“Yoknapatawpha” is episode six of season one of Colony.
In the previous episode, “Geronimo”, Snyder made a deal with the actor who was playing the role of Geronimo for the latter to pretend to truly be that individual in return for his life. Of course, Snyder lied, and the fake execution was a real one.
The episode opens with a woman Snyder had spoken to, Helena, exercising as the news of the execution is on. She gets a call and a one-sided conversation follows. Of course she’s watching; it’s Snyder’s block and decision to make. His counterinsurgency force has been effective even with the loss of its head. They selected Snyder for a reason, so let it play out. Either he will get it under control or he will provide the justification to make changes. She knows they need to be ready. Without the other side of the conversation, that’s all a little vague. Helena herself is in another block, one with a beach.
Snyder had asked Will to ride with him after the execution and the convoy is setting off. Quayle’s people had also been setting off. Will isn’t that impressed with Snyder’s decision to string up a radio announcer. He says that no-one outside the inner circle knowns that. Besides, the man supported a violent terrorist movement. Snyder believes that when people see the consequences of supporting the Resistance, they will think twice before doing so. And he’s bought time for Will to find the real terrorists. Will is less convinced and hopes Snyder is right.
Broussard is one of the Redhats in one of the other vehicles and, when the two in the front put on a CD, he takes out a pair of ear plugs. There’s a sign that the road ahead is closed and the convoy is diverted. That just screams ‘trap!’ Brossard shoots his driver and the vehicle stops. Snyder and Will’s was the one behind and it crashes into it. Broussard then shoots the other two Redhats. The ear plugs weren’t for the music; they were for shooting a gun in a confined space.
Snyder’s driver is unconscious and Katie is outside timing; the purpose of the food truck hijack in “98 Seconds” was to let them know how long they’d have. An armoured-up car knocks Snyder’s out of the convoy and more Redhats get out. They use paint guns to blind those inside by shooting the windows. The car is used to rip off the rear door of Snyder’s vehicle, but Will shoots those he sees. He takes the driver’s place and pushes him out of the car. Broussard has a chance to shoot him, but doesn’t. The Resistance is up to 90 seconds now and Will drives the car away.
Will dumps the car and they are now on foot. Snyder is panicking. He’s rather less self-assured without battalions of armed men surrounding him. He thinks they should be in the car. Will asks him if he was in the military or law enforcement. No. There are people coming after Snyder to torture and kill him; does he want to stay alive? That’s a yes. Today, Will doesn’t work for Snyder, then; Snyder works for him.
Katie has headed to the Yonk to change and get rid of her gun. She picks up her secured phone when she hears a noise. Will and Snyder are outside. She asks what happened – of course, she already knows. Snyder thinks it’s a coup, else why have all his red-headed friends turned on him. Will does not; he thinks the Resistance are inside Homeland Security. Snyder can’t call the drones and he doesn’t want any more Redhats. They can’t trust them or the task force. They need to wait it out as those loyal to Snyder will be hitting the streets. Will points out that others will be looking for him as well and it’s only a matter of time before they arrive. He wants to call Beau; Snyder wants Lagarza.
Katie says there’s a phone ion her office, but this was more to get a chance to talk to Will in private, because it doesn’t work. She wants to know why Will is risking his life for that man. Will couldn’t leave him in the street to die. He also doesn’t want Katie caught up in this. Will, who was injured in the attack, heads out to find a payphone.
At the Resistance’s garage, some are injured and one is dead. Quayle asks what went wrong and Broussard tells him that Will was in the car. Snyder managed to get away. The man from the street works that diverted the convoy shows up; it’s important. Katie is on the phone; she knows where Snyder is. Katie doublechecks on their arrangement regarding Will, then tells them that Snyder is at the Yonk.
With Will looking for a phone, Katie gets a chance to talk to Snyder. He explains that he used to be the provost at Stanford and they needed someone to form a new type of government and restore quickly and peacefully. No, he didn’t know about their hosts until after the Arrival. She asks about public officials with more experience; are they dead? Snyder doesn’t know, but his PhD in Economics and experience handling a $5.1 billion budget meant he fit their administrative needs. He was relocated and knows of seven colonies on the Pacific coast. Other than that, Snyder doesn’t have a clue. The land between the colonies, according to Snyder, is somewhere you don’t want to be. He doesn’t get a chance to explain why, as Will returns, early. Lagarza is 21 minutes out.
Most of the episode is spent in the Yonk, to which the Resistance is also heading. Which puts Katie in an awkward position which is going to cause problems for her in the future. Will is in favour of keeping Snyder alive because he’s the devil they know; a replacement could easily be worse. Snyder explains that the aliens knew everything about Earth before they landed; they had all their databases. He also brings up Charlie.