"My name is Stephen Jameson, and I am one of the Tomorrow People, the next step in human evolution. They call our powers the three 'T's. Telepathy, telekinesis and teleportation. There is a shadow war going on between us and Ultra, the secret organisation that hunts us. The only way to keep my species from going extinct is to find my father. And the only way to do that is by working for the enemy." The Tomorrow People begins its second episode in the style of its Wednesday night predecessor, with a voiceover. If you missed the pilot, that's basically all you need to know.
I thought the opening scene was strange. As we learnt last week, Tomorrow People cannot kill, so how is it possible that Stephen was so close to the edge of the building while still having the force thrust upon him? Obviously, as we saw later in the episode, Kurt couldn't sustain it, and John was able to save him.
The relationship between Stephen and Astrid is odd. Clearly, he wants to tell her about his powers yet knows that he can't. It's a tricky situation.
We get to see the true powers of what a trained Tomorrow Person can do. Someone fully trained can control a (rather large) person and force them to rob a bank for them. The use of these powers take some serious getting used to - it's a very strange aspect of the show.
We get backstory on John and Cara - namely that he once worked for Ultra while she left behind a sister when joining the rest of the group. Meanwhile, Stephen gets in trouble with his mom for leaving his brother on his own and having quit his medication. He sees a vision of his father leaving, claiming he didn't love his mom anymore.
There's an emotional/romantic moment between John and Cara. Considering Stephen's addition into the mix, it could make for a nasty love triangle. Since Cara contacted Stephen after he got out of the shower (that was a funny moment), they decide that they should have some boundaries.
Kurt, the man behind the bank robbery has caught the attention of Ultra, and Stephen, rather intelligently, asks to tag along with the takedown. Noticing the same kind of problems that he is having was a useful way of finding Kurt. However, he regretted it when seeing that a kill squad had been brought in to terminate Kurt.
Jedikiah's justification for attempting to murder Kurt is never going to hold up with Stephen. I don't know why he even bothers. John's refusal to help save Kurt's life brought about the same level of frustration as his uncle did. His morals could be what leave Ultra trying to kill Stephen.Chase scenes could be fun on this show, especially if they continue as Stephen's chase of Kurt's was. Teleporting from place to place could be fun.
Jedikiah's discovery and confiscation of John's Stephen's father's watch was inevitable. However, it doesn't take away from the fact that Stephen is living a dangerous double life, one that if uncovered, will result most likely in his death.
This almost happened, when Stephen entered his first debrief. Without Cara's intervention suggesting he fills his thoughts with other things, in this case his father, he would have been discovered.
However, it amazes me that even the trained telepath isn't able to spot basic facial tells. While lying about the Tomorrow People's involvement in saving Kurt, Stephen looked as if he was constipated. That's probably not the technical term, but surely that would indicate a serious attempt at lying?
One reveal was that there is people working above Jedikiah, a fact that he refuses to tell Stephen who. He does reveal that Vaughn is being put on a desk, when in fact Stephen discovers that he had been killed for his failures.I liked Stephen's questioning of Cara and John's relationship, and jokingly asked if it's "a new species of relationship" where no one uses the terms 'boyfriend' or 'girlfriend'. His sharing of the moment that his father left is a suggestion as to how much the two have connected.
Stephen vows to take care of his family, to be a better brother, son and friend. I was hoping beyond hope that he wouldn't say nephew. That would have been awful. He decided to stay one step ahead of Jedikiah, which considering his latest comment that he'll kill the Tomorrow People when they find them, could be tricky to do.
This was a good episode. These first couple of episodes are going to be setting the show, and obviously that isn't going to entertain all by itself. The small, yet connected, subplots enhance the episode, as happened here. 7/10
Promo for next week:
15 year old in England. Love Hawaii Five-0, NCIS, NCIS LA, Person of Interest, Elementary, Criminal Minds, Nikita and Arrow, and the new The Blacklist, Hostages and The Tomorrow People. I am reviewing The Blacklist, Person of Interest and The Tomorrow People for Spoiler TV. Aside from TV, a keen cricketer.
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