The Messengers - Strange Magic - Advance Preview: "In Houston, We Got Problems"

The Messengers premiered last week to some disappointing ratings but it seems the general consensus from what I've seen is that people really enjoyed the show. A lot of people praised the dark tone and the vague mystery as a standout for the series. In my advanced preview of the pilot, I mentioned that it didn't matter if we got the answers in the pilot, because if you did, why would you come back? Though, having had the privilege of seeing more than just the pilot I knew answers were coming. The pilot ended with all of the Messengers either in Houston, or on their way there and still unaware of each other. This week, expect for the heavy hand of exposition to come crashing down in Houston as our "Angels" all converge there for various reasons.

Vera Buckley, She's an Atheist. When The Man appeared to Vera in the pilot, he came with the news that Vera's son, Michael, is alive and he knows where he is. He's agreed to tell her, if she does something for him. That something is a pillow to the face of fellow messenger in a coma, Rose. A flashback will reveal a bit more as to where Vera was when she lost her son, and what song was playing when it happened. (Hint: It shares a title with this episode.) Too bad for The Man as he will have to chalk this one up to a loss because Rose will come out of her coma this week, so his evil plan to kill her looks to be a bust.

Call it coincidence or divine intervention, but all of the messengers will end up at Houston Memorial hospital. Josh made his way there thanks to his vision,but gets sidetracked when he sees his father on TV denouncing him from the church. So, where does Josh go? The chapel of course. Raul takes a turn for the worse thanks to his gunshot and Erin drops him off at the hospital after a seeing a poster for it on the street.(This won't be the first time a character will follow the signs in the episode) Of course, turning up with a gunshot wound is going to raise questions so Raul, Erin and Amy find themselves playing hide and seek in the hospital from law enforcement and end up in the chapel. Peter simply gets dropped off at the hospital, hungry and broke, but fret not because there's a collection box in the chapel filled with money ripe for the taking. (A messenger of the Lord, stealing money from the church...)

In the chapel, information is going to be thrown at us via Rose, and Vera is kind of like the voice of the audience balking at how ridiculous all of this is. Rose has the gift of understanding, so she lays it all out; Who The Man is, that she can help Vera find her son, why they were chosen, and later what they have been chosen to do. Vera is not having any of it though and is quickly on her way to being my favorite with her lines about how insane this is. Rose tells Vera she is going to have to learn to accept her destiny and Vera then ends up paired off with Joshua on a mission of sorts that starts to set up another mystery and is meant to help her accept her fate/find her son, and everyone else tapers off to do their own thing. (I actually love that they paired Josh and Vera together, the atheist and the preacher...fantastic!) All the worries about The Man not being evil enough should be put to rest after he we watch him doing some pretty Devilishly manipulative and evil stuff.

The Man is the least of the worries the characters will face though. There is still the aftermath of everything that happened last week when our characters "died". Raul is still a framed fugitive with El Jefe after him and of course that puts his family at risk. Erin, also a fugitive, is unaware that Ronnie has had an Amber alert put out for Amy making her a kidnapper. Alice and the police are looking for Peter after her murdered Sam while Vera and Alan find themselves unemployed and shut out for answers by the military. The hour is a really good follow up for anyone who felt in the dark after the pilot. It clearly sets up that no matter where they go, these guys will not be able to run from this fate. They have a job to do(a job that has something to do with seals and horsemen but I will get too into it, gotta save something for the review), and The Man is determined to stay one step ahead of them.

Why You Should Watch: Forget the ratings. The show is heading in a really good direction and it's really fun to watch. The blend of the personal turmoil mixed with the supernatural destiny is done really well. Yes, some of the answers come out a bit clunky, but now that it is out of the way I'm sure things can only go up from here. The serious tone and the layers of new mystery help make the show an intriguing watch. It's unfortunate because it feels the network had no idea what to do with the show but Strange Magic is a pretty strong episode that has the right kind of balance. Its also makes the song Strange Magic feel really creep and sets the characters on a clear arc as far as the supernatural elements are concerned. Don't let the ratings scare you away from what is sure to be one hell of a summer.

Strange Magic airs Friday April 24th at 9pm EST on the CW.

What did you think of the pilot? What are you excited to see going forward? What is your theory about where Vera's son is? Which power that we know of us do you think is the best? Where would you have placed the show on the schedule? Sound off below

About the Author - Winston Mize

Winston is a 24 year old goofball, born in the north, and currently living in the south. He loves TV.... for some it's coffee, for him it's TV talk that gets his day going. He wants to be a screenwriter, and watches some of everything. You name it, he's probably checked it out. And he would like you to know that it is okay for a 24 year old to play with action figures... well, he does anyway

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