Finally! There is a new episode of The Tomorrow People and it was such a good return for the show.

Brother’s Keeper shines a light onto the family aspect that has been a part of the show since the very beginning but has been given short shrift most of the time. A paranormal hit man has everyone up in arms as both the Tomorrow People and ultra try to capture him for their own ends. While this mystery plays out we get to see the fallout of major twists from the last episode play out.

On to the review!

The Good:

When presented with a buffet of so much stuff it is difficulty to decide where to begin. Lets start with initiating event for this episode. The hit man story is both entertaining and provides an excellent method for the exploration of family that happens in this episode.

I enjoyed the element of investigation that this story line added to the show. Watching as both sides scrambled to figure out how another paranormal had developed the ability to kill was enjoyable. knowing that the explanation was the simplest of answers was even more pleasing. Instead of it being some anomaly or experiment, the simple expedient of the hit man being twins was excellent.

This provides a nice backdrop for the discussion of family that happens throughout the show. These twins hold up the idea of family for some intense scrutiny. They obviously love and care for each other. That they chose to become assassins takes this pure idea that we have about family and shows that it isn’t quite so clear and noble. This idea is fretted out among the three families that are being dealt with in the show.

We get to watch as Stephen’s family comes together despite the tremendous pressure that it is now under. He knows his mother is a paranormal. Instead of letting things drop to her and abdicating responsibility he takes up the cause of protecting the family. Sure, there is a bit of sexism there as he does everything but say I’m the man of the family. It comes across as more teenage bravado than something darker. This sets up some nice interplay throughout the episode as he works through the little betrayals that he realizes had occurred by virtue of her being paranormal as well. The accusation of being drugged to prevent the possibility of him being paranormal is the most telling and one of the best scenes of the show.

John and Cara’s relationship is revisited as well. John has not taken the break-up well. Stephen brings him back to his house in a drunken stupor and gives him shelter. John’s time here is more of a Basil Exposition role. He plays the observer that informs those struggling with big decisions. He puts the pieces together for both Stephen and Marla so that when they have finally make these decisions that they have the ability to do it with all the information. It took being thrown out of the lair for John to finally feel like he fits the father role that he has been cast in and I have to say that it worked well this episode. In particular I really liked the ending scene between Cara and John. He calls her on the decision to pay the hit man to try and take out Jedekiah. She finally admits that he is the one person that she would do anything to rescue. He accepts this while letting her know that he will not be her pet assassin. I was so glad to hear this because this was the one thing that annoyed me about her decision to kick him out. Why kick out your best weapon? This one line puts this on the table and changes the dynamic of the relationship. I can not wait to see how it plays out.

We also get a disturbing look at Jedekiah. He is the person that is family but seems really detached from everything that is going on. His connection to Stephen and john is murky at best and easily seen as self-serving. What we see at the end of the episode is just creepy and certainly pushes how he interacts with these two into the creepy zone. Stephen has been trying to find his Father’s body for some time now and finally confronts Jedekiah over the cremation. He denies keeping the body as he wouldn’t treat his brother as a guinea pig. The end of the show has him waling into a black corridor with several vault like doors. He enters one and begins having a conversation. It turns out he is talking to the frozen body of his brother. It is both creepy and shows a twisted sense of family that is present within Jedekiah. The conversation has hints that he knows about Limbo as well which is interesting and hints at a much deeper game between he and the Founder.

For me, this episode had nothing that really felt bad or ugly. It feels like the show has fond its legs and is finally taking them out for a run.

I am looking forward to the next episode!