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"Homecoming" is the sixth episode of the fourth season of Sanctuary, and the fifty-second episode overall in the series.

Synopsis[]

Will Zimmerman runs into unexpected trouble, and personal revelations, on a trip to the Monrovia Sanctuary in Liberia. Meanwhile, Helen Magnus has her hands full when a couple of never-do-well flying abnormals recruit her help with a questionable scheme.

Plot[]

Cold Open[]

Near the Monrovia Sanctuary, soldiers apprehend a group of protesters in a street. Will Zimmerman is watching the election-related riots with the local head of house, Yusuf, and they discuss how Magnus' decision to go independent has changed the way they have to deal with unstable governments like that of Liberia.

Back in the Old City Sanctuary, Bigfoot and Henry Foss argue about a birthday present for Will when Helen Magnus tells them of an alarm of an incoming air attack. When they arrive on the roof, a young woman lands right before them, followed by a young man with the appearance of a stereotypical vampire, both with bat-like wings. Magnus identifies him as Bruno Delacourt, and is visibly unhappy to see him.

Act I[]

Magnus has Bruno and his wife, Sheila Delacourt, who has damaged one of her wings, come with her to the infirmary. She soon figures out that the damage to Sheila's flap was purposely inflicted, but leaves the couple alone for the time being. She then goes to see Henry, who is hiding from the new arrivals in her office. They talk about how they could be lying when suddenly an alarm goes off. Together with Bigfoot, they find Bruno locked behind Henry's hidden security door in front of the armory.

Back in Magnus' study, Bruno explains to her that a shipment of red-list abnormals is on its way into the city, and that he and Sheila wanted to grab some stunners to free the abnormals.

Bigfoot is doing a medical check-up on Sheila's wings in the infirmary. She tells them that Cecile has asked about him, and asks if he thinks he's too good for a ferrolump. Henry summons them all to see Magnus, but not before Sheila reveals that Cecile is still keeping a lock of his fur, making him quite uncomfortable.

In Monrovia, Will is driving around on his motorbike when he spots a man who seems to have trouble starting his car. He leans in to help, but is knocked out from behind by a second man. The two then take off with the car and the bike, leaving Will unconscious.

Act II[]

When Will is found by Yusuf, he is badly injured. His retinas are detached, which could result in permanent blindness. After taking Will to a safehouse, Yusuf has to leave him for a while.

Magnus and her team prepare for the rescue mission with Bruno and Sheila, but Magnus is unwilling to give the two any weapons.

Back in Monrovia, Will receives some medication, but it will take some time to get him a doctor. After taking a sedative, he dreams of himself as a boy, standing over his mother's grave a year after she died. His father is also there, but has little time for him because he has a business meeting in Houston.

Meanwhile, the Sanctuary team arrives in a dark alley, but is ambushed by several shooters. After taking them out, they investigate further, and soon find the red list shipment, which seems to have been stolen from Colombia. Bruno retrieves a small package from one of the crates, but is caught by Magnus. It turns out to be a small fortune in diamonds.

Act III[]

Bruno and Sheila explain that they need the diamonds to buy guns, and then sell the guns for a profit to buy a group of orphans out of slavery. Nobody believes their story, and Magnus has them both thrown into lockup for the time being. However, Henry soon discovers that at least the part on the weapons was true: a shipment of anti-abnormal arms prototypes is on the move, and they need Bruno and Sheila to find it.

Meanwhile, Will remembers himself and his father fighting on one of his birthdays because his father is losing money playing cards.

Bruno and Sheila go to the see their contact for the weapons deal, but the driver of the van turns out to be dead. Government soldiers arrive, shooting at the couple, but Magnus and Henry take them down with stunners. When the dust has cleared, Bruno and Sheila have taken away the suitcases from the van.

Act IV[]

While Bigfoot is worrying about the situation in Liberia, Magnus and Henry track down Bruno and Sheila, who are making up more excuses.

In Monrovia, Will wakes up from hearing sounds of violence, but is too weak to get up. He remembers more of his past, the day he discovered that his father was involved in illegal fraud. They had a big fight, and Will severed all ties over it.

Act V[]

Magnus tells Henry to take the weapons, and Bruno and Sheila try to plead with them. Mentioning how their trust has been betrayed at every turn, Magnus leaves and tells them they have no more business together. On their way down the stairs, they further discuss the situation, and Magnus is not sure everything the couple said was a lie.

Back on the roof, Bruno and Sheila are very upset about not getting the money. Bruno promises to his wife that everything will work out, and they fly off.

Will remembers meeting his father in prison after his indictment, shortly before Will was graduating from Quantico. Will wanted to help him on his case, but Jacob told him to stay out of it.

Will wakes up and is told by Yusuf that he was out for several days. It turns that his eyes are recovering. After hearing that Yusuf's family is safe with his sister, Will asks him for a telephone.

Henry finds an INTERPOL warrant for Finn Noland, a red-list supplier out of Dublin who is wanted for 'child slave trading' -- abnormal child slave trading.

In Noland's hideout in the harbor, Bruno and Sheila have already been captured by his men, and he orders them to kill the two.

Act VI[]

Bruno tries to talk Noland into selling him the orphans, but he wants five million dollars. Sheila is outraged, but before things get out of hand, Noland and his men are stunned from behind by Magnus and Henry. They free the couple and the orphan children, who turn out to be of the same species as Bruno and Sheila.

When Will is back in the Sanctuary, his eyes have fully recovered. Bigfoot leads his father into the room, who has a gotten him a birthday present: a baseball signed by Roy Halladay. Jacob only says, "look at you", and they embrace.

Cast[]

Series regulars
Guest starring
Featuring

Quotes[]

YUSUF: [Handing him medicine] Here. Morphine. Each pump is point three milligrams. Can you self medicate?
WILL: How do you think I got through college? [Using one of the pumps on himself]
YUSUF: It's good you have a sense of humor.
WILL: I'm here all week. Tip your waitress.
YUSUF: I'll be back as soon as I can. But remember, don't move.

Extras[]

  • Making-Of Featurette: "Robin Dunne Directs Homecoming"

Notes[]

  • Trivia: This is the directing debut of series regular Robin Dunne.
  • Trivia: During the filming of this episode almost exactly an entire year prior to its air date, Robin Dunne celebrated his 34th birthday on November 19th, 2010. (There is a BTS set photo of this in the Gallery below.)
  • Trivia: Amanda Tapping (Helen Magnus) previously appeared in an episode of "Stargate SG-1" (1997) with the same title: "Stargate SG-1: Homecoming" (2003).
  • Chronology: In this episode, Will Zimmerman's birthday is being celebrated though it may not be on the actual day that he was born considering Helen Magnus informed Henry Foss that he still had the rest of the day to shop as Will wouldn't be back to the Old City Sanctuary until the next day; as that was the day that they were presumably going to celebrate it, thus why Henry would need a gift by then. (Note: She did not specifically say "tomorrow is his birthday".)
    • Trivia: Will Zimmerman ends up spending two days lying on the bed in Yusuf's cousin's house. Once he returns to the Old City Sanctuary (at least two days overdue from when we was originally set to return), Helen Magnus tells Will "Happy Birthday" as she exits the room, leaving Will with his father Jacob Zimmerman whom Magnus had invited into the Sanctuary so father and son could have the opportunity to reconnect. This day still may not have been his actual birthday. It could potentially have been on the day or two prior, the day he was initially scheduled to return having been missed due to his absence, and she finally got the chance to tell him belatedly.
  • Chronology: The tombstone from Will Zimmerman's memory of visiting his mother's grave site (one year after her death) with his father when he was 9-years-old in 1986 finally reveals the name of Will's mother (Mary Anne Zimmerman), as well as the year she died (1985).
    • Trivia: Based on Will Zimmerman being 8-years-old at the time of his mother Mary Anne Zimmerman's death in 1985, it places his birth year in either 1976 or 1977 depending on when his birthday is. From this episode, it seems like Will's birthday occurs after his mother's death based on Will questioning where all of her death insurance money went when his father Jacob Zimmerman admits that he couldn't afford to buy the sports tickets Will had wanted as a present for his 10th birthday; making his year of birth 1976. (Note: Robin Dunne was born in 1976.)
  • Continuity Error: Chronology of Will Zimmerman's 35th birthday seen in present day 2011 is incorrectly timed (occurring at least three to four months early) considering placement of other episodes around it as well as factoring in all of the evidence surrounding Will's birthday which generally place it in the latter half of the year, after Helen Magnus's August 27th birthday; spanning in a range between the last days of August to at most within the month of November.
    • Throughout the series, the personal cars Will Zimmerman is seen to drive have tag registration decals that say 'AUG' (August). Whether or not it is actually tied to Will's birth month is unknown, though it still may hold the potential to be connected.[1]
    • Established many times throughout the series, Will Zimmerman is known to be a huge fan of baseball. His love for the sport is further established even more so in this episode in flashback sequences, showing large amounts of baseball paraphernalia in his childhood bedroom. During one of these flashbacks: For Will's 10th birthday, his father failed to buy him tickets to see one of Will's favorite teams who've made it to their final game of the season. This team is assumedly a professional baseball team (considering his father had mentioned getting box seats for the event next year).
      • A regular major league baseball season (currently) generally spans about twenty-six-and-a-half weeks, running from late March/early April to late September/early October, followed by the postseason which can run to early November.
      • The major league baseball season for 1986 ran from April 7th to October 27th.
      • As an adult, Will Zimmerman's favorite major league team are the Toronto Blue Jays. The Blue Jays played a doubleheader against the Milwaukee Brewers as their final two games on October 4th, 1986.
    • This episode reinforces Will Zimmerman's birthday occurring after his mother Mary Anne Zimmerman's death; who died during a camping trip. According to statistics, a common time for outdoor camping is during periods of warmer and dryer weather during summer time. The most popular time is during the months of September and October. Drawing on the environmental aesthetics of the flashback of Will and his father standing at her gravesite one year later, it falls in line with the onset of early autumnal weather during these months.
    • Considering that this episode (4x06) falls between Episode 4x04 - "Monsoon" and Episode 4x08 - "Fugue", of which information suggests that 4x04 occurred in ~May 2011 [2] and 4x08 in ~July 2011[3], that would place Will Zimmerman's 35th birthday celebration potentially in the month of ~June 2011, which is chronologically incongruent.
  • Revealing Mistake: The storage container when Will Zimmerman gets hit over the head in Liberia and the shipping container holding the red-list abnormals back near the Sanctuary in Old City have the same number: R51383.
  • Reference: "The Talking Magpies" (1946) (Short) - Henry Foss refers to Bruno Delacourt and Sheila Delacourt as 'Heckle and Jeckle'.
  • Reference: "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" (1952) (TV Series) - Bigfoot refers to Bruno Delacourt and Sheila Delacourt as 'Ozzie and Harriet'.
  • Continuity Error: Will Zimmerman is left handed due to Robin Dunne himself being left-handed. This character fact has been established since being seen in Episode 0x01 - "Webisode 1". In a flashback scene, a Young Will who has just turned age 10-years-old (it's apparently his birthday) is doing homework while sitting at his desk in his bedroom; the actor playing him is clearly right-handed.
  • Trivia: On the wall in Will Zimmerman's bedroom during the scene in which Will has returned from college to pack-up the last of the stuff he wants, is a red sports pennant for the "SANCTS" baseball team.
  • Foreshadowing: In the same college flashback, Will Zimmerman mentions that he has a scholarship to Harvard University. In Episode 4x11 - "The Depths" while stuck in the Bolivian caverns, Will realizes that Helen Magnus was the person who had funded it.
  • Trivia: At the end of the episode, Will Zimmerman called either:
  1. Helen Magnus, so she could get his father Jacob Zimmerman to the Old City Sanctuary for his birthday.
  2. His father Jacob Zimmerman, asking him to come to the Old City Sanctuary for his birthday. (For this, Will Zimmerman would have had to of notified Helen Magnus of it and she would have had to agreed to allow his father that far inside the building.)

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. Alternatively, the tag decals saying AUG may also just simply be a random placeholder design choice made by the props department.
  2. ~four months after 4x02 which occurred in ~January 2011, based on 4x13 occurring in ~January 2012 which references Sanctuary closures starting eight months prior (just after Helen Magnus met Richard Feliz in 4x04).
  3. Occurs two months after 4x04 based on a deleted scene involving Gavin Crealy and his knowledge of abnormals.
SanctuarySeason 4
● 01 Tempus ● 02 Uprising ● 03 Untouchable ● 04 Monsoon ● 05 Resistance ● 06 Homecoming ● 07 Icebreaker ● 08 Fugue ● 09 Chimera ● 10 Acolyte ● 11 The Depths ● 12 Sanctuary for None, Part I ● 13 Sanctuary for None, Part II
Story Arc   :   Mary Anne Zimmerman
● 1x01 Sanctuary for All, Part I ● 1x02 Sanctuary for All, Part II ● 1x05 Kush ● 1x10 Warriors ● 3x19 Out of the Blue ● 4x03 Untouchable ● 4x06 Homecoming ● 4x08 Fugue
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