One of the cool things about gaining new abilities is learning how to use them and Stephen is no different. With the help of his training officer Von, Stephen is trying to get a handle on how his powers work while still trying to be the Stephen his family and friends know. The overload of responsibility may be blinding Stephen to what’s right in front of him, namely, the gigantic crush his bestie Astrid has on him. As things stand, Jedikiah continues with his spiel of the ‘war’ between humans and Tomorrow People. He gives Stephen a glimpse of the command center, where ULTRA searches for other Tomorrow People (TP). Though the information they have at their fingertips is massive, they can’t see everything and that includes the Edward Furlong lookalike using a security guard to hold up a bank.

Stephen introduced to ULTRA’s Command Center

After the talk with his Uncle, Stephen hops back into the TP Lair and recognizes that he’s not really welcome. John knows Stephen is a liability; if someone at ULTRA gets into his head, they are done. Stephen’s preaching grates on John and he reminds the former that they’ve all lost something and that others know a heckuva lot more than Stephen may think. He tells Stephen about the time he worked with ULTRA, warning Stephen that he hasn’t even “scratched the surface of what [ULTRA] can do.” As long as Stephen is working for the enemy, John has a valid point.

Though he’s working on the bigger picture, Stephen also has a second life, one he’s not doing so well in at the moment. When he gets home, a furious mom and disappointed Astrid await. His mom calls him out for not using his meds and he promises to get back on them. They reconcile and his powers make an unexpected leap, when, after hugging his mother, they show him her memories of his father’s leaving.

Back at the lair, TIM ID’s Furlong Jr as Kurt Randle. John and Cara talk about things and she tells her that he needs a break, suggesting they both get away for the night. They have things to do though and, when he leaves the room, she takes the D-chip, a shield against telepathy housed in an old watch. He confides in Cara about what he saw in his mom’s mind and openly wonders if he’s making the right play. She really doesn’t have an answer for him and, later that night, after Kurt knocks over an armored car, John, Cara, and Russell try talking to him but he gets away.

The next day ULTRA joins the ‘Find Kurt’ race, visiting his mother for any trace of him. Stephen realizes he knows Kurt; it’s him growing up when his father left, hurt and confused and dealing with something beyond his capability to understand. He senses Kurt in the attic and tells Von, who calls in the hit squad. He’s floored by the execution order and storms into his uncle’s office, calling the need to kill TP’ers as crazy. Jedikiah tells him that if ULTRA doesn’t police things, the government will and that would not be good. Though Jedikiah has a point about government interference, his methods are more than what the situation calls for as, based on the now, TP’s cannot kill.

Back at the Lair, John and Cara spar. He brings up her connections to Stephen and the danger he poses to the group. He reiterates his earlier points to her and, later, to Stephen when they all neet up with him. Stephen still believes they need to do more and, despite Kurt being on ULTRA”s radar, they need to help the lost youngster.

What’s a lil MMA between two Tomorrow People?

After thinking on his words, Russell and Cara tell John that Stephen was right, they needing to fight back and help Kurt. “If we’re not going to stand up for our own,” Cara says, “what’s the point of surviving?”

Thinking he’s on his own, Stephen tries reaching out to Kurt but is interrupted by Von. A pretty cool teleport chase through the building ensues and speaks to Kurt’s inexperience with his powers. He does end up shaking Stephen though, but Cara arrives on the scene and tries talking him down. When that doesn’t work, she resorts to violence—something she’s quite good at, though no one can argue its effectiveness.

Stephen and Von report to Jedikiah about Kurt’s escape. Stephen is given a more solid understanding that he’s not going anywhere. Stephen is given a harsh reminder that it’s not as simple as taking your ball and going home. He’s in deep and the weight of that reality is sobering news. He gets a bigger surprise when Jedikiah announces he’s ready for his first debriefing, performed by a senior telepath. Without the watch (taken by his uncle and told it was his father’s) Stephen reaches out to Cara for a way to hide what he doesn’t want the telepath to find. She instructs him to fill his mind with a memory, an emotion so powerful that it takes over him. He uses the most potent one, his father leaving, as that distration. Jedikiah congratulates Stephen and puts the failure on Von’s. There’s a point of “accountability” and an example must be made. Von is that example and Stephen fully understands he’s made a Faustian deal. He tells John he can’t do it anymore but John encourages him, finally understanding they do have to fight back. But in order to take the initiative, they’ll need Stephen working on the inside. He talks about the watch and how Stephen’s dad gave it to him as a reminder to be brave. When he sees Cara later that night, Stephen shows her the last memories he has of his father, asking a young Stephen to be brave and take care of his mom and brother. It’s a reminder to Stephen to become better now; not just for his family, but his friends, both old and new. He wants to be better for “both of our species because I realize I can’t turn my back on any of them.”

He better not turn his back to his good Uncle because Jedikiah knows he’s still in contact with TP and the head of ULTRA is determined to bide his time until Stephen leads the ULTRA wolves to their door and tear them apart.

Tomorrow’s Outlook

  • Though a lot of the new Tomorrow People are confused and like Kurt, it will be interesting to see when they run into the bad ones, the ones that don’t care about others, the ones that can’t be saved. Their introduction would make Stephen’s counter spy life fall more into a gray area and force him to make even tougher choices.
  • I like the connection between Stephen and Cara. Though it’s not romantic it’s just as strong as the one she shares with John. Is that going to lead to problems down the road? Stephen sees Cara as his savior and he may mistake that gratitude for something that it’s not. If he does, then he better watch out for John.
  • While Jedikiah’s commitment to his cause is strong and heavy-handed, could he be the lesser of two evils? He mentioned those above him; what if their ideas for dealing with the Tomorrow People are even more radical and he’s there to mitigate their desires? Again, this would be a good change of pace and would case Jed in a less ‘he’s the ultimate villain’ light.

So what did you think of last night’s episode? Does CW have another hit on their hands? Let us know in the comments below.