Blood Drive recap: Season 1 Episode 7, “The Gentleman’s Agreement”, Aired July 26, 2017
Forcing us back into our seats as we speed through the twisting roads that run through the Heart Corporation, Blood Drive revealed more of the deviant behavior going on behind the scenes of the mega corporation. The most dominant company in the universe is taking over the world. We all know this from the Heart logos on everything, but there is more hidden in its murky depth. The Blood Drive was created to test the blood engine — an engine that comes in a multitude of shapes and sizes, but that is only one drop of blood from the Heart Corporation. Just one drop but it is a mighty large drop. This drop needs to be fed to a global audience, so a new high priest of ceremonies becomes The Gentleman.
Enter The Gentleman
The firing of Slink left a huge question on who could fill his shoes. Having The Gentleman step in did make some sense. If there was anyone in the race that could have a chance at taking it over, it was him. Few people had the refinement required to captivate the audience; however, one does get to out-dapper the Master of the Stage.
With his initial takeover of the Blood Drive, The Gentleman shows his hand by taking out three racers right off. Sorry racers, if only we would have gotten a chance to know you. All because Grace questioned him.
Tasking the Scholar to override the box to work inside the walls was his downfall. There is only so much abuse one person can take. After all, Grace and Arthur are the ones who saved the Scholar. Having him join our dynamic duo is quite the exciting development. But, with the state of Susie leaking blood at the beginning, having him along will be a big help.
Everyone has been manipulated
The discovery that Slink manipulated everyone in the race wasn’t that huge of a shock at first. The depths that he went into moving the pieces around the board, however, was. From The Gentleman finding the business card, to having Karma committed, his hands were in everything. That is only what we know, though. Looking at Slink and his thought process, you can just imagine the time and resources used to bring all of the drivers into the race. You don’t get to be Slink’s age without showing a sign of aging without being cunning.
Since revealing to Christopher that Aki was watching what he was doing, Slink had no problem getting him to open up one little door. Hint, always check for cameras when opening a door that says, “Do not open under penalty of death.” With the Release of test subject #39462, things are falling back into line for Slink.
Open the blood gate
After crawling through the blood gate, the eight-foot ogre starts to tear people apart. The Gentleman took an exit stage right while his dinner party is disemboweled. Goodbye other racers, we barely knew you.
Arthur, Grace, and the Scholar do not fail to treat us with another blood infused fight scene with the rampaging ogre. The most they can do is slow him down until Slink arrives, just as planned, to correct the problem and take back the Blood Drive. Sadly, the Gentleman’s Mercedes is out of commission after ramming the ogre, and an innocent 1982 Chevy Citation is tossed on its roof.
Humiliation is awarded to The Gentleman with each attack upon Slink. In a last ditch attempt to regain control, the Gentleman tries to blow up all the racers but only succeeds in terminating his own racing career. Helpful hint: Do not give grief to someone who is fixing your destruction device. Gotta love the fist bump.
Of Course, Slink had a plan
Things with Christopher take an interesting turn this episode. After assisting Slink, access to channel 694 is provided. All Aki, All the Time. What he finds is rather disturbing. His old sergeant is using his autonomous kinetic intercourse machine.
It seems that Sergeant Gower is the Heart employee who was behind what happened to Christopher, and not Aki. News like this is just enough to bring out the hidden features in Christopher. The super strength that he has is tied in with the Rage meter. With the introduction of the Rage meter, you knew we had to see what happens when it is full. So much for the reoccurring role of Sargent Gower.
Feelings?
It is after the death of Gower that something strange happens. Does Christopher care for Aki? Is this Stockholm syndrome from his reconditioning, or is it something he truly feels? What about Aki as well? Like I said before, her emotions seem to poke out from her programming in times like this.
Continuity
If this was any other show, I might have an issue with it. Blood Drive is Grindhouse. It is also insanely entertaining to watch, so I am not going to harp on it… much. This week though, the leaderboard is killing me. If we look at the leaderboard from the last episode, there are some new names listed. However, Robotard 9000 is in 16th place… three nights after the last race. Okay. Got that out of my system, so let’s move on.
The Flashback
You thought the gas prices were bad? Try two value meals at Wah Wah Burgers for $46.01. What makes these burgers fresh bbq gourmet anyhow? Well, in case you missed it, there was a Kox Meat Packers logo on the window of the drive-thru. You remember those people, right? They made the great burgers at Pixie Swallows. Also, last week, there was an advertisement for them on the back of the magazine Domi was reading at the spa. If you spotted any other Kox logo’s in previous episodes, let me know.
Let’s talk about that girl that Christopher liked. She looked awfully like Karma, but it wasn’t Karma. Different actress altogether, unless they already replaced her. But then again, Karma has become the Schrodinger’s Cat character of the show. Is she alive or is she dead? The answer is clearly yes.
Road Trip
Grace mentioned the need to get to a major city if they were going to leave the Blood Drive. New York is on the other side of the SCAR, which begs the question, can the SCAR be crossed. Does this mean that the only major cities left are New York and Los Angeles now? Perhaps we will find out; maybe we won’t.
Needless to say, at the end of the episode they still have bombs in their heads, so racing is the only option. But Slink is sending them on a little detour through Red River which is by the Scar. It looks like we might get a glimpse at the thing that brought us blood engines.
What did you think of this week’s Blood Drive? Did you call the Complaint Line at 325-400-DGAF? If you didn’t, you need to. Don’t have anything negative to say, well head on over to Syfy’s Blood Drive page to listen in on some of the wonderful NSFW messages the complaint line has received.
Let me know your thoughts on the episode in the comments below. Don’t forget to check us out here for more Syfy fandom news!
Watch Blood Drive on Syfy Wednesdays at 10/9c
Featured image: David Bloomer/Syfy
