8.9

The Tomorrow People: “Brother’s Keeper” (Episode 1.14)

TV Reviews
The Tomorrow People: “Brother’s Keeper” (Episode 1.14)

As ever, The Tomorrow People keeps us locked in until the bitter end of this week before pulling back the curtain and providing the big reveal. Last week, it was to show that Stephen’s mom was actually a mutant just like her husband. And tonight, it was that very same husband who was brought back into the picture. At episode’s end, Jedikiah brings viewers down to the underground lair where the body of his elder brother is being held in suspended animation.

For what sinister purpose is this happening? Well, as the rest of tonight’s installment revealed, one of Jedikiah’s more unsavory activities is an attempt to transfer the powers from a Tomorrow Person to a regular human being. He almost had a chance, too, with the capture of a set of twins, one with powers and one without. The pair works in tandem, killing people for money, and came on the Ultra grid after murdering the key witness in a racketeering trial.

The action of the episode was watching Ultra and the Tomorrow People both working to catch this murderous rogue—both thinking at the time that it was only one person. They eventually do each catch one of the twins, and the secret is revealed. You could see the gears turning in Jedikiah’s head and his delight in the fact that he might be able to practice his experiment. The Tomorrow People actually have their kindred breakout, however, and convince the lowly gent to turn himself in. The trick is they sent him in packing heat, so he could pass a gun to his brother and off Jedikiah. And as ever, Stephen gets in the way, and the normal twin gets caught in the crossfire.

If you’ve been following the show, you’re likely wondering why Stephen is back in the fold, especially after Astrid was almost murdered by Ultra. Somehow Jedikiah convinced him that he had nothing to do with the hit and that it would safer for the family for Stephen to return to Ultra and avoid The Founder’s wrath. With that decision comes a lot of power struggles, both in Stephen’s actual home and with his underground family. It made for some borderline melodramatic moments, but they felt earned this time around.

Also, any brow furrowing was quickly shoved to the corner for the sake of some real drama and some intense action sequences. This was one of the faster-paced episodes of the season, burning through the 42 minutes allotted to it quickly. They’re pushing hard on the gas pedal with the end of the season in sight and no guarantee yet that the series will go beyond this one 18-episode run. If they keep this kind of episode up, though, I have little doubt that we’ll be seeing more of Stephen, Jedikiah, Cara and the whole gang when autumn rolls around.

Robert Ham is a Portland-based freelance writer and regular contributor to Paste. You can follow him on Twitter.

Share Tweet Submit Pin