['V' - 'Laid Bare']

The writers are doing a good job this season explaining exactly why the human race isn't licking the boots of the Visitors at this point. If they tried to rape the human race by force, there would probably be mass suicides and an unacceptable loss of their potential breeding livestock.

The reasons behind this need will probably be forthcoming, but a hypothesis is that breeding among the Vs are producing undesirables (much like inbreeding among humans). Or perhaps they just find humans really sexy. The entire subplot about Tyler missing whole strands of DNA is certainly interesting. The whole "soul search" subplot is less so.

Perhaps the Visitors are searching for the soul in an effort to find and analyze the concept of love. I sincerely hope not. It would seem very trite reasoning for a race that has mastered interstellar travel.

Granted, there are religious overtones to the show (did anybody else notice the Jesus fish on the van that was abducting people?), but it feels forced and contrived. I still hold to my opinion from last week, which is that the series would have been better served if the Visitors were missionaries trying to force the Earth into believing in their god or gods.

It seems that Lisa is hitting puberty (although it's pretty obvious that Laura Vandervoort hit puberty a little while ago, but not too long). Given the discovery about Tyler's DNA, it looks like her meeting with him was set up a long time ago.

Poor Rekha Sharma. Between this and 'Battlestar Galactica,' she keeps getting typecast as the alien spy, and she always meets a gruesome end. It's interesting how only the females have fangs and tails. But since they seem to kill and eat their mates, it makes sense. Erica brought up the same point I mentioned last week about how both her partners have been Visitor sleeper agents. She must feel very special.

Our favorite priest, Father Jack Landry, is now compromised as a possible Fifth Column agent. By the end of the season, all of our cast of characters should be exposed, just to take that away from them and bring the series to the next logical step in this war. How long can they really keep this rebellion quiet, even with the knowledge that Ryan brings them? I still think there's a good chance that Chad Decker will sell them out before the season (series?) ends.

It's still uncertain exactly which side Ryan is playing on at this point, Anna or the Fifth Column. It's probably the Fifth Column, but it's tough to say. That's a good thing as it keeps people interested in the series.

This is a hypothesis: Visitor society must think Diana is dead, which is why she's being kept in the equivalent of the basement. If they knew she was alive, she might have to reclaim her position as Queen. Between this and her interest in Lisa, we've got all the makings of an inter-generational power struggle.

I also like how Lisa is now bonding with Erica, much like Tyler is bonding with Anna. It makes Erica and Anna even more of mirror opposites. The war they fight is a lot more personal than the conventional sort with guns and bombs.

I do wonder if the creators began to accelerate the story lines because they knew the series had a good chance of ending in the second season. If so, it's a shame. The best shows, and the ones that last nowadays, take audience expectations and turn them on their ear by twisting them into the unexpected. 'V' could use some of that.

'V' airs Tuesdays, 9PM ET on ABC.