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« The 4400
Episode Recap: “One of Us”
Holy flurking shnit. Best part of this truly stellar episode? It had to be Richard’s line about his daughter not being a moody toddler (“Oh, Isabelle’s had her moments”). It looks like she’ll be having more of those types of moments in the future, considering “Tom” wants her to get her powers back, but at this point, that should almost be the least of everyone’s worries.
Not only did we find out that Tom is in fact one of the Marked, we now know that he’s got Matthew Ross’s old personality. Oh, he’s also got Isabelle locked up in Kyle’s old room, he shot poor Richard and Cora with enough tranquilizer darts to take down a rhino, and his Marked personality is responsible for Isabelle — who, by the way, is an adult again — coming into being in the first place. OK, this new Tom is a total jerk, but it’s great to see Joel Gretsch stretch his acting muscles a little bit and play someone completely different.
On the other hand, knowing what we do now about what Collier is planning to do, maybe the Marked are actually the good guys. Shawn and Dr. Burkhoff’s plan sounded perfectly reasonable to me: devise a test to ensure that no one needs to die from taking Promicin, meaning that only those who could process the neurotransmitter would take the drug. This didn’t sit well with Collier, who apparently wants everyone to take it so that those who can’t become P-positive will die off, probably leaving him in charge of the whole world. Shawn rightly pointed out that this would be genocide. I hope the History Channel makes room in its non-stop coverage of Hitler to add Jordan Collier to the mix.
Semi-related to all of this was the reunion of Lily and Richard, which improbably ended up being the weakest part of the episode. Yes, I did tear up when Lily disappeared and Richard looked utterly defeated, but we should have had more time to see something we’ve all waited a long time for — especially considering Lily’s death was so sudden. Lily’s part of the plot felt a little shoe-horned in since we never got to hear Cassie or Kyle explain why they were making this random 4400 create Lily for Richard in the first place. It didn’t seem like this Byron fellow was actually giving them any information. Maybe I shouldn’t be complaining; it was still a pretty terrific episode, and even the worst parts would have ranked among the best had they been placed in say, the "ghost" or "trapped in a dream" shows from a few weeks back.
I’m interested to see how far they take the Marked Tom story in the next couple of weeks. The previews have him acting pretty creepy, but I have a feeling that we’ll have normal Tom back by the end of the season.
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Aug 19, 2007 10:57 PM
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I no longer suspect Mehan of being marked - it was clearly Rebecca who set up Tom to be sent to that Medical facility".
When Lilly first apeared, I thought that mayber sinice Isablle's instant transition from toddler to adult had caused Lilliy's death - then reversing one could reverse both. Makes about as much sense as anything.
Why show Richard the image of Lilly? I think it was to motivate him to go back to Cora and restore Isabelle. Only Cassi knows, and I'm not sure which team she's playiing for.
Jordan has finally shown his true colors - time to break out the brown shirts. His idea of a P-Positive Master Race that demands acceptable sacrifices of 50% is scarier than anything Gabrel wold have put in motion.
But does that make The Marked (and those that sent them) good? Not in my opinioni. The 4400 were sent back to "fix' the present. Shawn and Kevin seem to be the only ones on task. The Marked are from a splinter group that want them to fail - and now Cassi is sending Kyle to "stop" Shawn, so the movement that she keeps referring to may not be Jordan's.
One thing bugged me, and I see this in a lot of shows: If someone catches something with their left hand, this does NOT in any way indicate that they are left handed.
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Aug 19, 2007 11:54 PM
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Interesting show tonight... I'm quite surprised that Tom *really* is part of the Marked now - and it'll be quite interesting to find out which side Cassie is really on. There seem to be three main "sides" right now, if I'm following things right - Jordan's, which calls for as many people as possible to become P+ and let the rest of humanity die out; Shawn's, which calls for normal humans and P+s working and living together in harmony; and The Marked's, which seems to be to use Isabelle to stop the 4400 and keep normal humans in power (at least I *think* that's what's expected of her...)
Lots to think about here... nicely done! I wasn't entirely sure of the reason for them giving Richard that vision of Lily, either, though my guess would be that by playing to his vulnerablities there, maybe they thought they could get info from him about where Isabelle was. I mean, they did end up being the ones who called Tom to go get her.
What I really want to know for sure is what side Cassie is on. She keeps talking like she's on Jordan's side, but then she helps make sure that Tom gets his hands on Isabelle - and it seems like they she's going to end up being the Marked's weapon again. Has Cassie been having Kyle play at being Jordan's follower so that she could keep an eye on Isabelle and, when the time is right, get her handed over to the Marked so that she can start doing whatever it is the Marked wanted her to do in the first place?
So many questions....
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Aug 20, 2007 1:19 AM
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Charliy, ITA with your assessment of the 3 sides. I don't think Jordan or the Marked are good. They have different purposes, goals. Shawn and Kevin are the only ones that seem to be positive in their visions for the future.
Cassie just seems to have an agenda, she has set a lot of this in motion. Kyle is following blindly, I hope he starts to question her motives.
It seems to me (and a co-worker suggested this) that if the Marked (shady to say the least) can implant their consciousness into folks (without abilities) in the present, then others from the future (with perhaps positive motives) can as well. I am not sure about Megan but something is definitely not truthful about her.
Next week looks good. I will say that the future didn't count on a couple of things, Tom's love for his son (I suspect that will be a trigger for his comeback) and Isabelle's change of heart. I wish Shawn could smoke that cigar again to see how the present shapes up. One thing was clear, Tom is definitely a key player (also a pawn), he was from the beginning.
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Aug 20, 2007 10:46 AM
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Actually, I hated this episode. But then, I've been really disappointed in the season as a whole; I just have this strange sense of loyalty that keeps me coming back to see what happens next.
Kriselda, I think you hit the nail right on the head concerning Cassie. By the end of it I think Kyle is going to feel as though he's betrayed everything he's believed in just because he kept doing what Cassie told him to.
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Aug 20, 2007 10:49 AM
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Charliy makes a good point about left/right handedness. Baseball is filled with people catching stuff with their non-dominant hands. Why should snatching something out of the air without the benefit of a glove be so telling?
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Aug 20, 2007 11:01 AM
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Wow - loved the episode and felt that it really leaped us into the future (pun intended) of where this show is headed. We got us a war a brewin folks!
We have Tom and The Marked in one corner with Jordan and the crusaders in the other corner with Shawn somewhere in the middle looking like a genius!
I really hope that they don't make Tom a total warlord - we do need him to come back at some point and put on the white hat!
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Aug 20, 2007 11:38 AM
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Tom's love for his son (I suspect that will be a trigger for his comeback)
I was thinking he'd have to take promicen or be forced to take it to turn him back into Tom again. Of course that's assuming the list of people who need to take promicen, which he's on, is correct.
I too am not so sure Cassie isn't playing on the marked team. Kyle comes across as incredibly gullible and easily manipulated, not to mention stupid, so I wouldn't be shocked if this turns out to be the case.
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Aug 20, 2007 12:32 PM
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Yeah I think Tom will need to take the promicen to kill off the other person in him...seeig he must not be able to survive it because he's from the future...but tom can
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Aug 20, 2007 1:50 PM
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Being right-handed, I was a little bummed to learn that my chances of surviving Promicin have been reduced!
Why are people nitpicking about the left-handed reference? Didn't the doctor (I forget his name) actually ask Shawn if he was left-handed? The fact that Shawn caught the ball with his left hand just might have acted as a trigger to ask that question. It's not like Shawn caught the ball with his left hand, and the doctor responded: "You caught the ball with your left hand! You must be left-handed because everybody who catches with their left hand is 100% left handed!" Relax, people.
Yes, I can catch a ball in my left hand, but I prefer to catch with my right. I wouldn't be offended if somebody thought I was right-handed just because they saw me catching a ball with that hand.
Anyway, moving onto Tom's storyline (by far the best), I have to agree that he will likely have to take Promicin to prevent the mark (or "the Marked") from influencing him. I also have a theory about Cassie -- she is not really Kyle's ability, but rather a manifestation like we saw with Lily last night.
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Aug 20, 2007 2:59 PM
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But if Cassie is the one who directed Kyle to the prophesy that contained the list of people who have to take promicin and she's on the same side as the Marked, then Tom taking promicin shouldn't be the antidote against the Marked, no? Unless the speculation from earlier episodes that Isabelle deliberately mistranslated and added Tom's name to the list is correct, which at this point doesn't seem likely.
Add another aye to the is Meghan not quite what she seems? vote. She's definitely giving the camera weird, significant looks. Of course it could also just be overdone acting/directing.  ">
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Aug 20, 2007 3:50 PM
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Being right-handed, I was a little bummed to learn that my chances of surviving Promicin have been reduced!
Me too! How disturbing is that!
Would you take Promycin if it were real?
I have to say that I would seriously consider it!
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Aug 20, 2007 5:26 PM
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OK, so I remember that it was Kyle, not Shawn who was suppose to be one of the 4400. He was suppose to be a link between Tom and the the 4400.
Also, remember when Kyle was having those blackouts and when he killed Jordan? So, is Kyle a "marked," maybe because "they" weren't able to make him a 4400?
And what about Alana? She got Tom to see that room from the future. Is that the same room he is seeing now? Where is Alana now? I miss her.
I am glad to have Isabelle back as an adult.
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Aug 20, 2007 8:09 PM
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Awesome episode. Tom wow. I don't know what is gonna happen with that but it should be something good because those in future sent the 4400 back so that the human race remains in tack right? okay so poor Richard can't get no satisfaction. It breaks my poor heart. I wonder how much Isabelle will recall of all of her last week or so of life as a kid. Gonna be very intersting to see what happens next week.
Karma
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Aug 21, 2007 6:05 PM
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I wasn't really pleased with the progression of all the story lines in this episode. I'm loving the plot line with Shawn and the doctor but I hated the Tom and Kyle story lines.
I have some questions about Tom's transformation. If this is a possession of Tom's body, where is the real Tom? Is he still inside but just not in control or is he gone completely? So if the possessor gets Tom killed does Tom die? The possessor obviously doesn't since he had another host before inhabiting Tom's body. Just too many loose ends with the whole marked deal.
I do think that Tom will eventually have to take the promicin.
As for Kyle, I have never liked him much and he is grating on my last nerve at this point. He is such a tool all the time. Is that his destiny in this series to be a pawn for the future factions because he wasn't taken when he was supposed to be. Cassie too is starting to bug, but I am glad she is starting to show her true colors. I hope that Kyle will be able to stand up to her and think for himself for once.
I agree about Meghan, there is something weird about her, hopefully she will reveal her true colors pretty soon.
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Aug 21, 2007 7:07 PM
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