"The Great Leap Forward"
Welcome to Promise City: Built on the graves of 9,000 people.
What a sad yet awesome episode. We said goodbye to the Bill Gates look-alike NTAC geek, Danny Farrell, Mrs. Farrell, Isabelle and
Penny Johnson's Rebecca Parish. For whom did I shed the most tears (yes, that was me you heard bawling through the whole episode)? Danny Farrell. He was estranged from his brother for so long because of Shawn's abilities, and yet his newly acquired ability caused the deaths of at least 9,000 - and he went to all that trouble to make sure it didn't kill him. Maybe it was only fitting that he had his brother kill him, in some twisted sort of poetic justice. It didn't make it any less sad. As Shawn put it, he didn't want to lose his brother and his mother on the same day. At least it's brought the whole remaining Baldwin/Farrell clan closer - perhaps our only consolation.
And what has become of those who didn't die? Everyone in Seattle who survived now has an ability, except Diana, because of Kevin Burkhoff's bizarre experiments on her last year, and apparently Tom, who for some reason still needs to take the shot (maybe one of you guys can fill in that plot hole for me; you're always so on the ball). Meghan can make flowers out of pens, Garrity can create clones of himself and Marco well, Marco kind of ripped off Hiro's power from
Heroes. Hey, I said kind of.
But what's really happened to the Marked? We know that Tom told Jordan how to get the nanites out of him, but we never saw him actually following his advice. How do we know Jordan isn't already one of the Marked? If he is, then Isabelle sacrificed herself and her future with Kyle for nothing. Plus, if he really is "naming himself dictator of Seattle," as Diana put it, the world couldn't be in worse shape. Actually, considering his goals are still so nebulous (what does he want beyond a Promicin-positive world? What happens after?), the world is probably in bad shape regardless of whether he's Marked or not. Then again, Maia did say that the P-positives are in charge now, and she's never wrong. You know, except for all the times she has been.
I have to say, this show really does bang-up season finales with beyond-amazing music, and this episode's use of the Pixies' "Where Is My Mind?" just made me fall a little bit more in love with the producers. I really have to hand it to them, if they don't get renewed, they delivered a series finale with a lot of closure, but they weren't lying in saying that should the show come back, there are plenty of jumping-off points. Will Tom take the shot (if he does in fact need to)? What happens to Seattle? What can possibly stop Jordan Collier? Will Maia grow another 70 feet?
But seriously, this was a fantastic episode, regardless of whether it ended the season or the series, and I can't wait to hear your thoughts.
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