Forever, “Fountain of Youth” was written by Janet Lin and directed by David Warren. Lin was a writer and producer on Bones, which makes her a good fit for Forever. Warren’s credits include Desperate Housewives, Devious Maids, 90210, and Weeds. As the title suggests, the murder surrounds the search for eternal youth – which juxtaposes nicely with Henry’s (Ioan Gruffudd) obsession with death. As Abe (Judd Hirsch) tells us, “Youth is wasted on the immortal.”
The episode nicely examines the question of aging from both Henry and Abe’s perspective. Growing old may bring with it wisdom, but it also brings many limitations physically. Henry yearns to experience the cycle of life, but he’s so busy trying to figure out how to die that he isn’t really living. When he asks Abe what Abe would have him do, Abe tells him “Everything!” Abe also tells Henry that while he may not be able to grow old, he can still “evolve.” And by the end of the episode, Abe does convince Henry not to spend the weekend working, but to come to the skateboarding park. Of course, it’s Abe doing the skateboarding – and really, I would have been more impressed to see Hirsch actually doing something than the silliness of having a septuagenarian jump off onto that ramp.
The episode also examines society’s need to stay forever young. The message might have been a bit heavy-handed, especially with the voice-over, but the show manages to look at the question from so many perspectives that it keeps the question interesting. When Henry saves Sasha
(Christina Bennett Lind) from jumping in front of the subway, he tells her she’s too young to die. Of course, she’s likely off to prison for some time which may put a crimp in her quality of life. And in the end, it is quality of life that the episode really examines.
Henry’s final voice over reinforces what Abe said in the beginning – youth is lost on the immortal because “time loses its meaning when you’re immortal.” The episode ends with Henry’s thought that you need to live every hour like it’s your last. Interestingly, as Abe opens Henry’s eyes to this truth, Henry tries to open Jo’s (Alana De La Garza). He tells her not to spend all her time working – that there’s someone out there for her. She reminds him that she already found that person and he’s gone – just as Henry had found his soul mate in Abigail and lost her.
Abe reveals that his sudden interest in youth is in reality due to his being worried about what will happen to Henry when Abe dies – who will look out for Henry? I absolutely love Judd Hirsch in this show! He alternates between child and adult with Henry, creating a very complex character and relationship. I found it interesting that they simply refer to each other as roommates. Clearly they can’t have Henry as the father, but I thought it interesting that at some point they didn’t shift to Abe saying he was Henry’s father. I also loved the exchange between Abe and the cop in the subway, especially the police officer telling him, “Sir. Don’t call me a moron.”
The flashback in this episode provided an interesting insight into the case but also Henry’s past. Clearly, he was a doctor at one point in the past. We see his determination to extend the life of his friend and fellow doctor James (Eric Williams Morris). Did Henry at some shift from trying to understand why he was still alive to why he couldn’t die? Was his initial impulse to use his own condition to help others live longer? Of course, becoming a coroner meant that Henry wouldn’t have to form human connections which are doomed to end – at least for him. Retreating from society is a logical way for Henry to minimize the loss he would necessarily experience. And that leads me to wonder if Henry isn’t burying himself in his work and distancing himself from Abe because he knows he will soon be losing Abe when Abe dies? In every instance in which Abe is in danger, Henry really does act like a concerned father. I half expected Henry to tell Abe that he’s wants to die when Abe does.
The case itself was interesting, but not without a number of logical holes. Why is the Eterna clinic in a clandestine back alley if the supplement has been approved by the FDA, and it has a bunch of high end clients? Possibly explained by Dr Gardner (Mather Zickel) actually being Harold Price. We see that the woman from the office is clearly affected neurologically, but Henry doesn’t every specifically go after her – though Jo does get a list of all the patients and says they will all be contacted. Mather is stabbed from behind with a disposable scalpel that goes all the way through his chest – would a scalpel be long enough to do that? Even if demand for Eterna were huge that doesn’t really explain why they had to start stealing bodies. Also, was every body they stole infected? Or was one pituitary gland enough to affect everyone? And why continue to steal bodies after killing Gardner?
In the end, what makes this show enjoyable for me isn’t the mystery – though I do hope they tighten the plots up! – what makes the show enjoyable for me is the character relationships and the way the storyline weaves the theme through. It was really nice to see Henry starting to take even more of an interest in his environment. Despite his best efforts at remaining aloof, he’s clearly failing miserably to do so. He clearly demonstrates that while he may appear to keep Lucas (Joel David Moore) at arm’s length, he’s obviously been paying attention to everything Lucas has told Henry about his life.
I did like that this episode didn’t feature Henry dying. We don’t need to be hit over the head with it. I really like the humor, such as Abe and the cop in the subway, and Henry telling Jo “Empirically-speaking, you’re quite hot!” It was interesting to see both Jo and Henry flirting to get the information they wanted in the Doctor’s office, and a nice contrast to them both going home alone to work at the end of the episode. They clearly have a good relationship – but it’s a working one. Neither is ready to let anyone else in. It is quite formulaic that the two are likely destined to be romantically paired. I’d really like to see the show resist falling into this trap. But maybe I’m in the minority there…
I think Gruffudd, Garza and Hirsch are doing a great job building and developing these characters. All three actors are well known for other parts and these characters feel fresh and new to me. Does anyone else find it curious, however that we don’t see Jo’s partner Hanson (Donnie Keshawarz) at all in this episode? I wonder if they’ve already decided he’s an unnecessary third wheel. What did you think of the episode? Am I being too picky about the procedural aspect of the show? Are you ready to ship Jenry? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
