Tales From The Borderlands - Escape From Plan Bravo - 60 Second Maxi-Geek Review
Here we are, the second to last episode from the Tales from the Borderlands and while it feels shorter than the others, it does provide a lot more context for a lot of the characters and helps set up a grand final episode.
Again, we pick the story up with Rhys and Fiona walking through the desert, being forced forward by their captor, with still no identity to who it might be. There is a moment when Rhys deems there to be a chance to make a run for it, right after which a storm hits, causing them all to run for cover, where in they are bound again, the little goodwill they had received from their mysterious captor gone. Fiona then takes us back to the ending of the last episode where Athena had been captured, Fiona herself was trapped under a rocket launcher and everyone else was unable to do much, Vallory proposes a plan that would result with the release of everyone and thinks it’s the best chance at everyone getting what they want.
Of course you have the power to choose and if you decide you don’t want to help Vallory out, then someone will pay a price, I did not see that coming, what did happen was hard to watch, but eventually you or Rhys will agree to the proposed offer, even if the gun to their heads was not the best incentive. It is at this point we learn that the next piece of Gortys is actually located on Helios, the Hyperion moon base, located in outer space, which means they need to get there, get inside and get the next piece all the while trying to figure a way out from the predicament they have landed themselves in. The plan that is decided upon is quite risky, but also offers up the most interesting developments for the world of Pandora as well as the members of the team.
The interaction with the world is again very minimal, but there are some times when Rhys gets a chance to really use his optical eye for more than a few seconds, the reason why he needs to wont be spoiled here, but it is an interesting moment to say the least. Of course, while Rhys is out doing his part, Fiona will need to get the rocket ship so they can actually get to Helios, which of course means that a visit to the best and probably only mechanic on Pandora is needed, Scooter and his Catch-A-Ride system. They made an appearance early on in the series, but that was then and now he needs to build a rocket ship, which he claims he is not the best at, that falls to Janey Springs the partner of the defeated gladiator Athena, which makes things awkward when Fiona is given the choice as to what to say about why Athena is missing.
From here the journey to space really takes hold and we are treated to a nice sequence that might take just a little inspiration from a movie or two, but while I laughed out loud at once nice moment, the events that occur in space will leave you asking why, let’s just say Henderson floating outside Helios in the first episode was not his last appearance. Upon arriving on Helios the group of adventures are changed, but there is still a task to do, but here is where things started to fall apart for me story wise. We all know Hyperion to be a bunch of power hungry people, but there is one character that we interact with that I had no belief in, not only was there never a sign of their loyalty ever being tested, but I also found the reasons to be strange. Of course, as you move around Helios there are loads of strange things to be found, but the more I thought about this character swap the more I thought there was no need. The rest of the game really will play out based on the choices you make here in the end of this chapter of the story, which means you might need to think a little harder.
While there were some really funny moments, some really sad ones and some just out their moments, the penultimate episode of the Tales from the Borderlands series really does not do a lot on its own, but it helps shape the events yet to come.
Luke Henderson
