Episode 2 opens in the Underground in London. For some reason, the Tube is very hot, as evidenced by the fact that everyone is fanning themselves with newspapers. We also notice that every single person on the Tube is wearing black, which is not smart in such hot weather. One girl gets up to stand by the window and is instantly attacked by a giant spider that must have been just waiting for her. She slams the window on it, cutting its leg off, and then lets out a bloodcurdling scream, however other than one other passenger who sorta merely glances over, no one really notices. Observant lot they are.
We then head on over to the university where Connor is telling his friends Tom and Duncan about the anomalies and the Gorgonopsid but he says he can't say anything else since he's signed the Official Secrets Act. We wonder what it is that's meant to be a secret exactly, because other than the fact that the anomalies are magnetic he hasn't left much out. Tom and Duncan prove they are normal by not believing a word of it. They think it's sad that Connor is obviously going crazy but *SPOILER ALERT* they don't seem to be too distraught as they later use Connor's information to prank him.
Over in Nick's office, Nick is pouring over Helen's old work and Stephen insists it's a waste of time because if Helen had known about the anomalies, she'd have told him. We think that *SPOILER ALERT* if anyone knew that Helen liked to keep secrets from Nick, it would be Stephen, so we wonder what he's talking about. Nick doesn't tell Stephen that he saw Helen.
Back at the university we see Connor on the internet and the next thing you know he gets a bit grin on his face and goes running off to Abby's house. Abby and Rex are having a party for two as they dance to Abby's radio and Abby is dressed in only her knickers due to the fact that her house has to be kept hot for Rex. When Connor knocks on her door, she quickly shuts off the music and hides Rex in his aquarium, but fails to put any trousers on until she sees Connor's reaction to her attire. Connor hands her a paper that he's printed off the internet saying there was another weird creature sighting. He wants Abby to go looking for the anomaly with him and says he doesn't want Nick to know in case he's wrong because he doesn't want Nick to think he's an idiot. Abby reminds Connor that Nick already thinks that and thinks that they should tell Nick. Connor then discovers Rex when the lizard starts chirruping and Abby asks Connor not to tell on her for keeping him. Connor readily agrees because he has a crush on Abby, but uses the knowledge that she has Rex to convince her to come with him on the anomaly search by saying that it might be their chance to find a playmate for Rex and Abby caves.
Back at the Underground some guy is wandering through the tunnels, rambling off random numbers, and spraying something once in awhile. We assume he works there. A mouse (or maybe a rat?) runs by and gets eaten by a giant spider. I love spiders, but I do feel sorry for the cute little rodent.
At the Home Office, Claudia informs Lester that all is well. She says that Captain Ryan is mopping the Forest of Dean (now that's a big job) and that even though people are talking about the anomaly on the internet, no one really believes it, so it's all good. She says neither Ben Trent nor his teacher will tell anyone but Lester still wishes the Gorgonopsid had eaten them both just in case. Oh, wait, turns out he's kidding. Lester wants to know what Claudia thinks about Nick since he doesn't really like Nick himself. (Think back to Primary School where one friend would approach you and ask "Do you like so-and-so? 'Cuz I don't!") Claudia says he's unconventional but the closest thing to an expert they've got. Lester asks Claudia if she's taken to him and she responds she trusts him, but we think maybe it's a bit more than that seeing as she's already kissed him once. Lester agrees to keep Nick on the team.
Connor and Abby are now wandering lakeside in the New Forest. Abby is still concerned about the fact that they didn't tell anyone where they were going and Connor, being the tough, brave guy that he is now that his Episode 1 allergies have disappeared, offers to hold her hand if she's frightened. Abby refuses, as she doesn't understand how that will help. Connor scares her a bit more by bringing up the Gorgonopsid so she tells him to shut up.
Meanwhile the random underground worker is enjoying a nice scenic picnic in the rat and giant spider infested tunnel. He's not overly observant, and misses seeing the spider that's two times bigger than his head running around a foot away from him. But then, I once noticed a spider the size of my thumbnail while parking the car and got out to move the little creature so I wouldn't run over him, so maybe it's just that my spider sense is a bit more in tune than this guy and I shouldn't judge. I ask the rest of you folks, did YOU spot the giant spider that scurried past?
In his office, Nick is still going over Helen's papers when Claudia shows up at his door. She says he didn't reply to any of her messages so she persistently came in person, because usually when someone ignores your messages, it means they want to invite you over. Nick does, however, look genuinely happy to see Claudiabrown and he tells her that it's his fault Helen disappeared. He said he was supposed to be with her when she disappeared, but he wasn't because they'd had a fight. He says that Helen had predicted there were no answers for some evolutionary puzzles and he hadn't believed her before now. Claudia says he's not to blame for his death and Nick wants to know why Claudia thinks she's dead. Claudia says she was lost in the past and asks, "What else could she be?" The correct answer to this question would be 'alive', but Nick doesn't tell her that he's seen Helen the other day standing on a street corner, handing out prehistoric snails.
Meanwhile Connor and Abby have given up walking and are sitting against a tree. Abby says Connor should have brought his own tent because he won't fit in hers. She's right, hers is miniscule and you wonder how anyone other than a Barbie doll could fit in it, but at the moment it's not shown. Connor says he likes sleeping out, which is a huge change from Episode one when he said he wasn't really outdoorsy. We think perhaps he's just trying to impress the pretty lizard girl. Abby states that she's freezing cold, which is odd because a few hours ago it was boiling hot out (judging by all the people fanning themselves on the subway if you'll remember), but perhaps she's just become acclimatized to the sauna that is her flat. Connor thinks they should huddle together, but alas, Abby is having none of that either. Now, Lizard Girl is obviously really unobservant, or she just wants to rid Connor immediately of any notion that he has a chance with her, because she immediately informs him that she has a crush on Stephen and asks if Stephen's mentioned her. Connor says no, but maybe he's gay *SPOILER ALERT* He's not. But in Connor's mind it was probably the only logical conclusion as to why Stephen wouldn't fancy the gorgeous Abby. At any rate, the real reason he says it is obviously to make Abby give up on Stephen. Abby's none-to-pleased and throws some tea at a rock and storms off to her itty-bitty-tiny tent leaving Connor to keep first watch. But seeing as he doesn't have a tent he's probably going to be on last watch too. At any rate, he's not very good at it as we *SPOILER ALERT* later see him sleeping on the job.
At the university, Nick asks Claudia what the plan is and she asks, "What plan?" Nick wants to tell everyone about the anomalies, but Claudia says no and gives him a good reason why, so Nick agrees. Stephen barges in and says that Abby has texted him, telling on herself and Connor for wandering off without backup. Not that they use backup in this show …
It's the middle of the night and Connor's asleep by the tree when we hear some strange animal sounds in the bushes. Abby wakes up and dashes out of her tent, which is now grown to three or four times the size that it was earlier when it was too small for Connor to share with her, and she heroically wakes up Connor so that she can hide behind him and let him protect her. A dinosaur comes leaping out of the bushes at them, but before it can really attack, it falls over and dies, electronically. Turns out Tom and Duncan have rigged the entire thing up as a prank. A moment later a cop car pulls up and the duo run off laughing.
Meanwhile our Underground worker is still wandering in the tunnels, poor guy. Why does he have to work all day AND night? Are there not labour codes against this? I hope it pays really well. This has gotta be one of the crappiest jobs ever, just sayin'. He investigates a hole in the tunnel and gets attacked.
Back by the lake, Nick and Stephen have shown up and Nick talks to the police to get Connor and Abby out of trouble with them. He then goes over to talk to the pair and Connor immediately informs Nick that he "knows what he's going to say." Probably because he's read the show's script before, but it's possible that Connor wants us to believe he's psychic as in another episode he *SPOILER ALERT* tells another character he can read her mind. *SPOILER ALERT* He's wrong. Despite the fact that Connor already apparently knows what Nick is going to say, Nick lectures him anyway, possibly for the benefit for Abby, Stephen, and all us viewers who don't read minds. Then Nick fires Connor and in an awwww moment, Abby stands up for Connor saying it's just as much her fault. Nick says she's just as stupid as Connor (which is actually a compliment seeing as how Connor is a genius), but what Connor did was worse because he was the one who told Tom and Duncan everything. Personally, I think she should also get kudos for texting Stephen where they were and what they were doing in the first place, but I guess that counts for nothing. Anyway, Nick lets her stay on the team because he can still use her skills, even if he does think she's stupid. Connor looks all puppy dog sad and we wish that Abby would give him a big hug for us. However, we know he'll be back because even shows that write of their characters as often as *SPOILER ALERT* this one does, don't usually introduce a main character only to have them leave an episode and a half later.
We're now transported via camera magic to the hospital where Claudia and Nick are coming to visit the poor Underground worker. The Lady Doctor says that the wound the guy is suffering from makes no sense because it's an axe wound that's filled with bug venom and it's the venom that's killing him. (Should she be saying that in front of him?) Nick takes a look at the wound and even to my untrained eye it is obviously not an axe wound but a giant bug bite. Yep, a bug bite with bug venom in it. How the doctor got "axe" is beyond me, but Nick sets her straight because, being a doctor himself (or a professor, but as he tells us in a later episode the two are nearly the same thing), he is able to identify the wound much better than any real doctor can.
We return to the Home Office where Nick and Claudia have arrived and they convince a rather disgruntled James Lester to close down a section of the Underground. Then they send everyone to investigate. Captain Ryan and the SAS go down first, much to Nick's dismay because he wants to join them. Nick thinks that they don't even know what they are looking for, but as far as we're concerned, Nick doesn't either. Stephen goes against Nick by telling him the SAS can probably figure it out because there "can't be that many types of venomous predators on the Underground." Claudia responds that he should see the last Tube home on a Friday night, which is a cute and funny line but totally goes against her own argument, so meh.
The SAS look all tough and macho with their black uniforms and big guns, but at the first sign of a spider they all start screaming like a bunch of girls and run away to somewhere safe where they probably take a solemn vow promising to never mention the incident to anyone, ever, under pain of death, but due to time restraints on the show we miss seeing that scene. At any rate, they do discover one useful thing, shooting a gun underground creates sparks.
Captain Ryan tells Nick, Claudia, Stephen and Abby that there are spiders in the underground, that he feels sick, and about the sparkling gun shots from which Stephen and Nick deduct that there's another anomaly open and that it opens to the Carboniferous era. Stephen and Nick really are experts in absolutely everything. Nick says he really needs to see them for himself and Claudia says okay because when the twenty crew SAS with big guns run scared, plan B should always be to send small handful of civilian eyewitnesses, should it not?
At any rate, she sends the three of them to go get geared up. Meanwhile she gets a phone call saying that the Tunnel sprayer has died of his wounds. Me thinks they're going to have a LOT of trouble finding someone to take over his job.
Captain Ryan hands Nick a gun, but Nick hands it back and says that actually he'd prefer to use a torch. Captain Ryan says they can use Night Vision glasses to see, but Stephen says vision isn't the issue. We wonder about this because the entire reason he's going down there is to "see them for himself" and Ryan is the one who has been down there before an knows how dark it is, so probably it wouldn't have hurt to bring night vision goggles as well, but c'est la vie. Why be prepared for a job when you can go in unprepared, right? At any rate, they've all donned black coveralls now and we can only assume that this is to protect their clothing. It's the first and last time we'll see them worrying about such things, probably because they get smart enough to realise that they should be more concerned with their lives than their outfits.
Claudia then asks what Abby is doing, which is gearing up like the others, and Claudia says Abby can't go after all, even if she is Dr. Doolittle, because it's too risky. Abby claims she's just finished an insect behaviour study so Claudia consents. When everyone else leaves, Stephen asks Abby if that was true and she says, sorta, but spiders aren't her thing. That's because Abby's thing is parasites in Elephant dung. Stephen tells her not to worry because they are probably scorpions rather than spiders. Except, they're not because we've already seen them and Ryan already told him they are spiders, so we aren't sure where Stephen is getting this from.
The Stephen, Abby and Connor perform a show-offy Hero Walk and all turn their torches on at the same time making us viewers ooh and ahh over how cool they are. They are even so cool that they don't wear helmets, even though they are going into a tunnel with a billion venomous spiders on the ceiling just waiting to drop down and bite their heads. They see a spider and behave in a much braver manner than the SAS did, shining a torch in its eyes to make it scurry away. Abby requests a giant slipper.
Nick watches as more spiders scurry from his torch light and states they don't like this. Duh! Who would enjoy someone shining a torch in your eyes after you've been in the dark for an extended period of time? Stephen accidentally steps on one and it's the grossest scene until episode 4. Abby finds the new anomaly and calls Stephen and Nick over. They are totally amazed by it, despite the fact that they were expecting it, and Nick wonders what is happening to mankind. Some of the spiders start heading back home through it.
Then Abby spots a giant centipede that Nick helpfully tells them is not a spider. It's actually a good thing Abby did come on this little underground mission since so far she's the one finding everything. The centipede attacks them as Claudia radios in asking what's going on. Nick tells her that they are coming back because there is another creature.
Then Nick asks Stephen if he can see the centipede and Stephen yells NO! but the centipede (which is near as big as the Gorgonopsid I might add) is right behind him, so he finds it quickly enough. Nick distracts the centipede by whistling (do bugs really respond to this?) and orders Stephen and Abby to run away. Not only do they run, but they lock Nick in with the creature so he runs through another door and closes it behind him. Fortunately, the centipede can't get through this rather flimsy looking door so Nick is safe. Then Nick hears Helen calling him and sees her shadow as she runs away. We wonder if she realises it's not the time for Hide and Seek.
Claudia tries to radio Nick but can't get ahold of him. She's worried because she says the tunnel was blocked 30 years ago and there is no other way out. Stephen says he'll go get him, but Claudia refuses to let him go, not wanting to lose anyone else. Then she asks Stephen and Abby if they saw what kind of a creature it was. They say yes, it was a huge centipede. She says she was looking for more than that, such as preferred habitat, behaviour patterns, strengths, weaknesses, etc and we wonder how long were they actually down there that she thinks they gathered all that info? Stephen however, says that Connor might know this stuff since he's the kind of guy to have bug magnets on his fridge. Claudia says she'll get Connor back and Stephen sneaks away to go get Nick when she turns her back.
Nick, meanwhile, is still looking for Helen and it turns out she's led him to a way that loops back through to the other part of the tunnel where he could get out, even though there was no way out according to Claudia, but I guess Helen's been studying up on her subway tunnels a lot during her 8 years in the Permian.
Stephen, meanwhile, is still down below and he runs into the centipede and tries to fight it off with a flame but then the flame gets sucked through the anomaly and the centipede bites him.
Abby tries to raise Stephen on the radio and can't. Claudia overhears and comes and yells at her, even though it really wasn't her fault, but it still seems like she's more mad at Stephen and just taking it out on Abby. She sends Captain Ryan to go help. Meanwhile Connor shows up and Abby is super happy to see him again.
Helen appears beside Stephen who is dying from centipede venom and he begs her to help but she just sorta looks at him and doesn't do anything. Stephen asks why she doesn't talk and then the scene switches, but apparently she gives him a message for Nick as he relays it later. Nick has arrived as the tunnel he was shown has led him back to Stephen and Helen has disappeared again now. Nick does a better job at helping Stephen than Helen did. Stephen tells Nick that Helen wants Nick to go through the anomaly.
Is Helen Crazy? *spoiler alert* Yes. The other side of the anomaly that goes to the place with giant insects? Why would SHE go there, let alone Nick who is not so crazy.
Connor looks up the giant centipede on the computer and tells Abby and Claudia it's shy, timid and Claudia determines theirs has a personality disorder. Then Connor says it's not poisonous and Claudia concludes that's a good thing. Really? Because that would just mean that something else is down there that is poisonous, would it not? At any rate it's all moot because the centipede is poisonous as evidenced by the dying Stephen whom Nick now brings up out of the tunnel.
As Stephen is carted away to the hospital, he tells Nick to tell Claudia that Helen is alive, but Nick denies it when Claudia asks what he is saying, telling her that Stephen must be hallucinating. Claudia doesn't believe it. Then Stephen starts flirting with Abby and asks her to have dinner with him. She agrees and woah, offers to spend the night too. Isn't that moving slightly fast? Stephen decides the dating thing is so much easier when one is dying and Abby says he's not dying, but he sorta is. Then Abby sneaks onto the ambulance and goes with him to the hospital.
Abby tries to convince the doctor that the wound is a centipede bite and the doctor is a bit sceptical because people don't die of centipede bites. Ha! They do if they are giant, venomous centipedes with personality disorders! Shows how much that doctor knows. She says that Stephen's only chance is if they can collect a sample of the centipede's venom to make an anti-venom from it. Abby delivers this news and Nick tells Claudia he's gonna go coax the centipede to bite him.
Then he radios Ryan and tells him not to let the centipede go through the anomaly. Ryan has actually become much braver and is underground again with the spiders, sending them all home through the anomaly and not panicking.
They all go underground again, Claudia included this time, and Ryan says the centipede hasn't gone through, or if it has, it was before his watch. They search for the centipede but can't find it. Nick is upset as he thinks that Stephen wouldn't have gotten bitten if he hadn't been searching for Nick. Claudia says it wasn't his fault, which is true. Then suddenly Connor remembers that centipedes are burrowers so they search for a hole. Turns out this centipede has burrowed a hole through fifty feet of concrete with its TEETH. Yep, so it's amazing that it couldn't get through that little door Nick hid behind earlier…
Nick says he's going through the hole and Connor wants to come with him. Then Connor tells Abby that if he dies she can have his Star Trek Next Generation Top Trumps, whatever those are, and Abby says she'll treasure them, but then Connor rethinks it and says maybe she should bury them with him actually because apparently he'd have preferred it if she junked them?
Nick, Connor and Captain Ryan climb through a big hole and then up a big flight of stairs and find the centipede. They get it to bite Nick and then attack it, Connor with a footstool and Ryan with a gun . They are losing the fight badly until the centipede suddenly commits suicide by attacking an electrical panel. Turns out Nick had a little ziplock bag taped to his arm to fill with the venom and that's why he's not hurt. If it were me, I would've been using a much, much larger bag. And if anyone is looking for armour, sandwich bags work well. They bring the venom back to the hospital where we presume Stephen will be cured.
Abby and Connor watch Stephen sleep and Connor asks Abby if she really likes him. She says she doesn't know him, and Connor replies that it doesn't matter if you know them or not and that himself he used to fancy Buffy the Vampire Slayer. If he's wanting to win Abby over to himself, this probably isn't helping. Stephen wakes up and Connor runs to tell the doctor.
What appears to be much later on, Stephen is up reading and Claudia comes to check on him. Claudia asks him to tell her about Helen and Stephen is confused and says he doesn't remember anything and says he was probably just saying things. Abby overhears and asks if he remembers anything he said, obviously hoping he meant it when he was flirting with her, but Stephen has no memory whatsoever. He thanks Abby for looking after him.
Nick is back at the anomaly, wondering where Helen is but not going through because he's not crazy. Connor shows up and asks if he can have his job back and Nick agrees. Then Connor asks for a cool nickname but Nick refuses to give him one. Can we? Suggestions being taken for Connor's cool nickname now.
