June 24, 2007: It's a Death Trap, It's a Suicide Rap
"I forgot how much I liked this." Shawn, you are wise. We're only two episodes in and this season is so dark that it's nice to see someone doing something good with his ability. I'm hoping that these first couple of shows were just setting up something big for the rest of the season, because in comparison to the first couple of episodes last year, both the stories and the characters, though grander in scale, are much less dynamic. What can I say? Cassie Dunleavy is no Isabelle Tyler.
Speaking of Isabelle,
Megalyn Echikunwoke is somehow doing much more with the denuded character than she ever did as the personification of evil, so brava to her. Her reaction to finding out that Promicin would kill her was so heartbreaking and understated (and quick) that I almost wished she were once again the main focus.
Things are going only slightly better for her former fiancé. His cousin has taken the drug, his brother, once rabidly anti-4400, wants to, and he himself has a really, really bad haircut. His main problem, though, is that he just doesn't have enough to do, either as a person or as one of our main story lines.
It was nice to see Tom and Diana working together once again, and I was thrilled to find out that Diana will be sticking around, at least for a little while. And good on Diana for talking Tom out of trying to kill himself again in order to talk to the future. I guess I just wish that we got to see more of them. All parts of the plot this week felt a little rushed, and their scenes more than most.
The main story line, though, set up an interesting question: Is it right to inject Promicin into someone who may not have anything to lose in the hopes that they'll develop an ability that could be beneficial? The original recipe 4400 had no choice in the matter, much the same as Brandon Powell, but no one (strike that, no one in our time frame) knew what would happen to them, or whether their abilities would be good or bad. On the other hand, Mr. Powell must have followed the news over the past four years and knew what he was getting himself into. I wonder how long he'll be in jail.
Try to avoid any hallucinations (phobias or creepy redheads) till we next meet, and if you haven't already done so, check out
Matt Webb Mitovich's Q&A with Meghan Doyle herself,
Jenni Baird. She has some interesting insights into the show and her character and just seems like an all-around swell gal.
