GENERATOR REX “Written In Sand” Review

GENERATOR REX “Written In Sand” Episode 33 – This is more like it! While I actually enjoyed the last few episodes of Generator Rex, it was about time we got to some serious plot development. Tonight’s episode was a spark that set the story in motion once again.

Rex and Van Kleiss forming a temporary truce to survive the nanite draining cavern was a set up that’s been done in a number of other series, but it’s always cool to see the primary protagonist and the main antagonist team up to fight a common enemy. In this situation, they’re like the ultimate odd couple, with Rex and Van Kleiss bickering practically the entire time they were together, yet somehow seeming to get along. The Generator Rex sense of humor that I like so much totally worked here and there were a ton of great moments from their conversations and physical gags that made me laugh out loud.

What really made this episode great though, was what it did for the overall Generator Rex plot. Because we know Van Kleiss as a villain, it’s difficult to tell if he’s lying or just misrepresenting a distorted version of the truth when it comes to Rex and his past. He flat out tells Rex not to trust Caesar, but this advice is coming from a guy we already know we can’t trust. On the other hand, Caesar is new and just suddenly dropped back into Rex’s life. Once that seed of doubt has been planted, it’s difficult to just ignore it.

Personally, I think Van Kleiss is being manipulative and trying to turn Rex against the memory of his family and against Caesar. I think it’s entirely possible that Caesar was responsible for the nanite event, but I don’t think it would have been something he did intentionally or with malice. The scene where Caesar is told that they still haven’t found Rex and he casually reacts, explaining that he’d already done 500 things since they first told him, actually reinforces that idea for me. To me, Caesar seemed calm because one of the first things he did was figure out a way to find Rex. There wasn’t a threat because he assumed the others had already figured it out. I’d attribute it to his social ineptitude more than anything else.

I’d like to hope that Caesar didn’t intentionally wipe the memory of ZAG-RS, or that if he did, it was to keep Rex safe. I really like Caesar and I agree with Van Kleiss when he says that something is off about him, but I think it’s more likely that Caesar is an oblivious weirdo than he is an evil genius. It appears that part of the reason why Van Kleiss was interested in keeping Rex alive has something to do with the Omega Nanite that Caesar had talked about and used to locate Rex in the first place. Because of Van Kleiss’ history before Caesar came on the scene, I get the feeling it would be to Van Kleiss’ advantage to draw Rex away from the only other person around who knows what the Omega Nanite is capable of.

I can’t wait until the next episode of Generator Rex and I hope it continues to develop like this. I’m sure as I re-watch the episode later and reconsider my theories, I’ll probably change my mind a million times about whom I should trust. Right now I’m placing all my hope in Caesar and I’d be so shocked if he turned out to be a villain. I’d love to hear your ideas, Van Kleiss? Caesar? Who is telling the truth?