Forever, “The Ecstasy of Agony,” was written by Allen MacDonald and directed by Brad Anderson, who also directed the “Pilot.” MacDonald has written for CSI and Body of Proof, and it’s nice to see Matt Miller bringing in writers with experience in weaving a good forensic mystery. This week’s episode focuses on that fine line between pleasure and pain that makes us all feel alive. One of the biggest drawbacks to being immortal is having to watch all of your loved ones die, so it’s clear that Henry’s (Ioan Gruffudd) aloofness is a defense mechanism to protect himself from that kind of pain, but this episode satisfyingly sees him cross that line.
We already know what keeps Jo (Alana De La Garza) aloof – the death of her husband, and we think we know everything that is keeping Henry aloof – the death of Abigail (Mackenzie Mauzy). However, we learn in this episode that Henry was married the first time he died. I thought it was interesting that this episode didn’t start with the voiceover that we’ve become accustomed to. I hope they haven’t decided to ditch it as it is very helpful for new viewers. Regardless, we do get enough to fill in the blanks in this episode as it unfolds. Henry’s first wife, Nora (Victoria Haynes), thinks he’s insane when he tells her he’s immortal and then tries to kill himself to prove it. Can’t blame her really. And she has him committed to Bedlam – the infamous insane asylum in London. It rather explains why Henry has a problem with being tied up and full disclosure.
Gruffudd does a wonderful job in this episode. We see him playing a much younger version of Henry. And we see him finally give in to being alive again at the end of the episode – it’s been a slow transition over these first episodes. I hope we start to see a similar shift in Jo soon. I thought there was real chemistry between Gruffudd and Hilary Burton who played Iona Payne, the dominatrix. What a great part, and Burton did a great job playing both the therapist and the dominatrix. I loved the scene in which Jo is interrogating Iona and Iona tells them why they got the autopsy wrong. Gruffudd’s reactions are priceless and he goes from disgruntled to grudging admiration – she definitely has his attention! She is equally intrigued by how closed off and tightly controlled Henry is, and shares his attraction to intelligence.
This episode is really well structured. The opening scene shows Henry industriously trying to stay busy on his night in – dusting, eating alone, playing with test tubes – because he’s clearly bored. Enter Abe (Judd Hirsch), slightly drunk, reeking of sex, and clearly happy and satisfied. One of these characters may have eternal life, but only one of them is actually living. I loved the chemistry between Hirsch and guest star Jane Seymour as Maureen Delacroix, Abe’s ex-wife x2! We learn that Henry has never met her – and doesn’t meet Abe’s friends because how would they explain Henry not aging? Abe thinks it’s time that Henry meets Maureen because it’s not going to matter if Henry doesn’t age because Abe won’t live long enough for it to become a problem. This was a fantastic scene as Henry become very uncomfortable and doesn’t want to talk about Abe’s death.
When Henry disappears and is late for his dinner with Abe and Maureen, Abe becomes frantically worried. It demonstrates why Abe and Maureen’s relationship has never worked out – she’s not concerned. On the other hand, it’s not like Henry can be in mortal danger, right? I also loved her guessing that Henry was Abe’s son, that that was their secret. It would make a good cover at this point, so it’s interesting that they never shifted the dynamic there. Kudos again to the writers as well as Hirsch and Gruffudd for making the dynamic between the characters so rich. The father/son dynamic does tend to swing back and forth – as it does when children become adults – but then Hirsch finds the perfect balance in responding to Gruffudd. I love when he grudgingly adds a “sir” – it’s not ironically delivered and there’s just that touch of respect to an elder.
Iona provides the perfect catalyst to unlock some of Henry’s mysteries. She recognizes that someone he loved and trusted hurt him. Clearly, Nora’s betrayal affected him deeply, making me even more curious as to why he trusted Abigail. As they met during the war, did she see him die and accept it? Iona tells Henry that his real talent is hiding. She goes on to say that human contact is all we want – and we know that Henry has been denying this for himself. Iona also tells Henry that the only way he can feel really alive is to give another person the power to destroy your life.
When Wadlow (Robert Petkoff) tells Henry he’s going to feel the worst pain he’s every experience, Henry immediately flashes to Nora betraying his trust. I loved Henry telling Wadlow to make it quick – after all, he knows he’ll “live” through it! Thank you writers for requiring shirtless Henry for the torture…
Jo’s reactions in the episode are interesting. She’s clearly embarrassed by finding Henry tied up and curious about what Iona does. She’s uncharacteristically judgmental about her, but while she’s surprised when Iona says she’s kissed Henry, she doesn’t seem jealous – just concerned for Henry. We actually get to see a fair bit of Hanson (Donnie Keshawarz) in this episode – and he’s actually competently doing his job! It’s fine to have Hanson and Lucas (Joel David Moore) as the slightly less-gifted partners, but I prefer when they also have them at least be competent.
The episodes final scenes are a nice bookend to the beginning. We see Abe home alone, drowning his sorrows. He risked the pain of another liason with Maureen, he’s felt alive, but in the end, he won’t shorten the time he has left with Henry. Henry actually breaks his solitude – his self proclaimed analgesic of choice. “But what if feeling nothing is the worst pain of all. What if the sharing of pain connects us to other and reminds us that none of us is alone as long as we feel.” I loved Gruffudd’s face here as Henry makes the decision to feel. They are all happy to see him. Lucas is over the moon happy and impulsively hugs Henry – actually physical contact that causes Henry pain due to his recent injuries, but Lucas assumes Henry’s flinch is due to him invading his personal space. When Lucas remarks that he never thought he’s live to see this, Henry replies, “You live long enough, anything is possible” – even recovering from the ultimate betrayal. Of course, Lucas also interrupts exactly what Henry was going to tell Jo about his scar.
I was sorry not to see Henry return to Iona, but hopefully we will see her in a future episode. I’m particularly interested to see Abe’s opinion of her. What did you think of the episode? Do you want to see more of Iona? Are you hoping for a return of Maureen? Do you think Henry is going to regret becoming more a part of the gang? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
