Stephen continues to work to bring peace between Ultra and the Tomorrow People, Jedikiah is still on the run, someone big begins their return, and a secret is revealed....
First, I have to say that this episode definitely felt like a set-up episode. Not a whole lot happened, but you can tell that they are gearing up for the final run of episodes. Since we are nearing the end of the first season, I wanted to point out a few things that I think could definitely make this show better.
[1] Use other people in Stephen's life more- Stephen's mom, Luca, and Astrid all have the potential to be really interesting characters, but none of them are really well defined. His mom comes the closest to being well defined and Astrid is getting used a little more, but Luca is little more than a plot device brought out at various times. This is actually a beef I have with The Vampire Diaries as well. While both shows do a good job defining the central characters, there are other characters who are not defined well or are criminally underused (I would put Russell in the latter category). I would love to see Stephen's life outside of the Tomorrow People and Ultra. Which brings us to the next point....
[2] Slow things down a little- This is the biggest beef I have with most shows nowadays (shows like Scandal and The Vampire Diaries being prime examples). Everyone seems to want everything to move at such an accelerated clip that you really can't savor much. While it can be nice, it is also sort of annoying. I loved it when shows would draw out a storyline for more than just one or two episodes. I am not saying move at a glacial pace, but don't constantly be moving at such a fast pace. It makes it harder to care about characters and stories when you know that they will come and go in the blink of an eye.
[3] Be sure to explore the background of powers- Assuming the show is picked up for a second season, I think they really need to explore where the powers came from. I don't think we need a complete explanation, but some exploration of the topic would be cool. Why now? Did the powers develop naturally or are they a reaction to some outside event or pressure?
The first two are my major issues. The third is more of a wish on my part. Don't get me wrong, I do love this show. I think the storylines are great, the characters are cool, and the central story well defined. There are characters I wish had stuck around a bit longer or stories that should have lasted longer, but for the most part this is one of my favorite shows.
Now, onto the review.
Stephen appears to have been completely snookered by The Founder and Hillary. I will say appears to be because it is possible that he is aware of what is going on, although I highly doubt it. He has been so focused on brokering peace and getting Roger back that he doesn't really seem to notice much else. I was glad that he was aware enough of what The Founder was like that he is wary of him, but there are other things that Stephen wants more. And Hillary seems to be doing everything in her power to wrap Stephen around her finger. There was a look on her face at the end which suggested to me that she may not be working with The Founder as much as he thinks she is, but I am not entirely sure.
While I stand by my prior critiques of Cara, she seems to be continuing to get better. She knows that something is up with Hillary, but she does seem to be somewhat blinded by her feelings for Stephen as demonstrated by how easily Hillary was able to sidetrack Cara's attempt to read her mind. Cara was also the only one to provide a note of caution when Russell came back from his meeting with The Founder.
Stephen's mom now knows that Roger is still around. I was impressed with how well she was able to handle the news and get working on him to ensure that he was able to come back. I also loved the fact that she put Jedikiah in his place with a not too evil comment about his lack of surgical experience. She managed to do impressive work. I do wonder how she will react when (presumably) Roger actually wakes up. He's been gone for so long that I wonder if reintegrating him back into her life will be viable. I would not be terribly surprised if Roger stayed with the Tomorrow People to help them.
Unfortunately, The Founder also knows that Roger is back. In fact, if I am not mistaken, he seems to have known all along and was guiding Stephen to make sure that he would do what he had to in order to bring Roger back. I almost have to wonder if Jedikiah is actually working with The Founder and is playing Stephen and the Tomorrow People for all they are worth. That does seem unlikely, but it is a possibility. I was suspicious of The Founder when I saw that he was willing to throw away the truce because of what John did. If he had merely said that John would be punished, it would not have been as bad, but to throw away the truce over such a flimsy pretext is something that shows that it was never anything serious in the first place.
By bringing Roger back, Stephen has definitely displayed a tremendous amount of strength, He can use two abilities at once and can even manage a third with considerable difficulty. If his mom and dad continue to work with him, he may very easily surpass them both as the premier Tomorrow Person. Unfortunately, it appears that his trusting nature is going to get the whole lot of them in tremendous trouble.
Watching the "summit" between Russell and The Founder was quite funny. The Founder is so smooth and polished and Russell is so not smooth or polished. There was such a contrast between the two of them and it was tremendously entertaining.
Until next week!
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