V Episode 2.03 Laid Bear

When we last left Agent Erica Evans, she was hanging upside down in a wrecked car with an angry V staring her down. She's able to free herself only to receive a serious smackdown from Malik, who is now bearing her ugly, razor-sharp teeth. Fortunately, Erica is able to ram her ex-partner's lizard-like head into a tree.

Anna orders Ryan to find Malik. No problem. He already knows where his Fifth Column friends are keeping her. Ryan chops off one of Malik's fingers. He needs the print to access a hidden compartment in her apartment where they snag some hidden goodies. Ryan then creates an explosion to throw off the V trackers who are following her scent. BOOM!

Malik has a file filled with people who have disappeared. Anna's currently snatching up even more folks because Joshua has developed a machine to extract the human soul. He needs test subjects to see if the thing works. No one will survive the experiment. Erica and the team realize that a runaway named Sophie Allen is next on Anna's abduction list. They need to get to her first.

The only person who knows Sophie's whereabouts is Malik. Ryan says the only way they'll ever get her to talk is to skin her. So, Erica gives the order to do just that. It's a harsh, agonizing, torturous procedure. Malik won't crack until Ryan cuts off her tail. She tells them where to find Sophie, but claims to know nothing about Anna's plans for Tyler, who apparently has gobs of empty space in his DNA. A short time later, Malik is dead.

Erica, Ryan and Hobbes track down a Visitor as he's attempting to abduct Sophie, but he swallows an immolation pill before they can capture him. Sophie is safe, but hundreds of other missing people have been loaded onto a V shuttle that disappears into the night. There's nothing Erica and the others can do for them now. The one saving grace is the fact that they are able to reunite Sophie with her worried mother.

Teen acne has always been a problem for kids, but Lisa's skin issues take things to a whole new level. Anna explains that the green, scaly movement she's experiencing over her body is her breeding skin. Diana warns Anna that Lisa may betray her someday. It's the voice of experience talking. Anna believes she sees signs of Lisa feeling human emotion as they watch Joshua do a little soul-sucking. She orders her daughter to take over the testing. Lisa is able to effectively hide her emotions while doling out the punishing procedure.

Tyler fingers Father Jack as a possible Fifth Column member, so Anna orders Chad Decker to interview him. Both Jack and Chad know Anna has something up her sleeve, but they decide to do the spot anyway. Before the interview airs, a fight breaks out during one of Jack's services. The instigator is a Visitor in disguise and the entire scene is caught on video. Anna uses the footage to contradict Father Jack's claim during Chad's interview that he's not a proponent of violence.

The video of the church fight goes viral. Jack knows his reputation will take a hit, but chooses to keep the faith and continue to fight the good fight. He also realizes it's time to introduce Chad Decker to the rest of his Fifth Column team. Erica shows their newest ally Malik's skinned body. Chad now knows what the Visitors truly are. He assures them that he's ready to fight the good fight, too.

The notion of who is fighting for the Resistance and who is with the Visitors has become blurred. Tyler is the one who videoed the fight at Father Jack's church upon Anna's instructions. Lisa, though she continues to perform her mother's diabolical duties, realizes the only person she can truly trust is Erica. Ryan longs to get his daughter back. The only way he can do that is to give Anna what she wants. So, he approaches her and says, "I found the Fifth Column." Uh oh.