Monsters of Television

“No. I never thought our friends were criminals until we made friends with criminals.”

Ok. This must be discussed before diving into the meat of the episode. I feel cheated, No Ordinary Family. Daphne’s amnesia, a super exciting possible plot development, was just an outlet for introducing potential new viewers to the concept and to the character’s powers. It’s resolved in the first 2 minutes of the episode by touching her family members and relearning everything. All of the emotional weight from the brilliant ending to “No Ordinary Sidekick” was just wasted. Cheap, No Ordinary Family. Cheap.

Now that that’s off my chest let’s talk this week. “No Ordinary Friends” introduced us to the Cotton Family. The patriarch, Dave, was saved by Jim and so a friendship between the two families was born. Jim and Steph loved the possibility of having people they could talk and relate to. Apparently they forgot about George and Katie.

The two families became fast friends, being able to relate on a bunch of different levels. Steph got to bond with a mom who also had little time for friendships (again: Katie ring a bell?) and Jim got to bro out about music and such. It was JJ and Daphne that really seemed to benefit from getting to know the Cottons. Troy Cotton helped JJ channel his inner bad boy to progress his relationship with Nat. Apparently it doesn’t matter how smart she is, she still just wants guys to fight over her. Chicks, am I right?

Chloe Cotton and her “I don’t give a damn” attitude helped rally Daphne to take on Bailey, the popular girl at school, in a death match. Well not so much death match as a race for class President. Daphne had a great campaign. She really seemed to what issues were on the student’s minds. BECAUSE SHE WAS READING THEM. A commendable tactic, young Daphne.

The Cotton Children were great for JJ and Daphne because they embodied traits that the relatively timid Powell kids didn’t posses. Ambition, confidence, drive. They brought the best out of JJ and Daphne. Unfortunately it doesn’t look like these friendships will have much more room to grow.

The Jim and Steph part of the story dealt with Jim suspecting Dave of being an art thief that had just moved into town. The twist was that it was actually his wife, Michelle, who was the thief. A good plot for the episode, but I feel as though there’s some wasted potential. I would have liked to see this as an arc. Introduce the family, have the Powells really begin to connect with them (especially the kids stories) and then have them be a family of villains. They’re literally foils to all of the Powells in every aspect.

Katie’s B story dealt with trust. Katie is a virgin, she’d been saving herself for her Neo (the one), and now she believed that Joshua/Watcher/Will was the one. When she revealed her secret, Will panicked and ran out. But it’s wasn’t because he got scared off, it was because he loves her. He went to tell Evil Camden that he’s done working for him. He loves Katie and wants to be able to be truthful with her.

Oops. After going back to Katie and reconciling (see: having sex), Katie finds Steph’s missing journal after it falls out of his coat. Looks like someone will have some explaining to do.

Wasted amnesia story aside, this was a solid episode. I would have liked to see a few of the themes and relationships expanded but for a single episode it was fine. And my heart did skip a beat when Katie found the journal. That’s sure to payoff next week. Hopefully. If for no other reason, tune in next week because Rebecca Mader begins her stint on the show. LOST fans unite!

Final Thoughts:

• Katie’s nerd references this episode: The Matrix and Star Wars (specifically the plants of Tatooine and Alderaan).
• Seriously. JJ is a walking Urban Outfitters store.
• Maybe that’s why you’re not a cop, Jim. Your “subtle” skills of interrogation leave much to be desired.