Unfortunately, I didn't get around to doing the review last week, for which I apologise. My resolution to get these reviews done in the New Year didn't last very long.
I'm still processing it a little, but I would honestly consider this one to be the best episode the show has aired. While I was highly confident that John wouldn't die (since he is the best part of this show), there was a moment when I genuinely thought he might die. There were some seriously high stakes throughout this episode, and it made it one hell of a ride.
Just to be complicated, we’ll start at the end. Somehow, it never crossed my mind that Luka might be a Tomorrow Person. The only time it ever did was in the Pilot where Jedikiah hinted at Luka inheriting things from Roger. Now it makes sense… sort of. I still think that while the group may be right, they could also be missing part of the puzzle. Luka was not in the room when Stephen tried to read Peter’s mind. Only Peter and Marla were. So… which of them is the Tomorrow Person? Also, Peter didn’t look at all surprised when the camera blatantly stopped in mid-air. Even if that was Luka that stopped it falling, Peter would still be surprised. I think both he and Marla are ‘homosuperiors’. Although, if Tomorrow People cannot kill humans, can they kill animals? If not, Peter can only be one if he can kill (like John and Killian). Confused?
Focussing back on Luka, it makes me wonder quite what the group are going to do. As yet there is no definitive proof that he has powers, but it seems a high possibility. Obviously, there is no way Stephen is going to let Ultra get their hands on Luka. However, I highly doubt that Stephen will want to bring his little brother into the group – considering the constant danger around every corner. It’s certainly going to be an interesting story in the next episode as to how Stephen goes about things.
The camping trip was far from smooth. While I appreciate that Stephen wanted to prove his theory that Peter was like him, I don’t particularly agree with his less than subtle methods. It’s a little difficult to explain pushing your mother’s new boyfriend (when you think your father might soon return) off a cliff. Seriously, if Peter isn’t a Tomorrow Person, he could soon be on Ultra’s radar as a human knowing about the species.
On that, we got to see more into John’s past at Ultra, particularly what happened when he went against what Jedikiah told him in ‘Kill Or Be Killed’ – not to tell any human about his powers. In parallel to what Astrid was experiencing in the present day, stand owner Tony suffered at the hands of Ultra for knowing John’s secret. This was the first real moment when John went from seeing Jedikiah as a father-like figure to beginning to see him as someone to be afraid of. 14 years later, the latter is much more accurate. I love seeing more into John’s past, particularly as it’s interesting how contrasted his feelings towards Jedikiah are in the present day to those he felt in the past.
While Stephen was preventing Peter from chopping off his family’s hands and leaving them to starve or freeze to death (the dark place), John decided to look in on Astrid at Stephen’s request. Had he listened to Cara’s suggestion that Stephen was paranoid (a common theme in this episode), Astrid would be dead. While John’s leadership was good, he seems to be making more of the right decisions now than when he was leader. Cara’s leadership qualities leave a lot to be desired, something that she needs to resolve very quickly if she is to ensure the survival of the group she now leads.
As for John and Astrid, I can definitely see a connection there. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if John had sex with Astrid to get back at Stephen for his ‘indiscretion’ with Cara back in ‘Sorry For Your Loss’ (OK, that might be a little extreme). While a lot of fans suggested a potential something between them after ‘Death’s Door’, it was made evident that it is a serious possibility. The emotional scene between the two as John appeared to be dying was fantastic. Even the moment that John realised Astrid reciprocates Stephen’s love for her was great to watch.
Would the scene have been as emotional had it been Cara instead of Astrid? I’m not sure. What I am sure of is that the relationship between the pair has been on a slippery slope since we first met them three months ago. Is Stephen the cause of that? I’d say he’s a factor, but considering the plethora of secrets kept between the two, particularly the severity of those that John has, Stephen can’t be considered the main reason. I like John and Cara’s relationship, so I am hoping that nothing more comes between them.
As for Astrid… well, she gets to see John a whole lot more. Now that she knows about Stephen, and Ultra knows about her (courtesy of a very angry Spy Kid), Stephen and co. have no choice but to keep her in the subway base. Stephen loves Astrid, and so will do whatever it takes to protect her, even if Astrid hates it. The emotional phone call with her father just put the emotional baseball right there to be smashed out of the park – which Madeleine Mantock did brilliantly. These emotional scenes are fantastic, and I can only hope for more of them.
I’m pretty sure Alexa Vega was more likable when she was in Spy Kids (and only through seeing her on this show have I realised how long ago that was!). I can understand her grudge against Stephen, but since we obviously want Stephen (and in this case Astrid too) to succeed over Ultra, her irritation with Stephen’s genetic connection to Jedikiah is annoying. It was fantastic when Jedikiah put her in her place for enjoying the death of a human. What is it with the Tomorrow People that makes them hate humans? They were humans once… or at least thought they were.
Some odds and ends:
- Stephen going to the aforementioned dark place was fantastic. “Have you seen any horror movies?”
- A very nice nod to its (short-term) timeslot predecessor’s spin-off with the reference to the Flash comic.
- Hey Russell, use private browsing every once in a while, yeah?
- “So peaceful, so perfect.” “So dead.” And Stephen had to carry the duck.
- Astrid’s bucket list was nice. John still needs one. If only one of those had been to fire a gun.
- The flashback to Roger meeting John was a nice touch. It’s sad that 9 years later, John attempts to kill him. And a nice point for him to mention Stephen. He always knew that Stephen would follow in his footsteps – even if he didn’t.
- John laughing when Stephen mentioned that he “forced his hand” was fantastic.
- As a nice little extra, this episode marked a series high in the ratings.
Next week’s is the last for a few weeks. And it looks like a very good one. Here’s the promo:
