When the aliens of V arrive at Earth they do so with enough technological superiority to rule over us immediately, if they wanted to. The fact that the V’s don’t simply demand we turn over the keys to the planet means they have a far more sinister end game in mind for the human race than just a simple Earth-Jacking. Where the aliens come from and what they want are the big mysteries of V, and in the revival the mystery is far deeper than the 80’s version.
In the original, the V’s were led by John and his deputy Diana – charismatic leaders much like Anna of the current rendition. The V’s showed up offering to share their technology, and the human race quickly became willing – yet unknowing – slaves to the V master plan: to steal the Earth’s water and package the human race as food.
The leader of the contemporary V’s is named Anna, and is portrayed artfully by actress Morena Baccarin. Anna has the charisma thing down solid, but her PR machine is far more fine-tuned than that of the 80’s V. Anna is not only a feared and respected leader amongst her ‘people’, but also a skilled politician who knows her way into the hearts and minds of mankind.
The present day version of the V’s are taking a little longer getting around to revealing their ideal destiny for humankind. Since it would be a little passé to simply transfer such a major plot element beat for beat, it’s unlikely these V’s simply want a glass of water and a humansicle.
One of the most intriguing elements of the original V was the face behind the face. The V’s were essentially humanoid reptiles wearing human costumes. In the new V, the ‘costume’ seems more of a symbiotic part of their being, which becomes clear when Anna passes the punishment of ‘skinning’ a V for being a dissident. In the original V, the human skin came off easy – and often. In the contemporary V, we’ve yet to see more than a few peeks at the scaly side of things.
In both cases the origin of the V’s is part of the mystery. They pose as ambassadors, but there is a sense that things may not be going so well for them back home. One might even use the term ‘desperation’ to describe the importance of their plot to dominate mankind. Without question, Morena Baccarin’s Anna can definitely bring the evil – but there is a wider sense that failure is not an option. All of this begs the question: are the V’s latently evil, or victims of circumstance?
