The Tomorrow People - Episode 2 - Recap - In Too Deep
The Tomorrow People - Episode 2 - Recap - In Too Deep
The CW's new teen superhero drama The Tomorrow People comes back after its pilot episode last week with the first installment of the series proper. To catch up, the show follows high school student Stephen Jameson as he discovers not only his own superpowers, but a war between the superpowered and a secret organization called Ultra... which is run by Stephen's uncle Jedikiah! Stephen works for Ultra at the behest of an underground group of freedom fighter super teens who call themselves The Tomorrow People.
Stephen's still getting used to his newfound Tomorrow People powers, telekinetically cleaning his room in one go but teleporting into a mop bucket at school. He does the voiceover thing, recapping the series premiere and everything. His secret after school job at Ultra (an organization who spends their time hunting The Tomorrow People) is training him in using his powers, allowing him to access memories. They also keep him held up all night, making his friends and family suspicious. His buddies in the subway also don't like him working for Ultra, since that's kinda the organization bent on eradicating their species. They also don't like that Ultra could read his mind and discern their location. Well problem solved on this front, because the sewer teens have a watch that blocks mind-reading. Convenient!
Some kid robs a bank via mind controlling (or maybe just telekinesising) the security guard. The Tomorrow People group in the subway, the ones who oppose Ultra, are looking for the kid (Kurt is his name). They do run into him, right after he's knocked over an armored truck. Kurt runs off like a jerk. Teens, am I right? Anyway, Ultra gets wind of Kurt (I'd think they'd have found out before some sewer-dwelling teenagers, but I guess I'll have to suspend my disbelief) and sends Stephen on the away team to gather him. Stephen and some Ultra dude go visit Kurt's mom, and Stephen psychics Kurt's location, the crawlspace above his bedroom. After the other dude tasers Kurt's mom, a gun squad heads in and starts blasting into the ceiling! Sheesh! Luckily, Kurt isn't there anymore. Stephen (reasonably so!) bursts into Uncle Boss's office and they have the standard X-Men argument about how The Tomorrow People are inhuman threats but no they're just kids but they're dangerous but etc. etc. etc., you've heard it all before!
So now that both of Stephen's sort-of teams are after the same kid, he's kind of caught in the middle. Well... actually, the sewer crew doesn't want to go after Kurt. They think he's dangerous. Later, the sewer kids do decide that going after Kurt is the right thing to do, and that fighting Ultra is the only way they'll survive. Stephen eventually goes after Kurt by himself to talk to him about Ultra and the sewer dudes and all that jazz. An Ultra guy shows up (another Tomorrow People) and a bizarre teleport chase starts. I've got no idea how they follow one another if they could teleport anywhere. Kurt just seems to use the teleporting to go through walls even though he could teleport to, I dunno, California?? Anywhere besides three feet in front of himself! Whatever, Kurt gets away. Briefly; Kara subdues him. The subway kids celebrate their victory, both in saving Stephen and in helping Kurt.
Back at Ultra, Stephen is scolded for his insolence, and Uncle Boss takes away the psy-blocking watch. Whoooops! Now Stephen's going in for debriefing with no way to block the high-powered telepath from seeing all his beytrayals! He telepaths at Kara for help, and she advises him to block the debriefers probing with strong thoughts. It... works?? She psychically asks him the same question a bunch of times, and he just thinks about his dad leaving. She... doesn't notice! Very odd, very convenient. Anyway, Uncle Boss Dude has Stephen's partner (from Kurt's mom's house, and the chase scene) killed. Uhm. Oops. Bad job Stephen!
This show sits in an interesting place. Over on ABC, we've got Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as the biggest superhero show, tying into the biggest film franchise in the world. Here on The CW, there's the DC Comics adaptation Arrow, which shoots for a similar Whedonite audience of young folk and moviegoers. The Tomorrow People isn't comics-derived and has no movie tie-ins, instead based on a cult hit 1970s British TV series. The target audience seems to be slightly closer to teenagers (okay, it's totally a teens show), another bold choice for a superhero show. It'll be interesting to see where this show goes and how it evolves, and I'm excited to go for the ride! Check out a preview below.