Proof - Showdown - Review

This episode opens up with a flashback to a fire attack on a military troop in Korean War. At first I thought I was watching a different show by mistake. Proof has only aired two episodes so far, but this didn’t seem right. I kept watching though and soon enough we were brought back to modern time. The scene was a seminar on past life regression therapy by doctor Daniel Powell and who was in the audience? Carolyn and Zed. Quickly we learn that this doctor is working on cases of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder with people that are experiencing memories or stresses from before their lifetimes. How was this possible? Well, that’s what Carolyn and Zed will get to the bottom off.

During the first interaction between Carolyn and Dr. Powell it became clear that they had a history. It was mentioned that they went to medical school together, but it was much more than that. Carolyn seemed like she was being flirty, which was unusual for her character. Their reminiscing is cut short when a fight breaks out between Daniel’s patient and another man who claimed that he was having memories of a past life. He told Zed that he had written a book about it and they (Dr. Powell and his patient) stole it. Later, this information exposes that both gentleman have been experiencing Post Traumatic Stress of the same event. They believe they know each other from the 50’s, 30 years after they were born.

Throughout the episode Carolyn and Daniel spend their time trying to figure out how two people who didn’t know each other could have the same experiences. Within that dynamic we see that Carolyn’s relationship with Daniel was meaningful, as he expresses that she was the one that got away. She clearly has feelings for him as well and the two end up sleeping together. For me, adding this new doctor wasn’t something necessary this early in the show. They have so many other storylines that could be explored, that I wasn’t overly interested, mainly because I know Daniel was only a guest star. I’m actually disappointed that most of the episode focused on the case and the relationship with him as I’ve been looking forward to learning more about Ivan Turing and Peter Van Owen. Neither of these characters were even in the episode. It’s just disappointing because they are only three episodes in and at this point I don’t believe they should be left out of the storyline.

We did get to explore more of the storyline involving Carolyn losing her son, Will, and how that’s still affecting her and her ex-husband. For a brief moment Carolyn thought she was ready to clear out her deceased son’s bedroom. Her daughter thought they could get an exchange student and that’s where they would put them. That seems a little cold of the daughter, Sophie. It seemed like she was suggesting this for her own sake, rather than trying to help her mom. In the end, Carolyn couldn’t go through with it, and her son’s room remained untouched.

One of the things I really enjoy about this show is that it’s character driven. In this episode we get to learn a little more about Zed and why he’s in Seattle. We learn that he is sacrificing a lot to become a doctor. In exchange for his opportunity to become a doctor he has made a promise to wed someone back home, someone who he is very fond of but doesn’t not love. There’s no doubt in my mind that we will be seeing more of this story unfold, as it is apparent that this promise is not one that Zed wants to keep.

In this episode, we also caught a glimpse of how Carolyn's son died. They were in a car accident where they hit from the side that Will was on. Though we weren’t told much about what happened, we did see Carolyn wake up in the hospital asking about Will and learning of his passing. In those moments we see a woman in the background with a green scarf. This woman is the same one that Carolyn has been seeing in her visions of the afterlife and also the one she sent Janel on a mission to find in her past files.

In some aspects this episode seemed like an important one to the storyline and in others it didn’t. I’m glad we are learning more about some of the characters like Zed and Carolyn but I’m disappointed that Turing and Owen were left out of this episode altogether. I’ll be looking for them in next week’s episode. What did you think about this week's episode?

About the Author - Alexandra

Alexandra (Ali) is an avid TV, film, and music fan from Canada. She attended film school and was a camera operator for a local sports show. Growing up she watched shows like Due South, Pretender, X-files, Early Edition, and Frasier. Her favourite shows are Bates Motel, The Mentalist, and The Closer. Alexandra will be reviewing Proof and Masters of Sex.

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