As the inaugural season of this sci-fi/adventure show has gone on, the telekinetic powers of the folks residing on the edges are getting stronger and stronger. You have homo superiors who can push anyone out who is trying to read their minds, and those rare people who can actually maintain their powers while still being able to kill.
Tonight’s installment introduced even further wrinkles into the mix. On the “good side,” there’s Charlotte, the young girl that the Tomorrow People helped escape from the Citadel, and whose growing powers are so strong that it renders anyone close by unconscious or just in a lot of pain. On the other side of the fence is Julian Masters, a breakout who, six years ago, roped Cara into his world of theft and intrigue before the murder of a loved one set him off on a vendetta to make the upper class pay for their sins. His key trick: to beat people until he gets the murderous urge, getting off on the rush of pain and endorphins that floods in as a response.
As per the course of most episodes, the Tomorrow Persons and Ultra both vie for a chance to get their hands on Julian. The former looks to enact a little revenge for his almost killing Cara years ago, he latter to strip him of his powers before he does more damage.
Writers Nicholas Wootton and Ray Utaranchitt do a fine job of showing the parallels between the Tomorrow People and the gang of ne’er-do-wells that Julian surrounds himself with, leading up to the titular rumble that results in the big reveal of Charlotte’s powers. (She incapacitates everyone in the room with a loud telekinetic screech.) And they bring to the fore Cara’s frustration at being unable to lead her brethren even after they put her in charge.
The strength of the main story rendered the subplot, dealing with Stephen trying to secure his place in Ultra with a pair of fellow homo superior agents, superfluous. They introduced a new Ultra agent character, Hillary Cole, nicely, but then gave her little to do beyond grousing at her cohorts and beating the shit out of Stephen in the sparring ring. She did manage to show up towards the episode’s end, following Stephen along his merry way. Will Hillary Cole be revealed as a double agent for Ultra? Or will she reveal a desperate desire for Stephen that will ultimately end in her death? Tune in next week to find out; same Tomorrow People time, same Tomorrow People channel.