The 4400 Blog

Written by Robert Hewitt Wolfe
Directed by Scott Peters

Fans of “The 4400” have already come to expect a fast-paced season marked by high quality each and every summer. With the fourth season at its mid-point, the trend continues. Not only does this episode continue to pay off the release of promicin to the general population in interesting and logical ways, but the stage has been set for a massive conflict in the second half of the season.

This is the heart of the “complication” phase of the season arc, and as such, things escalate quite a bit. Jordan Collier comes out of hiding and declares that he and his followers will take over a polluted portion of Seattle as their own autonomous state: Promise City. They intend to use the area as a haven for the powered and a test model for how the powered can help bring Promise on Earth.

This fits into Jordan’s decision to use Kyle and the White Light book as the underpinnings of a modern religion, but it raises several intriguing questions. As one character puts it, Jordan is not necessarily a “bad guy” for protecting and fostering his own kind. His methods, on the other hand, suggest a desire for confrontation. His current actions are similar to those of the Nova Group in the third season. By demonstrating the ability to change the world, Jordan reminds the masses that he could easily force the issue and take control with enough support.

If the government concedes, allowing Promise City to stand, then Jordan wins and things will only escalate as more people choose to live in the idyllic world of the powered. If the government continues to act against Jordan, the situation could quickly get out of hand. Using conventional forces would place hundreds of thousands of innocents at risk and turn Seattle into a war zone (which is why Jordan’s tactics are sound, from his side of the conflict). If the government creates more powered soldiers, they could be eliminating one problem while creating another, since they would only be creating a superior breed of powered individuals.

Ironically, if the information from the future is to be believed, the powered need to take control or gain enough influence if humanity is to be saved. Allowing the current controlling interests to remain will lead to humanity’s destruction. So while his methods may be questionable, Jordan’s motivations may be sound. Similarly, Shawn’s motivations might be to have the best of both worlds, but in doing so, he might be preserving the status quo too much. Humanity as a whole may need Jordan’s current revolution, and that ambiguity is what keeps this show so entertaining and challenging.

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

Final Rating: 8/10

Written by Craig Sweeny
Directed by Leslie Libman

With the season marching quickly towards its midpoint, it makes sense that the series mythology would get a bit of clarification and complication all in one package. This episode takes a few loose ends (notably the question of Matthew from the second and third seasons) and gives them a satisfying and consistent payoff. Yet it also gives one central character another massive and unexpected turn.

In terms of the payoff, the questions surrounding Matthew are essentially answered. One lingering mystery was the revelation, early in the third season, that Matthew was working with someone against the interests of Jordan Collier’s legacy. This episode finally explains why Matthew would be taking such an action while working as Shawn’s apparent advisor.

I like the idea of the Future Elite, last discussed in the third season, seeding the past shortly after the return of the 4400. It continues to frame the series in a well-defined conflict with recognizable opponents. This does, however, bring up some interesting questions about the White Light cult and Kyle’s ability. Kyle’s ability is very similar to an implanted personality, and it’s possible that the White Light cult was designed to lead Jordan down the wrong path. (This would also explain why Kyle was led to bring Isabelle into Jordan’s sphere of influence.)

The existence of “the marked” certainly complicates Tom Baldwin’s life, since he’s now apparently a sleeper agent for the Future Elite. His supposed role as one of those destined to take the promicin shot and pave the way for Jordan’s movement to reach its goal could be derailed by this turn of events. Unless, of course, the previous suspicion about the White Light movement turns out to be true…in which case Tom’s pivotal role in the book could facilitate his role as a sleeper agent.

All of this is revealed in a rather unusual manner. One of the original 4400 has the ability to uncover conspiracies and secrets, but only in terms of creative writing/filmmaking. The irony is that he has very little writing ability, so his final product is more of a joke than a money-maker. This adds an element of humor and doubt to the exposition.

As if that wasn’t enough, the episode also adds an interesting wrinkle in Shawn’s political career. Shawn and Jordan confront one another on their methods, and Shawn reveals that his opponent is destined to persecute the powered. Shortly thereafter, the opponent has a stroke, and Shawn blames Jordan, who denies any involvement. The cause of the stroke is never revealed, but Shawn chooses to heal the man, rather than take advantage. The consequences of that choice should make things rather interesting as the second half of the season approaches.

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

Final Rating: 8/10

Written by Michael Narducci
Directed by Craig Ross Jr.

Now that the introductions are effectively over, the writers turn to plot progression. The result is a transitional episode designed to move forward on some plot threads and set the stage for larger conflicts later in the season. Beyond Tom’s discovery of Jordan’s emerging cult, very little happens to define the episode as a whole.

As anticipated, Tom finds himself caught between his sense of duty and the desire to be with Kyle when he arrives in Evanston, and that struggle only comes to the end of the first round in this episode. Kyle is convinced that his father must take promicin, but he doesn’t want to force the issue. Tom is tempted, but he’s against everything that Jordan Collier stands for. It’s not an easy situation, and one can see how this could tie into the rest of the season arc.

Tom has been compromised by his personal relationship to the 4400 since the very beginning of the series. While that’s never been explored as thoroughly as it could have been, it makes sense for that internal conflict to escalate to a single choice. He’s probably the only person on the planet who knows, with a high degree of certainty, that he would survive the promicin shot, so the probabilities aren’t an issue.

That brings up the question of Kyle and his ability. Kyle is convinced that his father will survive, but he’s basing that on his ability and Isabelle’s translation of the book, which may or may not be valid (especially since the book itself is a matter of debate). That means Kyle is operating on faith, which Jordan is willing to exploit. So would Tom really survive the shot, or is it possible that he might die, proving Kyle wrong? Granted, it’s unlikely for Tom to die, given his leading role in the story, but it would be one hell of a plot twist.

In terms of Jordan, I like his characterization in this episode. He has no problem playing the revolutionary; he’s been playing that kind of role since the first season. But his reluctance to claim a messianic role, even with an apparent shaman proclaiming him a central figure in the creation of a new paradise, brings depth to the character. An intriguing arc for Jordan would be one of self-delusion: starting with the intentions of using a religious movement to gain power for his people and ending with the actual belief that he is a messiah (something foreshadowed in the season premiere).

Back in Seattle, Diana is dealing with Maia and her latest round of visions, and they are not pleasant. In fact, they reflect something that is all too easy to believe. Given the evidence of human history, if something like promicin were discovered, who wouldn’t expect some politician to suggest interment? Here again we have a parallel to some of the concepts from “The X-Men”, solidly based in the continuity of the series. After all, the government had already attempted to control the powered once with the promicin inhibitor.

Without the exploration of the newly-powered early in the season, the political and social climate would be less established and less satisfying. Now it’s easy to imagine a politician using Shawn’s attempt to reframe the public image of the powered as a tool to further his own ambitions. And Shawn could end up being the catalyst for something that damages the 4400 more than ever. Contemplating that slippery slope is one of the highlights of watching “The 4400”, and why each new season is always worth the wait.

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

Final Rating: 8/10

Written by Mark Kruger
Directed by Scott Peters

Once again, the main plot thread of the episode focuses on one of the “extra crispies”, the newly-powered users of promicin, but this introductory phase of the season arc comes to a close by focusing on an established character: April Skouris. Her ability to force others into telling the truth is the basis for her current troubles, and the results put more pressure on Diana.

Diana promised Ben, her current paramour, that she would return to Europe with him and Maia once she found April and brought things to resolution. Now that she’s back in the midst of the NTAC whirlwind, however, her desire to get away from the danger and insanity has been overcome by her sense of duty. Both Maia and April, as members of her family, give her reason to stay on the front lines of the battle between the mundanes and the powered.

Not that Tom gets off easy. He discovers, much to his horror, that Kyle has taken the promicin shot and is now, in essence, a fugitive from the law. Kyle has embraced his role as Jordan’s future shaman, and has found an ally in Isabelle. Isabelle’s role is still not clear, but her unusual intelligence is already a key factor in the plot. She’s able to decode the encryption in the “White Light” journal, and the predictions therein put Tom right in Jordan’s path to Messiahville.

Once again, we see how Tom and Diana are compromised by their personal connections to the 4400 and the newly-powered. It’s hard to imagine that they’re still considered to be viable agents for NTAC. More to the point, one would expect them to overcompensate for any suspicion or conflict of interest by hunting down the powered more fervently than anyone else. The almost-casual nature of their investigative method remains one item difficult to reconcile.

April’s role, however, could force Diana to consider her loyalties as well. In essence, April could (and probably will) be used to question detained prisoners with abilities to find out where others are hiding, or more importantly, where Jordan’s followers might be (if he begins building a wider cult following). If April began to balk at this role, Diana might be forced to convince her otherwise, even if the methods being used are questionable.

Similarly, Tom will probably find himself caught between support for Shawn’s anti-Collier stance as a rising political figure and his relationship with Kyle, which is already falling apart at the seams. If Tom is forced into taking promicin (and assuming, as one must, that he survives), how would he react to that new reality? This would put him in an interesting position, especially when one considers Diana’s current situation.

Whatever the case, Shawn’s victory with his healing foundation (and, it seems, the 4400 Center as a whole) has successfully shifted the large-scale conflict into three factions. The first faction is rabidly anti-promicin, regardless of how abilities are used. Shawn’s faction is, in a sense, the “Charles Xavier” side of the conflict, seeking peaceful and beneficial co-existence. Jordan’s side is, in relation, the “Magneto” side, more at odds with the mundane world. It’s a tried-and-true formula that, so far, looks very promising.

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

Final Rating: 8/10

Written by Nick Wauters
Directed by Colin Bucksey

Once again, we have an effective mix of the “original recipe” 4400 subplots with an exploration of the new world order through the eyes of one of the promicin-powered “extra crispies”. The previous episode was full of subplots, almost to the deficit of the story itself, but this version is a bit more focused on specific advances in the overall arc. The results are more or less the same: a reminder of why this is one of the best summer TV shows on the air.

The newly-powered Audrey Parker is the center of the “A” plot. Audrey is an old woman with severe arthritic pain in her hands, requiring morphine shots on a regular basis. To escape the pain, Audrey took the promicin shot, and it gave her the ability to “astral project” as a much younger (and gorgeous) version of herself. She recounts this positive turn in her life on the internet, which becomes a problem for NTAC, since the message is coming from such a persuasive source.

This puts Diana in an interesting state of mind, because she wonders if someone with such a positive ability should be arrested. She admires Audrey on a number of levels, and that drives her character throughout the plot thread. Audrey is killed while using her ability, and Audrey figures out how to interact with Diana, who becomes her voice, pushing Tom and her allies to solve the murder before Audrey runs out of time and energy to communicate.

I liked that aspect of the episode, because some of the interaction between Audrey and the “real world” fit within the theories of paranormal research very well. The idea of Audrey interfering with electronic equipment is fairly standard, but this also had a clever use of Electronic Voice Phenomenon (EVP). The treatment didn’t quite much the known phenomena, but it was fairly close.

NTAC’s treatment of Audrey Parker meshed well with Shawn’s decision to re-open the 4400 Center and resume his healing services. Meghan Doyle, as the head of NTAC in Seattle, has personal reasons to support Shawn’s initiative, given her father’s health (as revealed in the previous installment). Just like that, by the end of the episode, Meghan is in the same difficult conflict of interests that has plagued Tom and Diana. She has to enforce the ban over use of abilities professionally while benefiting from them personally.

Shawn once again places himself in the path of Jordan’s revolution, something that was building nicely in the third season. Shawn is trying to make headway against the government ban on use of abilities through positive change, and for now, it’s working. But Jordan’s revolution may not allow for that kind of soft approach, and as Kyle’s subplot demonstrates, that revolution is coming very soon.

Kyle’s plot thread manages to show how quickly “mundane” laws can fall to the wayside. Shawn’s way is civil disobedience; he’s breaking the letter of the law to influence the spirit of the law, but there’s no negative impact. Kyle goes from stealing the White Light book to (presumably) helping a federal prisoner escape when the circumstances allow. If that’s where Kyle’s hot spirit guide is taking him, then it’s reasonable to assume that Kyle’s future advice to Jordan will continue to cross the legal line.

As with the first two episodes, the exploration of the new world order (and the plight of the newly-powered) is giving the subplots for the original 4400 more time to develop. This will give those subplots greater impact when the time comes, and for that reason alone, I enjoy these episodes. More than that, this is the best way to communicate the new world order to the audience, since it’s always better to show the impact than simply describe it in exposition. Whatever the case, another solid entry for the season.

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

Final Rating: 7/10