The 4400 Blog

Written by Craig Sweeny
Directed by Nick Copus

This episode is the mid-point of the season, and as such, one would expect some major shifts in the direction of the season arc.  I’m not sure that happened, but to some extent, there were some serious changes to the status quo.  Ryland remains a powerful force within the world of the 4400, and characters find themselves compromised on a number of levels.

I’ve often said that Tom and Diana find themselves in a compromised situation because of their relationships to members of the 4400, and this episode is a perfect example.  Everything Tom does is a reaction to Alana being in jeopardy, and he circumvents NTAC and every other law enforcement agency in the process.  Even as it stands, Tom will be lucky if Alana’s sudden disappearance doesn’t lead to an inquiry into his activities.

Though he eventually changed his mind, largely because of the realization that Alana would never forgive him for screwing over Navarro, Tom was prepared to hand a man over for private execution to prevent his wife from being punished for a crime she actually committed.  While the writers do try to soften this particular decision by making it clear that Ryland is on questionable moral ground in terms of his ability to hold Alana and others, the fact is that Alana aided and abetted the escape of a known terrorist.

Alana is guilty, and she confessed to her crime.  Legally and ethically, Tom should have taken her into custody, regardless of her motivations.  Her justification was that she was protecting one of her own kind, but that was essentially the same justification given by the Nova Group for their actions.  Tom may have disagreements with how society is treating the 4400 (including how easily Ryland escaped punishment for his actions), but he’s a law enforcement officer, and his wife committed a crime.

While that should be difficult for Tom, I think he crossed the line in a major way when he sought to allow her to escape the consequences of her actions.  Trading her freedom with Navarro’s life is just an expression of the amoral nature of his thought process.  Diana, however, is equally compromised, because she allows her relationship with Maia to influence her own reactions to the 4400.

It may be difficult for the audience to sympathize with Tom now, because his decisions have become so questionable.  As long as the writers are willing to explore this twist honestly, without pretending that it was the right thing to do, I have no problem with it.  In fact, it could work out better this way, since it adds another layer of relativism to the story.  How long can Tom and Diana continue to support the 4400 in their current role, before they make the wrong move and get caught?

Of course, this episode also brings up a rather big question: what was the point of introducing Alana in the first place, if she would simply end up leaving, thus depriving Tom of the psychological and emotional support Alana was supposed to provide?  One gets the feeling that the actress wanted to leave for something else, or that the writers hadn’t worked out her role in Tom’s future.  Whatever the case, it’s a plot point that needs to be addressed before too much time passes.  (Especially since the “future humanity” didn’t intercede, which suggests they didn’t see an upshot to it.)
Given Ryland’s current position of power, it’s rather disturbing that Isabelle has become his willing ally.  After all, Ryland sees the 4400 as a massive threat, and Isabelle was apparently created to destroy the 4400.  Ryland could give Isabelle the means and opportunity to achieve that goal, and this episode continues to demonstrate her lack of moral development.  Isabelle has become so powerful that opposing her isn’t even an option, as Shawn’s decision to avoid Nicki emphasizes.  When Shawn and Richard are brought together in common cause regarding Isabelle, it’s telling.

(As a sidenote: I also have a podcast associated with my various reviews called “Dispatches from Tuzenor”.  Recent episodes cover the “The 4400”, so it might be something of interest.  Go to http://entil2001.libsyn.com if you want to listen!)

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4

Final Rating: 7/10

  Written by Craig Sweeny
Directed by Aaron Lipstadt

The third season has been ripping along at a fast pace, and I couldn’t be happier.  The producers are keeping their promise by focusing on the big picture, and I think it makes for a more interesting and layered story.  For some shows, it might have taken the rest of the season for Tom and Isabelle to have a confrontation, but the writers seem to have a far more interesting agenda.

If “Gone” started the process of showing Isabelle sliding into darkness, then this episode is the logical next step.  As per the visual cues, Isabelle is mostly in darker colors (though not a ravishing red, sad to say), but there’s still that hint of green in her wardrobe.  Sure, it may be reading into things a little bit, but I see that as a sign that Isabelle has a choice.  She may have been engineered for destructive purpose, but she has the ability to choose her own path.

Eliminating Matthew (who wasted little time in showing his true colors) was a step long-foreshadowed, and it came at just the right time.  Now there’s a different question to consider in the whole “time paradox” debate: was the introduction of Isabelle by the “evil” faction of the “future humanity” the cause of the catastrophe that the 4400 was sent back to prevent?  Time travel is such a tricky business in storytelling, because it should all fit together like a puzzle, with cause and effect being somewhat relative.

The recent revelations make sense of a short scene in “The New World”, where Matthew seems to be plotting the death of Jordan Collier, who remains in hiding.  I thought I misunderstood the scene, but in fact, it seems that Isabelle was meant to kill Jordan and leave the 4400 in disarray, thus explaining why Matthew stepped in when he did.  It all hangs together very well, even though some elements were clearly worked out after the fact.

Isabelle was being manipulated into her role as the destroyer of the 4400 by Matthew and her creators, but her feelings for Shawn overrode the programming.  Shawn could be the one person to change Isabelle in a positive way, which may be one reason that Tom was willing to postpone the execution.  But now that Shawn has seen Isabelle’s true colors, will he still be willing to stay with her?  If not, it could be the final straw towards something very, very bad.  (And Isabelle’s decision to meet with Ryland is equally troubling, since she could be forging an alliance against the 4400 and their allies within NTAC.)

Tom’s decision to let Isabelle live could be one of those moments destined for future regret.  I have a feeling the audience will be thinking back to the moment when Tom could have taken action, before Isabelle become too powerful.  Tom’s decision comes very close to the mid-point of the season (which is technically halfway through the next episode), so this could be seen as a turning point.

Alana’s subplot is a nice bit of counterpoint.  For all that Isabelle decides to act on information without consideration of consequences, Alana seeks a measure of revenge without thinking of what might follow.  The audience is left to consider whether or not Isabelle is programmed to do evil, or whether that capacity exists within every human being.  Of course, the difference is that Isabelle had no moral development, which could simply make Alana’s choices more damning.

(As a sidenote: I also have a podcast associated with my various reviews called “Dispatches from Tuzenor”.  Recent episodes cover the “The 4400”, so it might be something of interest.  Go to http://entil2001.libsyn.com if you want to listen!)

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4

Final Rating: 8/10

Written by Bruce Miller
Directed by Morgan Beggs

As expected, the second half of the story hinges on the idea that Tom and Diana would somehow remember Maia, despite the best efforts of the “future humanity” to erase her from that part of the timeline.  Considering how predictable that plot element is, the writers had an uphill battle to fight.  I find it interesting that they chose to address the cliché by not really addressing it.  Tom and Diana slowly but surely came to remember Maia, and the hows and whys were glossed over in favor of other story elements.

On the other hand, it plays nicely into the idea that the “future humanity” is dealing with interference from a rival faction.  This was also a bit predictable, but it fits the complexity of the “4400 Universe”.  It seems that every represented population (humanity, 4400, “future humanity”) has a “good” side and a “bad” side, and it’s very difficult to know who fits into which category.

The idea appears to be this: the 4400 were sent back to prevent some threat to humanity by one faction, while another apparently managed to “seed” Lily with Isabelle.  Isabelle is now apparently interfering with the purpose of the 4400, so the 4400 Faction chose to move some of the 4400 in the timeline to compensate.  The only other alternative is to eliminate Isabelle altogether and hope that the damage hasn’t been done.  All assuming, of course, that this is a correct interpretation of what has been revealed.

For instance, any information about the “future humanity” must be taken with a grain of salt.  If one faction could “seed” the timeline with a counter-agent of some kind, be it Isabelle or Matthew (my current pet theory), then how can it be assumed that the faction that keeps manipulating Tom is actually the same one that sent back the 4400 in the first place?  After all, people lie, especially when they are afraid that their opponents might sound more convincing.  We have no idea if the Borg Queen was being honest or spinning information to her own ends.

I wonder how far the writers will take this idea of Tom as “protected”.  In a lot of ways, he could become reckless, always assuming that the “future humanity” would save him if he were really in danger.  After all, this is a man who was willing to attempt suicide under the assumption that he wouldn’t be allowed to die.  That could really go into some dark territory, especially if things go badly with Alana and/or Kyle.

Richard’s reaction to the news that Shawn is sleeping with Isabelle is quite interesting.  Did Richard refuse to spare Shawn because of the moral imperative to resist terrorism, or was there a personal component as well?  Whatever the case, Shawn is in no shape to run anything after this latest attack.  Just how long is that mental illness going to last?  For that matter, what happens if Isabelle discovers that Shawn suffered because of a decision her father made?

After all, Isabelle already lost her head a bit and went Dark Phoenix on him in full view of the public (wearing dark colors, as predicted!), and that was just for messing with her sex life.  And didn’t Matthew look enormously pleased at that display of power and instability?  That plays into my growing suspicion that Matthew comes from the faction that sent Isabelle into the past in the first place.

Despite the predictable elements, there was enough happening in this episode to keep the story from being drowned in cliché.  (Contrast this to the “Dead Zone” episode that aired the same night, which was horribly predictable and relied on nothing but idiotic plot contrivances.)  It’s the serialized elements and the complications afforded by that format that keep the series from running aground, and it looks like that will continue through the rest of the season.  I can’t help but be pleased!

(As a sidenote: I also have a podcast associated with my various reviews called “Dispatches from Tuzenor”.  Recent episodes cover the “The 4400”, so it might be something of interest.  Go to http://entil2001.libsyn.com if you want to listen!)

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 2/4

Final Rating: 8/10