were sold. A man named Lars Sandersy bought them. Debbie says that the name is the Latin name for a gull. Hood notes her necklace, starting to oxidize. She gives up her husband.

He’s down at the lake with a refrigerator as Debbie approaches. She asks him, Ben, and pleads that he wasn’t the one poisoning people. Ben figures mercury poisoning was curable. Debbie cries, wondering what her husband did. He argues he did it for their family and for their planet. He’s an eco-warrior, isn’t he? Debbie finally notes what we all knew—he’s crazy. Ben argues that the tragedy will make people take notice. Debbie returns the necklace as Rachel approaches to arrest him. He’s all doom and gloom about the planet while Rachel says she’s not sorry since he killed someone. He runs and Felix takes him down. It’s impressive.

At the hospital, Erica sees—yes, sees—her baby boy. The doctor tells the duo that the baby is strong. Outside, Felix seems to be practicing a speech. He talks with Hood and Rachel. Hood thanks Felix for his help. He says good-bye but then uses his pitch—hanging around, saying he is wanted. However, Rachel and Hood burst his bubble with the director’s comments about Felix begging for the assignment. Turns out, he’s a big fan of Hood and Rachel. He asks to join the team. Hood throws it to Rachel, who throws it back to him. He asks if he’ll regret it and Felix hugs him. Rufus Sewell’s face is priceless, but they walk out together.

Next week: A small town is struck by lightning 30 times. Felix joins Rachel and Hood in solving the crime.