First of all, I’d like to apologize for my lack of a review for “Pound of Flesh.” I was unable to watch that episode until several days later, and by then it was too late for me to post a review. I must say, though, that it was a huge step up from “Welcome to the War,” (which I gave a C) and was probably my favorite episode of the season so far. But now, on with “John May.”
“John May” was the episode that fixed all my complaints about “Welcome to the War.” I found myself actually caring about the characters and their struggles. First, though, I would like to take a moment to remember Georgie, who died a valiant death that was one of the saddest I’ve seen on television in a long time. Perhaps the person who was most dedicated to taking down the Vs, I had figured Georgie would die simply because he wasn’t a member of the main cast. However, that didn’t make his death any less emotionally taxing, and I was really sad to see him go. However, it was the best death that the character possibly could have gotten: to go on his own terms before he could compromise his friends. David Richmond-Peck really did a good job with the character, and I hope we’ll get to see him in some capacity in the future. After all, Georgie did tell Father Jack he’d “see him around.”
The episode, however, mostly focused on Ryan Nichols (Morris Chestnut) as he flashed back to his past – and eventual murder – of John May, the resistance fighter. After all, we had to find out how Ryan defected sometime, and John May’s recruitment of Ryan wasn’t sugar-coated. After all, Ryan didn’t fully change sides until he was at John’s funeral. Of course, this entire storyline gives a tinge of irony to the phrase “John May Lives,” but it also gives May a much larger-than-life effect than he had (in our eyes) before this episode.
Imagine having to explain that to John May’s stepson, which is exactly what Ryan had to do in this episode in the present time, after Erica fought off the stepson’s clawed, V-in-disguise girlfriend. This was all in keeping with the plan to rescue Georgie, which, as you know by now, failed.
Ryan had bigger fish to fry than John May’s stepson, though. His girlfriend, Valerie, found a safe full of his secrets in their closet (by horrible, horrible coincidence), including the real ultrasound of her tailed baby. Ignoring Ryan’s call, she left, taking the files and going on the run. I expect that she’ll play a pretty major part in the next episode, and I’m interested to see who she turns to. My guess? The OBGYN who was secretly helping Ryan falsify the ultrasounds to Valerie.
Erica had a similar problem with Tyler, who found out that who he thought was his dad wasn’t really. After finding this out (prodded by the conniving Lisa), Tyler confronted his mother at home. Despite her pleading with him to understand that she didn’t think the tests were right (it really is awful to see Elizabeth Mitchell cry), Tyler decided to run into his room and scream “I thought I could trust you!” at his mother. That usually solves all your problems, Tyler. (Of course, as we saw from the promo, he’s going to get some other problems solved by Lisa.)
The episode was, overall, a huge improvement from the show’s return two episodes ago. Will it be enough to keep the series afloat? I’m not sure, but it was definitely worthy of an A-.
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