When it first came about in ‘Rumble’, I wasn’t particularly keen on the Julian story. Sure, the flashbacks were informative, giving us interesting insight into more of Cara’s past, but as the ‘villain of the week’, I didn’t feel as though it was as enjoyable as previous episodes. A group of people using the ‘prime barrier’ as a drug? Odd concept. So, when it was announced that he would be returning in this episode, I wasn’t thrilled.However, this episode was much better than I had been expecting. Julian’s team-up with Ultra lead to a much more serious threat than in his first appearance. With the assistance of an Ultra kill squad, Julian became a much bigger threat.
Of course, the tension level was heightened even more by the bomb placed in Julian’s head. Julian’s manipulation of Jedikiah’s plan by putting Stephen in the line of the explosion was also very good, and it brought out a nice new side to Jedikiah. Quite whether the concern that he expressed was due to Stephen being his nephew or the big purpose that The Founder alluded to in ‘Death’s Door’ I don’t know. Either way, Jedikiah’s concern for someone other than Morgan is nice to see.
Cara’s decision to let Julian and the Ultra kill squad burn in that room was cold. In fairness, he did deserve it, and had she let him out, they would have killed her, Stephen, John and Russell. Still, she is now technically a killer (and to those who suggest this sidestepped the ‘prime barrier’, Jedikiah was the one that actually killed him, Cara just let it happen). Something to add to the reasonably short list of things that she and John have in common.Flashbacks to her and John’s first meeting weren’t as enthralling as I’d expected. In fact, they turned out to be pretty dull. The whole idea of Cara refusing to come in with John, then getting saved and coming in with him wasn’t very interesting. I know there isn’t much more they could do with the idea of it, but perhaps they could have added more action or something.
The present day scenes between the pair brought about the final part of the full circle, backwards character development that had occurred in ‘Brother’s Keeper’. Now, all of the storylines that arose in ‘Things Fall Apart’ (and the start of ‘Brother’s Keeper’) have now gone back almost the exact same as they were. Cara and John’s relationship has been on a narrow, wobbling tightrope since Cara slept with Stephen. Two episodes after kicking him out of the lair, the two are suddenly back like nothing has happened over the past four months – or in fact the past few weeks? Development like this is the devil of TV, and I sincerely hope this is the end of it.I really don’t see the connection between the two. However, there is much more of a connection between John and Astrid (whether this is down to certain shipping groups supporting the motion, I don’t know). Like he and Cara, Astrid doesn’t have much in common with John – and she’s not even a Tomorrow Person. Be that as it may, the two have shared some very nice moments in both this episode and ‘Sitting Ducks’. A relationship between the two would pave the way for a Stephen/Cara relationship – and prevent the dreaded love triangle.
The scenes between John and Charlotte were fantastic. It’s abundantly clear that she looks up to him as a father figure, and it’s enjoyable to watch John look after her as he does. I think a lot of the connection between them is down to John’s knowledge of what can happen to kids with powers, such as himself, and so the way he is mentoring her to prevent her from suffering the same fate as he, and other children did. It’s very refreshing to see John interact with Charlotte, and I really hope we get more of those scenes throughout the remainder of the season.
Some odds and ends:
- John has clearly been taking some tricks out of ‘Arrow’s’ Stephen Amell’s playbook in ways of working out.
- Lol at Russell wanting gummy bears and beer.
- Stephen and John’s first breakfast date. And we thought that the love triangle was Stephen and John wanting Cara…
- Cara, John and Russell teleporting all about the place to outwit Julian and the kill squad was fantastic.
- The device that Stephen found at the end was weird. A little anti-climactic since there was zero explanation as to what it was.
- TIM trying to explain where John and Cara were was brilliant.
Here’s a promo for tonight’s episode. Don’t forget, The Tomorrow People airs TONIGHT at 9pm, not on Wednesday.
I initially loved the interaction between John and Astrid when John was shot. I could see why some fans wanted to ship them since Astrid seemed so torn over what was happening to John (or it just could have been concern for herself knowing that her survival was dependent on his). Regardless, she seemed quite mature and her deep concern for him seemed quite genuine. However, a couple episodes later when John tried to help her overcome her post traumatic stress, that maturity seemed gone and she seemed more like a high school girl and John the big brother/mentor for her to lean on. Personally, I wish Cara had a little more joy/fun in her personality, but I still prefer John with her. Some things shouldn't be messed with and IMO the biggest mistake they made on this series was having Cara cheat on John with Stephen the way she did, when she did.Of course, like most people I hate triangles; they're unnecessary to keep people's interest if the plot and mythology are well done and a triangle with Cara in the center is more than an unpleasant idea. I'm hoping the triangle lies low or dormant till the end of the season at least and there is more concentration on other aspects of the story.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review. As much as I hated Julian, I was sorry they brought him back just to kill him. Of course, he had to die. He was too smart to live. He figured out Stephen was a double agent almost immediately. Jedikiah is either too slow, in denial or just pretending he doesn't know about Stephen and the rest of Ultra is not much better.
Jedikiah is clearly only pretending not to be on to Stephen. He told Darcy that as early as the end of episode 2 or 3. I think that since Stephen is important to whatever master plan (as the exchange where The Founder tells Jedikiah he's only tolerating him because of his nephew suggets), Jed has to keep him around to at least watch over him even if he's fully aware that Stephen is a double agent. Of course, there's also the possibility that Jed is really on Stephen's side against Ultra/The Founder and this is all some sort of elaborate game on his part... there's still a lot we don't know about the whole Jedikiah/Founder/Roger business, the Pryce brothers' relationship, Jed's true agenda and all that.
ReplyDeleteNice review. I agree that the storytelling in terms of John and Cara's relationship is messy. They didn't really resolve any of the issues between them before getting back together, making the entire fallout rather pointless. And the issues of Cara's poor leadership, which is what drove her to kick John out, haven't been resolved either. She needs to be taken down a few pegs and realize that good leadership isn't about being a general who forces her will upon everyone else, but about inspiring others to follow her and considering other people's viewpoints in order to come up with the best strategy for everyone. I still find the age issue prickly when it comes to John/Astrid (they should at least confirme that she's turned 18) but I otherwise prefer them. Their moments together are sweet and fun. Cara's character has become like a joyless black hole of suck, which wasn't the case in the early episodes. I also agree that the John/Cara flashbacks in this episode were pointless, they didn't tell us anything about the characters or the relationship that we didn't already know.
ReplyDeleteI also love the interaction between John and Charlotte, he's protective of her like a big brother or at least a fun young uncle. John has such a huge heart, he shines in scenes with pretty much everyone. I think the show would've succeeded more if they made John the lead instead of Stephen (also I think their amounts of screen time are similar). His character is instantly lovable and connects with viewers easily. This isn't a slam on Stephen, although I don't like him much - John just has a magnetic quality that you don't see with many characters.
I liked the angle of the fanatical human-hating TP that Julian brought, but the actor was a little over the top. I liked how Cara left him to die and told him "You did this to yourself"... it gave me a chill, the good kind (not that I would've handled things any different than Cara did). I still think a Magneto-like figure could make the show more interesting. Since TTP are apparently going to step up and come out of hiding to use their powers for good - tonight's episode is even called "Superhero" - they need an enemy beside Ultra which is hunting them specifically. Militant paranormals who want to lord over humans would make sense as that enemy.
Overall, decent episode... but after the utter train wreck that was 1x14, almost anything would've been an improvement. (Even the supposedly big twist in the end could'nt have been more obviously telegraphed. It didn't surprise me at all)
"Cara's character has become like a joyless black hole of suck" - Yep. I swear I liked her at least a little bit when the show started. I just can't take too many of her scenes now. She really is bringing down the show. I would like to see more of Stephen and John working on their bro-mance.
ReplyDeleteGood review! Agree with basically all your points. It was an enjoyable episode but the ending felt a little out of place.
ReplyDeleteIt needed more explanation. It's what frustrated me about the midseason finale's ending (although I'd watched the next episode before I wrote the review so not as much of the frustration came across) since it was just left there for us to ponder for a while, when we have absolutely NO idea what the hell we're meant to think about.
ReplyDelete100% agree with everything you've said there.
ReplyDeleteGreat minds, eh? :)
ReplyDeleteI was going to say I couldn't have said it better myself, but I don't want to go dissing my own reviews ;)
ReplyDelete