Recap / Primeval S 2 E 7

As the team tries to escape from Leek, their "host" offers Lester an ultimatum.

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• Demoted to Dragon: Deconstructed and ultimately Defied. Helen worked for Leek throughout the series, though made clear she called the shots. Now with Leek in control, and no longer afraid of her, she instantly defects, repulsed at the idea of becoming this trope for real.
• Disappointed by the Motive: Cutter is disgusted that Leek is willing to engineer an extortion racket by threatening to unleash creatures into civilian population areas unless his demands are met, and that Helen is willing to go along with it to get resources to fund her research into the anomalies.
  Cutter: Money?! Money?! Is that what this is all about?!
  Leek: The anomalies are unstoppable now and in the future money won't mean much, but knowledge and power will, and I intend to be very, very powerful!
  Cutter: [rounds on Helen] You knew? You knew all of this and yet you still helped him?!
  Helen: [shrugs] I need the right environment to conduct my research.
• Dude, Where's My Respect?: Leek is left seething that Cutter won't give him any credit for his Evil Plan, assuming he's just Helen's lackey.
  Cutter: We're not going to die. Helen's a lot of things, but she's not a killer.
  Jenny: You really think she's in charge here?!
  Cutter: Yeah, Leek doesn't have the wit to do this on his own.
  Leek: [listening in on their conversation] He's seen what I can do and yet he still belittles me?!
  Helen: It's your own fault, Oliver. You're too good at being insignificant.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Helen, despite being willing to use Leek's ambitions to further her own ends, clearly has no patience for his overweening ambition and sadism, to the point that she tries to help Nick in slapping him down when Leek is trying to feed the rest of the team to a Smilodon.
  Nick: Stop this!
  Helen: [to Leek] Alright. You've had your nasty little joke.
• Enemy Civil War: Invoked: Stephen, Cutter and Helen activating the feeding signal to lure the animals to the main room, where they'll end up killing each other for food. They can ensure this by locking them in from the outside.
  • Spanner in the Works: Unfortunately, a raptor ends up smashing its head against the external locking controls, meaning the room can only be locked from the inside, leading to..
    • Heroic Sacrifice: Cutter decides to go back into the room, only to be punched be Stephen, who does the deed himself. He even tells Cutter "I choose this".
• For Science!: Helen's declared motivation for an alliance with Leek; she wants a secure facility where she can study and learn how to use the anomalies.
  Helen: The world changed in a new direction once before. Your friend Jenny proves that if we can control the anomalies, we can make it happen again.[…]The last time the world changed, it was an accident, but we can repeat that accident as an experiment under controlled conditions.
  Cutter: And what happens if, during this experiment, you destroy the world as we know it?
  Helen: Then we'll bring it back again.
• Hidden Depths: Jenny proves she's quite a good shot when she picks up a rifle and shoots one of Leek's mercenaries.
  Connor: Where did you learn to do that?!
  Jenny: Most of my friends liked pony club. (reloads) I prefer clay pigeons.
• Hostage Situation: With his plan thwarted, the creatures he planned to release recaptured and ARC soldiers about to storm his base of operations, Leek tries to engineer one of these to regain the upper hand over Lester.
  Leek: Have you ever seen a man torn in half on live TV, Lester?! Call off your men, or I shall order the creatures to dismantle Professor Cutter, joint by joint!
  Lester: (furious) The government does not negotiate with hostage takers!
  Leek: Thirty seconds, then they kill him! Your choice.
• Gory Discretion Shot: We never actually see Leek died, but it can be assumed that the Future Predators ate him.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: Leek is ultimately killed by his Future Predator guards after Cutter disables the machines controlling them.
• Killed Off for Real: Leek bites it, as does Stephen.
• Know When to Fold 'Em: Helen quickly decides to ditch Leek's scheme and team up with Cutter after Leek grows a backbone against her and gets too sadistic in method for her liking.
• Not Afraid of You Anymore: With Leek's plan in full motion, he quickly shoots down Helen when she tries to browbeat him yet again:
  Leek: You do not give me orders! No one does!
• Percussive Prevention: When Cutter intends to be the one to lock himself in the cage room with the creatures, just as he says goodbye to Stephen and moves to make the sacrifice, Stephen punches him in the jaw and takes his place in the brief moment that Cutter is floored.
• Praetorian Guard: It turns out that Leek is using futuristic tech Helen provided him with that lets him control Future Predators, and planned to use them to protect himself when he takes over the world. He even name-drops the trope.
• Villainous Breakdown: Leek rants hysterically at Cutter for ruining everything after he disables the Future Predators' restraining device, leaving him powerless to control them as they surround him.
• Wham Shot: After Stephen dies, Helen places an ammonite on his grave, before glancing upwards... revealing another cleaner...then another...and another...and another....and another.....