Line #6 Series/Colony


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/00121.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:''Collaborate or Resist.'']]
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4	''Colony'' is a 2016 drama/science fiction television series broadcasted by Creator/USANetwork, created by Creator/CarltonCuse and Creator/RyanCondal. The show stars Creator/JoshHolloway, Creator/SarahWayneCallies, Creator/PeterJacobson and Creator/AmandaRighetti. It had an early bird preview on December 21, 2015 when the pilot episode was aired on the network's official website. Otherwise, the show officially made its premiere on January 14, 2016 with a 10 episode first season.
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6	The show takes place in a [[{{Dystopia}} dystopic future]] where the Earth is under occupation by a hostile alien force known as ''The Host/s'', which they won after they defeated all military forces in [[TheShortWar under eight hours]] in a war that is known as ''The Arrival''. All countries have been placed under occupation, being administered by officials from [[PuppetState the Colonial Transitional Authority]]. They are assisted by [[LesCollaborateurs The Proxies]] in helping the CTA govern the cities, now known as ''Blocs''. They're backed by [[StateSec highly militarized law enforcement units known as Homeland Security]] or Red Hats.
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8	The Bowmans currently live in Los Angeles, one of the many cities under CTA control. Will Bowman is an ex-US Army Ranger and an ex-FBI agent who has to make a living as a mechanic and truck driver to help his family make ends meet. Unknown to most of the public, [[LaResistance he is also an anti-occupation fighter living in the city]] alongside his wife Katie. One day, he covertly travels under cover towards Santa Monica to investigate claims that one of his sons, Charlie, may have been there after being separated during the war. After he was brought into RH/HS custody, LA governor Alan Snyder tells him [[AnOfferYouCantRefuse about an offer that he can't refuse]]. To back it up, he brings armed RH officers to their residence to prove his point. From there on, the Bowmans are conflicted about whether they should help the CTA or still continue being with the resistance.
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10	In July 2018, USA Network announced they had cancelled the series after three seasons.
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12	----
13	!!The show contains examples of:
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15	* AlienInvasion: The second season opener showed us that this was a combination variant. And that they clearly completed their [[JustForFun/HowToInvadeAnAlienPlanet required reading/homework]].
16	* AllThereInTheManual: Most of the info you need to know about the show is available on USA Network's official website.
17	* AnyoneCanDie: Long-term and otherwise significant supporting characters can be and are routinely offed with little warning or fanfare, often in brutally graphic fashion to boot.
18	* ApocalypseAnarchy: In contrast to the Hollywood bloc, which is a rigidly controlled PoliceState, the Santa Monica bloc is a lawless hellhole controlled by militia gangs who drove back the Red Hats. The San Fernando bloc is virtually empty and lawless as well. Judging by a conversation between Snyder and Helena, it's the Hollywood bloc that's the exception to the rule among all the colonies.
19	* AttackDrone: Thus far the only sign of the Hosts are their drones who enforce curfews in LA and other Blocs and keep watch during the day. In "98" they're shown as brutally efficient killing machines by gunning down the entire crowd of civilians who were looting the food truck in mere seconds.
20	* BadBoss: Dan Bennett, the new leader of Homeland Security in the second season. He makes it clear from the beginning that he only cares about looking good to his superiors, and constantly browbeats his subordinates to produce results...or else. Ironically, Jennifer [=McMahon=] was ready to turn Will and Katie in to him, but his condescension and threats convinced her to rethink her decision.
21	** Later, when Bob Burke [[spoiler: outs Will as a resistance sympathizer, Bennett's interference in the sting operation to catch the other operatives causes it to fail.]]
22	* BigBlackout: The Arrival started with an {{EMP}} attack, shutting down everything electronic, and then the drones showed up.
23	* BigBrotherIsWatching: The Bowmans' house is filled with concealed surveillance cameras in every room (including the bathroom) due to Katie's involvement with the Resistance. Additionally, the city is monitored by drones, and eventually put under even more surveillance, with hundreds of people viewing the populace.
24	* BigBrotherIsEmployingYou: Jennifer monitors the Bowman's house using hidden cameras as part of her job with Homeland Security, while "Panopticon" (itself a surveillance term) reveals hundreds of more people doing the same thing. [[spoiler: The end reveals that she is ''also'' being watched.]]
25	* BitchInSheepsClothing: Lindsay, the Bowman family's tutor and a devout member of The Greatest Day. When [[spoiler:Charlie resists her indoctrination methods, she threatens to report him and the rest of his family as 'uncooperative' to the authorities.]]
26	** Karen Brun, mother of Frankie and [[spoiler: leader of the violent and fanatical Red Hand rebel group, is willing to kill off other rebels for not going far enough in their efforts to resist.]]
27	* BlackAndGrayMorality: While the Hosts are very clearly evil, the Resistance has no qualms about using terrorism, child soldiers, or cold-blooded murder in the pursuit of their goals.
28	* BlackShirt: This was apparently the case with the future collaborators, since people in the US government had known the Hosts were on their way to Earth since 1969. However it is left unclear if most really had enthusiasm for alien conquest so much as a desire to remain in positions of power once they came.
29	* BountyHunter: Will's former partner Devin works as one in the Santa Monica bloc to make ends meet.
30	%%* CIAEvilFBIGood: {{Zigzagged}}; Will worked for the UsefulNotes/{{FBI}} Fugitive Task Force prior to the invasion and suspects his new boss Phyllis is ex-UsefulNotes/{{CIA}} based on her attitude. %%CIAEvilFBIGood is specifically about the juxtaposition of a morally good FBI organization and morally bad CIA organization.
31	* LesCollaborateurs: Known as "The Proxies", they're placed in charge of governing the occupied cities (known as ''Blocs''). Some collaborators seem to enjoy their jobs under the occupation a little ''too much''. As implied by Everett Kynes, this seems to be by design actually. The hosts preferred to put brown-nosing social climbers in high places of power.
32	* CrapsackWorld: The entire planet is under "Host/s" subjugation, the "Proxies" are running the cities and the damage done to them has not been fully repaired. And CTA-controlled law enforcement is responsible for ensuring the welfare of the "Proxies" while taking care of anyone who is a potential anti-occupation advocate/guerrilla fighter.
33	* CyanidePill: The Red Hand operative Frankie uses one to kill herself so she doesn't reveal information under torture, which Bowman interrupted, faking a seizure that made him undo her restraints.
34	* {{Cult}}: The "Greatest Day" movement, which worships the Hosts as divine messengers. Maddie's new boyfriend Nolan is a leading member [[spoiler: and she herself is later indoctrinated]].
35	* CuttingTheKnot: In the flashback to the Arrival in "Eleven Thirteen", [[spoiler:the Hosts are faced with a building filled with RetiredBadass Special Forces guys. They ColonyDrop a rock on the building.]]
36	* DisproportionateRetribution: "Gateway" reveals that the "Hosts" tend towards this. [[spoiler:Dallas was nuked after two "Hosts" were kidnapped and killed. Futhermore, when a Host is kidnapped, its compatriots start blowing up buildings to punish the colony.]]
37	** When the [[spoiler: Red Hand blows up an automated transport ship, the Raps destroy the labor camp that the cargo came from and it is implied in "Garden of Beasts" all the other labor camps serving the Los Angeles bloc.]]
38	** [[spoiler: As punishment for not rooting out the Red Hand or finding the gauntlet and Broussard, the Hosts send all CTA personnel to the Factory, along with everyone else in the Los Angeles Bloc.]]
39	* TheDitz: Katie and Will. They don't communicate effectively to coordinate and use his double-agenthood to maximum effectiveness for the Resistance. Will gets ''way'' too good at his job to be totally faking enthusiasm for the CTA's cause, and Katie makes rookie mistakes like uncovering her face during a Resistance op. This backfires on her badly when Will starts to get suspicious about the extent to which Katie is orchestrating things without his knowledge, and then later Katie's rookie face-reveal turns out to mean she is completely blown as revealed by Phyllis, a high-ranking CTA official. [[spoiler:Only Phyllis's eventual assassination saves her, but now the Resistance is gunning for her because she didn't lay the cards out with Will and get him on board before tipping them off about Snyder.]]
40	* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Lots of things pop up from our own history if you read them correctly.
41	** Seeing people trying to live normal lives while under hostile occupation is a stern reminder of how people in World War II tried to live under Axis occupation in Europe, Africa and Asia, according to the creators. The Iraq/Afghanistan wars are also used in the show in terms of showing the CTA helping the natives administer themselves eventually. The fact that a number of "natives" willing work with the invaders and collaborate also echoes German occupation/European colonization around the world.
42	** Several Redhats being burned alive and strung up in riots in the opening of "Zero Hour" is heavily reminiscent of Fallujah.
43	** The [[spoiler:utter destruction of Dallas]] is reminiscent of the total erasure of Lidice and Oradour by the Nazis in response to the capture or assassination of highly-placed officials (in Lidice's case, it was UsefulNotes/ReinhardHeydrich who was killed).
44	* DoubleStandard: The Resistance proclaims "collaboration is betrayal", but Will and Katie manage to get the Resistance to accept his existence as a double agent. [[spoiler:Also, Broussard is a Red Hat trooper with access to patrol routes and other important logistical and tactical information.]]
45	* TheDreaded: The Hosts, every sane person in the show is terrified of them. Unsurprising as they conquered the world in less than a day and are prone to DisproportionateRetribution.
46	* DrivenToSuicide: At the end of "Panopticon" [[spoiler: Jennifer]] overdoses on pills.
47	* EliteMooks: Multiple different varieties.
48	** The Red Berets, who differ from the Red Hats in that they have "SOT" patches and name tags on their uniforms rather than "LAB" ones and serial numbers, use the eponymous headgear rather than camera-equipped helmets, and don't bother hiding their faces behind balaclavas.
49	** In "Zero Day" we're introduced to gray-clad bodyguards to the Hosts.
50	** Season 2 introduces the "Blackjacks", StateSec officers who report to the global level of the Authority, and can order around the bloc-level soldiers and officers.
51	* EverybodysDeadDave: It's implied that outside of the walled-off major cities, most of the rest of the world has been 'emptied' of people.
52	** In the season 2 finale, [[spoiler: the entire population of Los Angeles, with the exception of the Bowman family, Snyder, and a small number of [=VIPs=], are being shipped off to the Factory.]]
53	* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes:
54	** Snyder is a self-serving weasel, but he loves his daughter.
55	** Detective Burke is revealed to have a family, happily singing "We'll Meet Again" with his daughter while his wife watches as they visit him in the hospital where he's recovering after Will stabbed him. He tells them they'll be going on a vacation after they're told they have to evacuate.
56	** The Red Berets are also motivated to [[spoiler: let Snyder and the Bowman family leave after they're told everyone in LA is not being relocated to another bloc but sent to the Factory and everyone who can escape should.]]
57	* EvenEvilHasStandards: Proxy Snyder, for all that he is corrupt and willing to endorse the use of torture, is the only governor who is attempting to improve the lot of residents in his bloc by slowly granting them privileges such as reopening the Yonk, or providing jobs for anyone willing to toe the Host/CTA line.
58	* FacelessMooks: The Red Hat troopers wear full tactical/SWAT gear with red helmets and face-covering balaclavas.
59	* TheFagin: Solomon, one of the Santa Monica warlords, recruits street children to be thieves for him (and doesn't take "no" for an answer).
60	* FakeDefector: In the Season 2 finale, [[spoiler: Snyder pretends to defect from the Authority and helps the Bowmans escape from LA, but is really planning on leading the Authority to the Resistance and stolen gauntlet.]]
61	* FallenStatesOfAmerica: America is one of the countries placed under CTA control. And the show takes place in LA.
62	** We learn in Season 2 that outside of the cities that have been walled off as colonies, the remaining population is scattered, and forbidden by threat of drone attack from gathering in large numbers.
63	* FascistsBedTime: Curfews are always enforced from 12 to 6 AM with orders to shoot anyone who is caught violating rules.
64	--> '''Curfew Rule #6''': Any colonist breaking curfew will be automatically subject[ed] to deadly force.
65	* FinalSolution: The colony blocs are not cities, [[spoiler:they are giant concentration camps, with the LA bloc scheduled to be emptied of people within 2 years.]] By the end of season 2, [[spoiler: the Hosts decide to move up the timetable and ship everyone off to The Factory immediately.]] The CTA even has a term for it: Total Rendition.
66	* FrameUp: In the past [=McGregor=] was framed for trying to blow the lid on the {{government conspiracy}} with the aliens. A huge amount of child porn was planted in his bunker.
67	* FunWithAcronyms: The "LAB" (Los Angeles Bloc) and "SOT" (presumably for Special Operations Team) patches on the Red Hats' and Red Berets' uniforms.
68	* GreaterScopeVillain:
69	** The unseen aliens known only as the Hosts. The only information known is that they apparently perceive time quite differently than humans do. [[spoiler:They have a humanoid shape as well, though their exact appearance is not yet revealed.]]
70	** Season 3 reveals that the Hosts have their own enemies. There is no telling whether said enemies would be any nicer to humanity.
71	* TheGreatWall: The entire colonized area of LA is enclosed by a massive wall, with other walls subdividing the city's interior into autonomous blocs.
72	* HoneyTrap: Red Hand's female operatives use seduction to make men do things they wouldn't ordinarily, such as suicide bombings.
73	* IdiotBall: Katie comes off as incredibly naive for thinking that she can make deals with the Resistance even as it becomes obvious that Will isn't nearly as valuable to them as she thinks.
74	* IHaveYourWife:
75	** If found guilty of a crime or any form of rebellion, standard operating procedure for the Authority is to ship the perpetrator and their entire family off to The Factory, assuming they don't simply shoot you on sight.
76	** In 'Taman Shud', Homeland Security [[spoiler: captures the Bowman children, and forces Will to help them arrange a sting for an out of town resistance fighter. Fortunately, Katie and Eric free the kids just before the meeting.]]
77	* ILied:
78	** Snyder goes back on his word, [[spoiler:when he has the false Geronimo executed in public to satisfy his bosses that he is effectively crushing dissent.]]
79	** Nolan insists that he'll protect Maddie from being implicated in her sister's rebel activities. [[spoiler:But when push comes to shove, he turns her in to the authorities to save himself.]]
80	* [[spoiler: InvadingRefugees]]: What it turns out [[spoiler: The Hosts are. They were driven off their homeworld by another alien race, and forced to flee to Earth. Their invasion was in fact a ''very'' one-sided defensive alliance, facilitated by the Collaborators because of the warnings of just how vicious the other alien race was.]]
81	* {{Irony}}: One of the collaborators is trying to obtain an art piece from notorious anti-authoritarian artist Ai Weiwei.
82	* ItIsBeyondSaving: [[spoiler: In the Season 2 finale, the Hosts decide it's easier to simply round up everyone in Los Angeles and ship them to The Factory than try to maintain order.]]
83	* JackBauerInterrogationTechnique: Homeland Security uses torture against captured Red Hand operatives to get information from them.
84	* KangarooCourt: Unsurprisingly, the collaborationist Colonial Transitional Authority's courts are run this way. "Geronimo" has no lawyer and was bribed to sit silently through his trial until he's found guilty and sentenced to death. [[spoiler:Then, instead of him being spared as Snyder promised, he immediately gets taken out to hang.]]
85	* KickTheDog: As revealed in "Eleven Thirteen", when Snyder was recruited on the eve of the Arrival, he went out of his way to have his daughter forcibly taken to safety with him, but his ex-wife gets left behind to (presumably) be killed.
86	* TheManBehindTheMan: After slowly crawling his way back to power through Season 2, Snyder ultimately sets himself up to be this to whoever is now Proxy of LA.
87	* TheMenInBlack: "Eleven Thirteen" reveals that one such organization was in place prior to the Arrival known as the "Institute for Global Advancement". They knew the Hosts were coming, and recruited Snyder and other future key members of the CTA in preparation for the colonization.
88	** Flashbacks in "Somewhere Over There" reveal that [[spoiler:they got their start when the Apollo 11 mission found an alien construct on the dark side of the Moon, transmitting a signal that they worked to then translate.]]
89	* MillionToOneChance: Beau (retired to Big Bear, a fairly isolated part of California) had arrived in Los Angeles to get a part for his dishwasher - on the exact day the Arrival happened.
90	* {{Mooks}}: The Red Hats.
91	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: A resistance group gets intel that a VIP is about to arrive in the Bloc so they decide to kidnap him. They use too many explosives and end up killing the VIP instead. The VIP turns out to be [[spoiler: one of the Hosts]]. This causes a major shakeup in the political structure of the Bloc, gets [[spoiler: Snyder]] arrested and could ultimately result in the entire Bloc being wiped out.
92	* NoSuchThingAsSpaceJesus: [[spoiler: Possibly subverted. The Greatest Day believers seem to think the Host/s came as Jesus, or are serving as some sort of second coming, at least according to Lindsay in "Broussard."]]
93	* OhCrap: In "Panopticon" this is Helena Goldwyn's face when the Global Authority starts discussing subjecting the entire LA colony to total rendition [[spoiler: understandable, as it means everyone, including collaborators, gets sent to the Factory]].
94	** When [[spoiler: the Rap ship is blown up, Snyder face conveys this, and it's his attitude through most of the next episode, again with good reason.]]
95	* PathOfInspiration: The Greatest Day, which worships the Hosts and encourages total obedience and compliance with their regime, in exchange for a promise of salvation. [[spoiler: Snyder admits to an imprisoned Maddie that it's all a lie.]]
96	* [[spoiler: PenalColony]][=/=]TheGulag:
97	** Anyone found guilty of crimes against the occupation are shipped off to "The Factory", which is eventually revealed to be a forced labor camp [[spoiler: on the Moon]].
98	** Season 2 shows that there are other labor camps kept outside the walls of the occupied cities, which are seen as a step below the Factory on the punishment scale.
99	* PetTheDog: Snyder shows more empathy and kindness than other CTA officials. He's permitted the LA Bloc citizens more privileges while Proxy and got Bowman a pass into the Santa Monica Bloc to find his son as a reward for his help. As a labor camp warden, he was far less harsh than the head guard, and even rescued Bram prior to the destruction of the entire place. Though still brutal at times and a traitor to the human race, he's head and shoulders better than most of the collaborators we see.
100	* PoliceBrutality: CTA-controlled interior affairs/homeland affairs/homeland security departments/ministries are used to control potential dissent against their rule. Anyone who is suspected of having anti-CTA thoughts [[{{Thoughtcrime}} is subjected to forced disappearances.]]
101	* PoliceState: RH forces conduct random (and sometimes physical) inspections, and curfews are always enforced from 12 to 6 AM with orders to shoot anyone who is caught violating rules. Massive surveillance operations are done to control the populace and slave labor policies are used for anyone caught committing crimes against the CTA.
102	* ProperlyParanoid: The day of the Arrival, Broussard hooked up with other soldiers at the VFW in light of the pre-invasion blackout. When he realized that every soldier in the city was in one place with a potential attack incoming, he got out of there... and moments later, the Hosts obliterated the building.
103	** CTA themselves are paranoid to the point of cartoonish, contrived, absurdity. Given the power of "The Hosts" it's kinda understandable that they would be breathing down everyone's necks, even other CTA members. Will even pointed out that he couldn't even get a drink of coffee without them asking questions. It's doubtful he was joking.
104	* PublicExecution: Snyder has the supposed Geronimo publicly hanged when he convicts him of terrorism.
105	* PunchClockVillain: Many members of the CTA are only working to keep their families safe and fed, including Will himself [[spoiler: for most of the series]].
106	** [[spoiler:The captain of the guard at the wall, in the Season 2 finale. He lets the Bowmans leave the bloc when Will appeals to him as a father, and warns him and the rest of the Red Hats on duty that they're being left behind to die with the rest of Los Angeles.]]
107	* PuppetState: The CTA is a puppet state for "The Hosts". And the "Proxies" don't have a problem hiding this fact.
108	* PuttingOnTheReich: The CTA flag is red with a white circle and a black logo, very reminiscent of the Nazi flag (it's also possible a darker echo of the US flag, given its symbol is a black eagle). As well, the Gestapo-like tactics of cultivating networks of informants and snitches means that the resistance members need to be very careful about who they trust; other examples include the use of propaganda extolling the virtues of joining the occupation forces, as well as the habit of proxies of the LA bloc to have their face prominently displayed on posters plastered up everywhere there is a wall. It is further {{lampshaded}} in "Geronimo" when scenes show obvious torture chambers (which the Nazis were also fond of using in the 1930s and 1940s), and Jessie Wilson calls Snyder a "Nazi collaborator asshole". This is particularly ironic given that Snyder is played by a Jewish actor.
109	* TheQuisling: Proxy Snyder opportunistically vaulted himself into a position of power in Los Angeles by agreeing to work with the CTA, and without a trace of irony repeats the party line propounded by the CTA that the "Hosts" are benevolent.
110	* ReassignedToAntarctica: After Snyder is removed as Proxy, he's put in charge of one of the labor camps outside the city.
111	* LaResistance: The CTA's administration is being hindered by anti-occupation resistance forces. LA has a number of guerrilla forces operating in secret.
112	** Season 2 introduces the Red Hand, a much more fanatical group that sees any collaboration, for any reason (even if it's to act as TheMole) as a crime worthy of death.
113	** We eventually learn there's a larger organized resistance movement operating outside the colonies.
114	* TheReveal:
115	** "In From The Cold" shows us The Factory for the first time. [[spoiler:It's based on the moon.]]
116	** "Zero Hour" Gives us our first glimpse of one of the "Hosts". [[spoiler: From the environmental suit it uses, it would ''appear'' to be humanoid.]]
117	** The second season premiere shows that many in the government knew the "Hosts" were coming and were openly preparing to allow them to take over the world and work with them rather than fight back or even warn the public. The following episode reveals via flashback that they in fact had been in contact with the Hosts since [[spoiler:finding a beacon on the Moon in 1969.]]
118	* TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized: The Resistance is shown to use quite brutal tactics in their fight against the collaborationist CTA government, and one member, Quayle, openly argues against being merciful. Later Red Hand is shown to use even more ruthless ones, attacking civilians who collaborate with the occupation and making use of suicide bombings.
119	* TheShortWar: The war between "The Hosts" and the world's militaries lasted only eight hours. The second season premiere indicates the governments already knew the invasion was coming and that fighting was futile, and were making preperations to work under the "Hosts."
120	* ShoutOut: Katie is apparently a huge fan of Creator/WilliamFaulkner, having named her bar the Yoknapatawpha (or "Yonk" for short) after the fictional county that served as a setting for most of his fictional works.
121	* SuicideAttack: Red Hand uses this against government targets, recruiting men who have nothing to lose (the one we see is already dying) using sex with a female operative as a tool. He attempts to flee when he's discovered, and the bomb then gets detonated remotely instead. Mia volunteers to blow the alien ship up later this way too.
122	* SurveillanceDrone: Robotic drones patrol the city [=24/7=].
123	* StateSec: At least in the United States, militarized Department of Homeland Security forces are known as Red Hats due to the red uniform patches, berets and helmet covers. They're armed with assault rifles and mine-proof [=APCs=].
124	** Season 2 introduces the Intelligence Directorate, or "Blackjacks", who work as enforcers of the global level of the Authority.
125	* VichyEarth: Earth, or at least the US and Europe, are under the control of "The Hosts", a mysterious alien race which uses drones and [[LesCollaborateurs Proxies]] to enforce their despotic rule. [[spoiler: It turns out their reasons are at least somewhat benevolent, for a given value; they were forced to flee their homeworld when an [[UnreliableExpositor allegedly worse]] alien race began exterminating them. They promised to defend the human race in exchange for slave labor and territory.]]
126	* VirtueIsWeakness: Quayle, the leader of a Resistance cell in LA, argues against mercy, saying the graveyards are littered with merciful men. He cites the historical example of Gallic king Vercingetorix, who waged a scorched-earth campaign against the Romans under Julius Caesar which was successful until he acceded to pleas from village elders and called it off, leading to Caesar's victory (Vercingetorix was captured, taken to Rome, then publicly strangled during a celebration of this).
127	* VoiceOfTheResistance: "Geronimo", who makes pirate radio broadcasts to the people of Los Angeles speaking against the CTA and the "Hosts".
128	* WeAreStrugglingTogether:
129	** The Resistance is not just one united group in LA. Another new one is called Red Hand. Although Broussard is also pretty ruthless himself, Red Hand goes even further, attacking civilians who show any sign at all of supporting the government and even using suicide bombings against targets. Eventually the two come into conflict, with Broussard leading an attack against them which successfully wipes Red Hand out.
130	** We learn the aliens have both hardliners and moderates also, with the former pushing for LA's rendition into the Factory.
131	** The people in charge of the Colonial Transition Authority spend more time stabbing each other in the back and jockeying for position than actually running the occupation.
132	* WhamEpisode: Right from the beginning.
133	** "Pilot" has Will receiving an offer to help the CTA, but he would only agree if the CTA helps him find info on what happened to Charlie.
134	** "Blind Spot" not only has the CTA capture "Geronimo" (though Will suspects it's not actually him), but in its final scenes [[spoiler: Will's boss Phyllis reveals she knows Katie is a spy and tries to flip her, only to be assassinated by the resistance.]]
135	** "Zero Hour" has Will revealing that he knew his wife was part of the resistance, but far more importantly, [[spoiler: we get our first glimpse of one of the "Hosts" ''after it's been killed''.]]
136	** The season one finale, "Gateway", reveals that [[spoiler:Snyder is finished as Proxy, and the Bowmans have possibly been under covert surveillance for quite some time. As well, Bram and his teacher are caught and arrested for trying to sneak out of the bloc through the underground tunnel, and we get our first glimpse as to what Bowman's son Charlie has been up to in the Santa Monica bloc.]]
137	** Season two has been revealing an unsettling degree of long-range planning on the part of the Hosts, with active collaboration by the world's governments in paving the way since the 1970s. [[spoiler:One major plank in the Hosts' program of strengthening their occupation is emptying out certain blocs, either by sending people to the Factory or labor camps. "Free Radicals" tells us the Hosts plan to empty out the LA bloc in just over two years.]]
138	** In "Free Radicals", the Red Hand manages to [[spoiler:blow up a critical shipment and cripple a Host ship.]]
139	** In "Good Intentions", it is rather abruptly revealed that the Hosts [[spoiler:have decided Warden Snyder's labor camp is more trouble than it's worth and with about a minute's warning, proceed to smash it flat.]]
140	** In "Taman Shud", the Bowmans [[spoiler:are busted by the eager-beaver Bob Burke, and Will and Katie have to move fast to secure their children and escape into the Resistance with Broussard.]]
141	** The Season 2 finale "Ronin" sees [[spoiler: the majority of LA (including Maddie) rounded up to be taken to the Factory, while Snyder helps the Bowmans escape, only for it to be revealed that he's acting to lead the Authority to the Resistance.]]
142	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: It can be reasonably surmised that [[spoiler:Katie's sister Maddie]] was [[spoiler:renditioned along with the Los Angeles colony to The Factory, and then killed when it was destroyed]]. The final fate of [[spoiler:her diabetic son Hudson]] is entirely unknown.
143	* WholeEpisodeFlashback: Until its last minutes, the second season premiere is this, showing how the invasion took place and the main characters handled the change.
144	* WilhelmScream: In "Broussard", when [[spoiler: Broussard's house explodes,]] a quiet version of the Wilhelm can be heard.
145	* WouldHitAGirl: One of the Red Hats hits Mattie across the face when she tries to leave the Greatest Day evacuees.
146	* WouldHurtAChild: When he [[spoiler: captures Will's children, Bob Burke makes it very clear he will kill them if Will doesn't cooperate with Homeland Security.]]
147	* YouHaveFailedMe: In "Gateway", [[spoiler: Snyder is removed as Proxy for failing to put down the resistance or preventing the kidnapping of the Chief Minister, and is last seen being escorted from his office by the SOT.]]
148	** In "Ronin", this is also why the Hosts decide to [[spoiler: enact Total Rendition on the LA bloc -- the local CTA efforts to provide stability have been dismal failures, so for them, it's easier to just ship everyone, Red Hats and CTA officials included (except a few [=VIPs=]), off to the Factory.]]
149	* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: [[spoiler: The loyal Red Hat troops in Los Angeles are disarmed, rounded up and shipped to the Factory with the rest of the city's population when the Hosts enact [[FinalSolution Total Rendition]].]]
150	* YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters: The CTA refers to all rebels as "terrorists". Of course, to them and their supporters the rebels are freedom fighters. While on the one hand, the Resistance can be brutal, they largely target the CTA government officials and soldiers. Red Hand, on the other hand, attacks ''anyone'' who collaborates, and even uses suicide bombings, putting them more firmly in the "terrorist" category.

Context Series / Colony