S01.E22: Son of Man

[formerlyfreedom]

Russell realizes his alliance with The Founder was a mistake, and tries to make up for his decision by saving Cara from an Ultra ambush. Stephen understands that he must be the one to stop The Machine and the extermination of humanity, but he fears he may be too late. Russell offers up a plan to help Stephen, but he is going to need everyone’s help, including John and Astrid, if they are going to have any chance to survive. Meanwhile, Jedikiah offers John an interesting opportunity that could have them working together again.

 

 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcAwPTSmMlM

[ottoDbusdriver]

That wasn't subtle -- so Roger dies, and Stephen is out for revenge.  Is anyone not surprised by that revelation ?

 

Based on this line in the episode description:

"Meanwhile, Jedikiah offers John an interesting opportunity that could have them working together again."

Gee, does that mean John gets his powers back.  Most likely. Everyone say that coming.

 

We see Jedekiah TK open the door to the room with the machine, while the machine is running (but no one is in it).

 

When Cara and Russell are walking up those steps, we see the sign for Meat and Bread, a local restaurant in Vancouver on West Pender (it was profiled once on Diner's Drive-ins and Dives), but they aren't even trying to pretend it's New York anymore.

 

I still don't understand how Jedekiah seems to have mastered his powers in such a short time frame, and why he hasn't accidentally TPed himself into the East River a bunch of times.

[juneboy44]

Well that was interesting. Looks like the show decided to go all out for the finale. From teleporting to reversing time this episode had just about everything. Not sure If it's a case of to little to late as far as renewal but we will see.

 

So Stephen is now in charge? Wonder how this will affect his grades in high school? 

 

Where were Stephen's mom and brother? Was he too busy to check in on them?

 

Wow the new John was all kinds of hot! Guess the Astrid and John coupling is over?

 

Based on the finale I could see myself tuning in next season if it comes back! I can't believe I just typed that!

 

 

[shapeshifter]

If it's not one thing, it's 10 with these people.

The Tomorrow People: Taking the Science Out of Science Fiction One Episode at a Time.

So John doesn't remember Cara or Astrid. Why is this vaguely amusing?

[slayer2]

I'm most sad about Jastrid and that that blonde bitch didn't bite it. I was looking forward to that. Really forward. I also feel sad that whenever John gets something good it gets ruined. So sad. Also, let the John/Cara thing go. Who gives a shit. Seriously. The chemistry is with John/Astrid, the proof is in the pudding, the really yummy looking pudding. Glad John, Astrid, Jed and Russell survived though.

Edited May 6, 2014 by slayer2

[JuneSEA]

My post from TWoP:

 

It didn't seem as EPIC as they made it out to be. Kind of need to re-watch it just to get a better handle on it without all the expectations from what I had read.

Like the description of John as Winter Solider 2.0 upthread ... so he has his powers back and looks like he can still kill. Cool! Wondering, since those were Roger's powers, does that mean he could stop time too? Would love it if Jed has John believing that he is his actual son.

Glad that Stephen didn't inject himself with the "kill" serum, but kind of annoyed he didn't destroy what was there. Also, for something that only 2 people had survived previously, there were quite a few successes in that TP kill squad and Natalie. Ugh!

Right now kind of mixed, part of me would like to see it continue, but another part would be okay if this is it. That could change after re-watching it.

One other thing, what was Stephen referring to when he told John he had his chance and missed it? Was it the time they went to kill the Founder and Stephen stopped him or the time when John stopped Roger and got caught in the trap? That line confused me.

[Rachel RSL]

Also, let the John/Cara thing go. Who gives a shit. Seriously.

 

They need to let the Cara and *anybody* thing go. She's one of the least likeable, least charismatic protagonists in any show ever. That was so cruel of them to kill her and then, just as I was rejoicing, PSYCH - she's alive again.  Did they ever actually explain how Steven reversed time?

 

When John was saying he had no car and couldn't get out of town, all I could think was: couldn't Cara just teleport him away in like 2 seconds then teleport herself back? And, seriously, why didn't Roger just teleport himself to a hospital? Dummies!

 

If this show gets cancelled, I would totally watch a spin off of just Jed & John. Their scenes are the only ones worth watching anyway.

[slayer2]

I quite hope they get a second season and run with the Winter Soldier/Jastrid angle. If they have to do Stephen/Cara then fine, just keep her romantically out of the Jed/Jastrid orbit and I'm fine. I did like her leadership skills in the finale so I'd definitely wouldn't wretch at seeing more of that Cara and that Stephen just not as much as John and Astrid and of course mad doctor Jed. I really hope Irene comes back too, I liked her and Russell (hopefully he'll still be atoning).

ETA You are right though, she is inordinately lacking in charisma for a female lead. I say reposition it as a double female lead with Madeleine Mantock and they'll get the ratings up that way. That girl can carry the weight of these stories much like LM, she's got more chops than a pig farm.

Edited May 6, 2014 by slayer2

[Bec]

I must have said "well, that was stupid" about ten times during this episode. But dat ending. I liked it. The flashbacks of John working for Jed always left me wanting more. Now if the show comes back (a big if), there will be more of John working for Jed, in the present! Yeah, that was hot when he teleported into the senator's office. And the smug looks on Jed and John's faces in that scene was hilarious. I can see those two actors having a lot of fun with this.

 

Okay, they pulled me back in. I will even hand-wave how the hell Jed the geneticist apparently now has the ability to mind-wipe. (I'm guessing when Jed said he wanted to "recruit" more of the Tomorrow People, he meant he wants to mind-wipe them into doing his bidding.)

 

Oh show, why must you tease us with fake-killing Cara? Though I did think "damn, just when she was starting to get awesome after sucking for most of the season" when the bullet hit her, and it did occur to me they killed a lot of female characters with potential already. So, fine.

 

Interesting that Cara feels "different" after getting pulled out of a timeline where she frickin' died. With Stephen able to manipulate time, that opens up the possibility for some crazy-ass time-travel stories. Like maybe he can go so far back that he becomes his own grandfather. Yeah, no, I'm not confident this show can handle the grandfather paradox and other sticky issues related to time travel. This show is not that smart. It can barely handle becoming "not entirely stupid".

 

Oh look, more Tomorrow People showing up, who the show will keep in the background until it suddenly decides to let one or two that we've never seen before have a bigger role, and then this person will randomly disappear afterwards. Yay?

 

I was sensing a lot of hesitation when Jed asked John to get on that gnarly needle chair. So did Jed knock him over the head then tied him to the chair or what?

[JuneSEA]

I was sensing a lot of hesitation when Jed asked John to get on that gnarly needle chair. So did Jed knock him over the head then tied him to the chair or what?

 

Very possible. So if there is a Season 2, I hope they show how that happened. Did John voluntarily get into the chair? Did Jed purposefully erase his memories? It's possible that getting his mind wiped was just a side effect of getting his powers back. The producer (Klemmer, I think) in an interview talked about unintended consequences when people play God, in that it doesn't turn out exactly how you think it will. 

[slayer2]

Yeah, so maybe the mindwipe was unintentional or maybe it was intentional but Jed didn't tell John that, or possibly Jed forced John into the chair. The Stephen "playing god" part reminded me of Clark's stupid decision to save Lana then losing his father. It was one of the better things they did on Smallville IMO. It's always interesting to see real time consequences stemming from impulsive choices so I'd be interested to see the consequences of Stephen's choice to save Cara. The episode left a lot of things on the table for an intriguing second season.

Edited May 7, 2014 by slayer2

[Lokiberry]

Well, under Cara's leadership all the TPs were either stripped of their powers, dead, or evil. They had to import some more. I'm sure if there's another season, she'll get right back to work decimating the ranks.

[slayer2]

Ha! True, but Stephen's in charge now so I think he'll fare better.

[Rachel RSL]

I don't fully understand why the Tomorrow People can't kill. Like if Cara was holding a gun and pulled the trigger, would it not fire? Would she instantly drop dead? Maybe someone who paid more attention can explain that to me.

[slayer2]

Sorry, I don't think I've seen any episodes where they try to kill anyone so I don't know. I might just be not physically possible, like if they try there's a forcefield that blocks them like the chip in Spike's head only physical.

[rogueprinzess]

I don't fully understand why the Tomorrow People can't kill. Like if Cara was holding a gun and pulled the trigger, would it not fire? Would she instantly drop dead? Maybe someone who paid more attention can explain that to me.

It was shown in earlier episodes that if they tried to intentionally kill (i.e. hold a gun at someone and try and pull the trigger) that they seem to experience immense pain that incapacitates them, to the point where they eventually lose consciousness. Apparently whatever John went through (with the help of the drug) taught him to endure said pain and stay conscious through it until it no longer physically affected him anymore.

 

On an unrelated note, is anyone else bothered by the fact that Stephen used his time-bending abilities to save Cara instead of, oh, I don't know, HIS FATHER?!?!

Edited May 7, 2014 by rogueprinzess

[JuneSEA]

I don't fully understand why the Tomorrow People can't kill. Like if Cara was holding a gun and pulled the trigger, would it not fire? Would she instantly drop dead? Maybe someone who paid more attention can explain that to me.

 

She wouldn't even get a chance to pull the trigger. If they intend to kill someone (regardless of the method) there is something in their mind that causes pain and they pass out. 

 

It was shown in earlier episodes that if they tried to intentionally kill (i.e. hold a gun at someone and try and pull the trigger) that they seem to experience immense pain that incapacitates them, to the point where they eventually lose consciousness. Apparently whatever John went through (with the help of the drug) taught him to endure said pain and stay conscious through it until it no longer physically affected him anymore.

 

On an unrelated note, is anyone else bothered by the fact that Stephen used his time-bending abilities to save Cara instead of, oh, I don't know, HIS FATHER?!?!

 

What John went through didn't teach him to endure the pain, it removed whatever it is that causes it. At least that was my interpretation of it. 

 

As for Stephen's time-bending abilities, he didn't have them until after stopping the machine. He stopped it by absorbing his father's powers giving him a powers boost ... or something like that. 

[slayer2]

Anybody know what happened to Charlie?

Edited May 8, 2014 by slayer2

[JuneSEA]

No, but I wish I did. 

[Bec]

I was like "who's Charlie?" *one whole minute later* Oh, right, the little girl with the big scream.

[slayer2]

Haha. She was so adorable and her relationship with John is so cute. They really need to refocus the show on him as the lead if they get another shot. The same way Arrow refocused Caity Lotz as lead on Arrow. Because honestly Luke Mitchell has it all and his chemistry with Astrid, Charlie, Jed even Stephen is just phenomenal. I think of all their mistakes that is the biggest one. I'm a survivor of Smallville so I know how to find the gold in piles and piles of steaming doodoo, and honestly, him, Madeleine and Mark are it.

[formerlyfreedom]

I kept with this show pretty much for John and Jed. Late in the season, add Astrid. But Stephen and Cara were completely wasted on me.

 

If it comes back, focus on John. Bring in Astrid. Jed, of course, is in the center of it all. I think Stephen and Cara should move to Toledo. Or Omaha. Far away.

[slayer2]

Or they can just be cheerleaders on the sidelines and be recurring or supporting like Astrid and John were. I've spent a lot of time online researching TTP this past week and the majority of people I saw were in it for John. There seemed to be far more Jastrid than Jara shippers and peeps who were in it for Stephen were in it to see his growth {like Clark on Smallville} into a hero and of course MP's SPN fans who just love his work and know he can sell anything. They really need to pay attention to what the fans are saying and let things happen organically, they're only in this situation because they were forcing the viewers hands. They were fortunate to get a starting position after Arrow and even more fortunate to get the order for the rest of the season and it's at THAT point they should have made the turn they've made these past few episodes. It's obvious to anyone where the gravitational pull is IMO, they need to stop pushing their agenda and let the story tell itself. Good storytelling is seldom forced.

[Rachel RSL]

They really need to refocus the show on him as the lead if they get another shot. The same way Arrow refocused Caity Lotz as lead on Arrow. Because honestly Luke Mitchell has it all and his chemistry with Astrid, Charlie, Jed even Stephen is just phenomenal.

Seriously, Luke Mitchell would have chemistry with an empty chair, which only further proves how much Cara's character sucks if even he can't produce any sparks with her. 

 

 

If it comes back, focus on John. Bring in Astrid. Jed, of course, is in the center of it all. I think Stephen and Cara should move to Toledo. Or Omaha. Far away.

Yes to ALL of this!

 

Thanks for the explanation about why TTP can't kill. Although I'm still confused about how Hillary was able to set off the bomb. I suppose one could argue that technically it was Astrid who did it by calling her but, if it's simply the intention to kill that makes them pass out, shouldn't Hillary have keeled over as soon as she strapped the bomb to her chest? Meh....I need to stop overthinking this show.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Ha, I was laughing at the jazz hands battle between Stephen and the Founder. I also had a good time imagining the actors filming the scene without any of the special effects as the director said, "Just look constipated, grunt, and throw as many jazz hands at each other as you can!"

 

When Natalie shot Cara, I thought FINALLY we are rid of this chick but no, Stephen had to save her with his super magical time reversal powers, damn it! If Cara thought she heard John breaking out, why didn't she try to reach him telepathically?

 

I will miss Russell the most. He was the most easy breezy Tomorrow Person. John cleaned up really nicely in the last scene. I almost didn't recognize him without the disheveled hair and leather jacket. I always wondered how Cara could afford so many leather jackets since she didn't have a job or a source of income. I guess shoplifting is an acceptable use of their powers?

 

Russell: Man, our asses are going to be hanging out in the breeze.
Cara: You're not having second thoughts, are you?
Russell: Nah, I got a great ass.

 

Cara: Split up, maximum chaos.
Russell: That's the title of my memoir.