There’s still a few of us still tuned to ‘Underground,’ WGN’s scripted drama about American slavery and the underground railroad, and it’s getting better each week.
Last week, we were left with a cliffhanger as Cato had infiltrated one of the safe houses.
[READ: Recap: Underground Season 2, Episode 8 “Auld Acquaintance” + Full Video… ]
This week’s episode is titled, ‘Citizen’ and the synopsis is as follows:
Noah struggles with his new reality; Elizabeth lets fear take control.
Recap + watch full episode below…
VIDEO: Underground Season 2, Episode 9 “Citizen”
Just when we thought Cato might be one of the good guys, it seems that he’s actually on board with Patty and her gang of slave catchers.
This week, Cato offers Patty a huge tip about Harriet Tubman, who he accidentally stumbles on while he’s snooping in the back room, but she doesn’t buy it and feels that Cato’s merely offering fake news to buy time so that he can jet off with the rest of the ‘cargo’.
But Cato is serious about his mission.
So serious that he slits his wrists to prove to Patty that he is up for the task after he over hears that Rosalee and Noah are on their way back.
[Sidebar: Oddly enough, he didn’t offer Patty that bit of information, so maybe (just maybe) Cato may be on board to doing the right thing… I wouldn’t count on it thought! But I digress.]
Meanwhile, as Cato makes it back to the save house, he offers Elizabeth a bit of advice that has her anger is fueling some dangerous activity.
Cato tells her to inhales her fear and then let it out to overwhelm enemies with the monster it created.
It makes one wonder if that same fear is what’s driving Cato to do his evil deeds!
[Fun fact:? Patty Cannon was a real life slave stealer who actually traveled with a mulatto man in her gang. Cato is clearly modeled after that particular true story. That being said, I don’t think that Cato will come back to the light anytime soon.? He’s gone!]
The other characters all embrace fear similarly but the ‘monster’ that is created by it is different.
Georgia’s fear has made her ‘pass’ as White because as she stated, being Caucasian during that time offers ?a sense of safety that transforms the spirit.?
And speaking of fear, Noah’s fear of losing his child has totally paralyzed him and he’s no longer as fearless as he once was.? He’s now resentful of Rosalee for keeping the pregnancy from him in order to save her brother, and even compares her to her slave master father!
Deep!
The ?Citizen? episode is interesting in that we get to see some of the divisions forming within camps that would broadly take sides in the oncoming Civil War.
For example, Daniel (Bokeem Woodbine), the slave who was blinded by his master after learning to read makes his way all the way across the river looking for help.
The plantation seems to be unfolding and slaves are being sold off left and right but Daniel is on a mission to save his family.? Before his sight was taken, Daniel read about a man, a cobbler like himself, who helped slaves make it to freedom and now he’s made his way to Georgia’s safe house.
It’s about time that Daniel’s path crossed those of the main characters!
What did you think of this week’s episode of Underground?