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Sunday, 15 July 2007 |
By John Keegan
Visit Critical Myth for an archive of John's TV Review archives, with more than 1100 entries.
I’ve had a rather favorable impression of the latest episodes, so I had high hopes for this installment. I’ve also been a fan of Hatem’s work for quite some time, so seeing his name in the credits gave me even more reason to believe. Unfortunately, there was something missing from this episode, and I’m not quite sure where the issue lies.
In terms of the writing, there were some annoying bits. I was concerned about the presence of a baby on the show for several reasons, but largely because most scenes (and plots) with babies resort to comedic cliché. And sure enough, that’s how the episode started, and it grated on my nerves as a result. Admittedly, that’s a personal nitpick; I just think that writers get lazy when it comes to dealing with babies on television shows, based on previous genre examples.
On the other hand, one of the underlying themes of the episode is family. Johnny is trying to figure out where he belongs, while Sarah and JJ are still trying to figure out if he should belong at all. The baby becomes a metaphor for how overwhelming life has become for Sarah. Johnny is there to step into the gap when possible, but however good his intentions might be, his methods grate on mother and son. (Bringing the audience to recall “Ego”, where it was noted that Johnny tends to act without much regard for the feelings of others.)
I don’t recall if JJ’s possible psychic ability has been dealt with in the past to this degree, but it was a nice touch. For all that Sarah and JJ think that Johnny is trying to take Walt’s place, JJ is a part of Johnny’s legacy. Past episodes have developed the idea of Johnny’s ability as genetic in nature, so it makes sense that JJ (coming through puberty) would begin expressing the ability on that basis. This sets the stage for a better relationship between father and son in the future.
That said, I still don’t think that JJ is a strong character, despite this season’s attempt at resolving that problem, and that contributes to the missing elements of this episode. The plot itself is also a bit predictable. While I love the symmetry of JJ expressing his ability and interest in the opposite sex in a location important to Johnny and Sarah, Alice and JJ had almost no chemistry. The murder mystery was far too obvious, which also robbed the episode of dramatic tension.
While I find most of the Johnny/Sarah interaction to be better than it’s been in a long time (and Nicole de Boer looks gorgeous lately), JJ continues to be a weak link in the cast. And that’s after yet another cast change. When I look at how well the children were cast for “Medium”, as a comparable example, it’s hard to imagine that this role would be consistently miscast for so long.
Despite all of that, an episode with good direction and editing might have overcome the challenges. In this case, that didn’t happen. While there were some intriguing transitions, the editing (especially in the final act) telegraphed much of the plot. This episode also had the weakest music of the season, seemingly over-emphasizing the dramatic idea of a scene to the point of distraction. These items contributed to a poor showing for the season so far, despite some good underlying ideas. |
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