This is actually nine tenths of the way to being a decent episode.The only thing that really lets it down is the utterly pointless scene of John and Russell getting into a bar brawl, especially the hideously out of character way that John punches the guy who hit Russell instead of just shaking his head and dragging him out of there.It's this need to shoehorn action sequences into episodes that don't require them that makes the show a pale imitation of its predecessors.
There's nice continuity with the previous episodes and a return to the theme of the Tomorrow People having given up their humanity in what may be too great a price to pay.John is surprisingly keen to help Russell attend his father's funeral but it humanises a character who up to now has had very little to recommend him.It's Russell's turn for the flashbacks and making him a musical prodigy is a huge stretch but ends up working.The fact that the Tomorrow People need multiple jumps to cross country is interesting from a mythological and historical standpoint.
Conversely, the glimpse of Jedikiah's private life doesn't humanise him in the slightest.The idea of him having a telepathic lover, who he threatens, is vaguely reminiscent of a Nazi commandant taking a native woman as a mistress and just comes across as him revelling in his own perversion.
Stephen and Cara are left holding the fort and Stephen is once more seeking to do the compassionate thing in the face of the TPs' usual cold pragmatism.The plot that follows twists and turns, with one twist being extremely obvious(Darcy was never just going to turn up for a cosy reunion), but the ending actually keeps you guessing and the end result is a qualified victory, a sign that actions have consequences and an exploration of the value of holding onto the desire to do the right thing when everyone around you is doing the wrong thing.It's a shame that, apart from a throwaway conversation with Darcy, the Astrid plot isn't continued from the previous episode but we do get Stephen and Cara finally acting on, and seemingly consummating, the feelings that have been building since they first met.Oh hang on, isn't she dating John or something?It's hard to tell.
There's nice continuity with the previous episodes and a return to the theme of the Tomorrow People having given up their humanity in what may be too great a price to pay.John is surprisingly keen to help Russell attend his father's funeral but it humanises a character who up to now has had very little to recommend him.It's Russell's turn for the flashbacks and making him a musical prodigy is a huge stretch but ends up working.The fact that the Tomorrow People need multiple jumps to cross country is interesting from a mythological and historical standpoint.
Conversely, the glimpse of Jedikiah's private life doesn't humanise him in the slightest.The idea of him having a telepathic lover, who he threatens, is vaguely reminiscent of a Nazi commandant taking a native woman as a mistress and just comes across as him revelling in his own perversion.
Stephen and Cara are left holding the fort and Stephen is once more seeking to do the compassionate thing in the face of the TPs' usual cold pragmatism.The plot that follows twists and turns, with one twist being extremely obvious(Darcy was never just going to turn up for a cosy reunion), but the ending actually keeps you guessing and the end result is a qualified victory, a sign that actions have consequences and an exploration of the value of holding onto the desire to do the right thing when everyone around you is doing the wrong thing.It's a shame that, apart from a throwaway conversation with Darcy, the Astrid plot isn't continued from the previous episode but we do get Stephen and Cara finally acting on, and seemingly consummating, the feelings that have been building since they first met.Oh hang on, isn't she dating John or something?It's hard to tell.
