And I thought last week was good. Well all I have to say is Dark Angel has somehow outstripped itself once again. Also, Zack is back and I for one was very glad to see him again. Jose Molina wrote 'Cold Comfort' and he did a pretty good job of mixing extremely emotional story with an absolutely outrageous comedy.

The episode starts with the introduction of a new Manticore escapee, Brin. She was running from Lydecker's men and has contacted Zack for help. Unfortunately, someone gets to her before Zack. After Zack loses Brin and gets annihilated by a car, he goes to Max for help. Max of course then goes to Logan, so Zack and Logan finally meet. Zack immediately distrusts Logan, but of course, I don't think Zack trusts anyone except Max and the other Manticore escapees. While at Logan's, Max decides she has to go after Brin. Logan, of course, is used to Max doing what she wants, when she wants, and he informs Zack that he couldn't stop her if he wanted to. So Max and Zack go after Lydecker together.

We get to see and learn a little more of Lydecker in this episode. His speech in front of AA was very disturbing, to me at least. He's obviously a lonely and disturbed guy, whose life revolves around Project Manticore and 'his kids'. We also learn that Lydecker wants to take Manticore to Stage 3 and he can't get the funds to do that until he captures the X5 group. What Stage 3 is exactly, we haven't learned yet. Until then though, Lydecker uses his 'kids' as assassins or whatever else the government needs. I like the way Cameron is handling the downfall of the US. It makes sense that other countries, such as Japan, India, and China, would step up as new powers, trying to take advantage of the fall of the US economy by stealing technology or buying it from formerly loyal military personal. These revelations also help us better understand the America Max lives in.

After Max and Zack interrogate Lydecker, they learn Lydecker had nothing to do with taking Brin, so they team up with Lydecker to get Brin back. They certainly don't trust Lydecker, but their alternatives were to fight their way into a military installation alone or use Lydecker to get in. Using Lydecker, in the end was probably the best option even though he betrayed them. I tend to believe that Max did expect the betrayal as she claimed. Of course using Lydecker also means that Lydecker now knows what Max and Zack look like. I'm interested in how Max's world will change because of this, if at all. I think the next episode will be addressing this issue.

In the end, Zack and Max did rescue Brin, but it turns out she was dying and the only person who could save her was Lydecker. All of the Manticore's kids genetically engineered bodies are imperfect. Both Max and Zack suffer from seizures and in time they may develop the illness that Brin has. It was very touching to see both Max and Zack struggle with the decision to let Brin return to Manticore. In the end, they both knew what they had to do. Brin wanted to live and the only way she could live was if they turned her over to Lydecker. We actually saw Zack breakdown in this episode and cry. William Gregory Lee does a superb job as Zack and I really hope he appears regularly on the show. Zack feels responsible for all the kids that escaped that night. It seems his whole life is revolved around keeping them safe. He is a soldier, but the escaped Manticore kids are his family, his brothers and sisters, and he feels it is his duty to keep them safe.

Now for the secondary plot, honestly, the first time I watched the episode, I was rather annoyed by the secondary plot. Maybe I just wanted more Zack time, but whatever the reason, the second time I watched the episode, I really enjoyed it. I think I caught more of the absurdities the second time around. The play between Herbal Though, Original Cindy, and Sketchy is great. All three of them uniting against a new owner at Jam Pony that would cause reform. I, personally, can understand why Herbal didn't want to be employee of the week. But what I can't believe is that Normal actually thought Herbal, Cindy, and Sketchy were on his side regarding the reforms and the new owner. How gullible can the guy be? Of course, Max was able to convince him she was sick with a simple cough last week. Normal being a Bush fan was pretty hilarious and he even had a picture of Bush in his apartment. Sketchy did a pretty job convincing Mr. Sivapathasindaram (what a name!!) that he was about to die. I did laugh out loud at some of Sketchy's facial expressions. All in all, the secondary storyline was nice distraction from the torment Max and Zack were going through.

Some of the highlights of the episode include the interaction between Zack and Logan. So now we know there is 'something' going on between Logan and Max. Max manipulating the guards at the military base. 'I gotta an itch. Anyone wanna scratch it?' And of course Sketchy, Herbal, and Cindy, they really know how to have some fun. More Zack next episode, I am happy to say and a kiss between Max and Logan? Can't wait to see if Dark Angel can out do itself again.