The search for Roger Jameson continues…
With the help of Cara and John, Stephen’s able to contact his dad and is left with the dire warning that whatever shenanigans the Founder is up to could endanger the entire world. In order to bring Roger back from limbo, Stephen will need to find his body. To do that, he needs to contact Simon Plame. When Cara drags Stephen back, he finds out that Simon is one of the original breakouts. Despite her connection to him, Cara is surprisingly skeptical of Stephen tale but John is in support of it. Stephen’s more dedicated than ever on finding his father, so when he finds out that his mom has a new paramour, he has a difficult time showing the same enthusiasm his brother Luca offers.
Back at the lair, Cara interrupts Morgan and John flirtatious hair cutting session to confront the latter on his out and out support on Stephen. She believes John is offering Stephen false hope and wonders if it’s his way of seeking penance. “Even if Stephen hasn’t forgiven you, it doesn’t mean your sins are erased.” Her callous words do strike a cord in John and ultimately decides that she’s right; no more hiding. He’s going to tell everyone the truth and let the cards fall where they may.
Errol being cuffed at the CitadelWe’re then given a quick glimpse into the Citadel, a place whose sterility and silence coupled with the hopelessness on its inhabitants whispers of a terrible place. More proof is seen when one of the prisoners, Errol, escapes with the help of a fellow prisoner’s severed hand.
When Stephen pays a visit to ULTRA the next day, he meets up with ALICE, the newest AI. When Stephen inquires about Simon Plame, she locks him down and alerts Jedikiah. His uncle is curious (read: suspicious) of where Stephen got the name and he offers the partial truth that he found then name in his father’s notes. Before Uncle Jed can pry a bit more into Stephen’s knowledge, he receives the alert on the Citadel breakout. Stephen’s shocked to find that ULTRA runs a prison, though with a coy smile Jedikiah corrects him, saying it’s more like a “research facility”. Stephen and another agent are tasked to the case and track Errol down to his former residence. They have him cornered but Errol is too much for them, redirecting the tranq back into Stephen’s partner and, when Stephen tries telepathic communication, Errol forcefully boots him out.
Tail tucked firmly between his legs, Stephen arrives back at the lair into to see everyone’s reaction after John tells them the truth. Mike, a previously unseen TP’er, is the voice of the masses, challenging John’s right to lead and nominates Cara to take his place. The leadership comes to a vote and Cara wins handily. Though Cara is not to blame, John can’t completely hide the bitterness of being replaced by his not-girlfriend. After the fireworks, Stephen tells the others about Errol and the Citadel. Based on Stephen’s report, Errol must be an extremely powerful telepath and the Citadel offers a chance to truly hit at the heart of Jedikiah and ULTRA. She wants to turn the heat up on Jed and everything else goes on the backburner, including the search for Stephen’s dad, a search she’s still not convinced is the viable route for them to take.
The plan is simple; Stephen is to alert the others when they capture Errol and nothing more. He does so and the team teleports in , disables the ULTRA agents and, to prevent any of Jedikiah’s suspicions falling onto Stephen, he takes a bullet in the shoulder.
John and Cara rescue Errol from ULTRAAs Jed watches Stephen get patched up in the infirmary, he’s all smiles. “You took a bullet for ULTRA,” he nearly cackles, “Literally.” He deduces that John and the others are behind the breakout and, later realizes that Errol’s mad hatter psyche will be useless to the cause…unless they use him to find the Citadel. He shares his intuitive leap with Stephen and ups his nephew’s painkillers, to help him rest but, more to the point, allay his own dwindling but still apparent hunches that Stephen’s working with the other Tomorrow People.
Errol is skulking around the lair and is understandably skittish until Cara reaches out to him. She informs Errol that his wife has moved on—remarried and living in Phoenix. “She thought you were dead,” she tells him and the obviously disturbed man shakes his head. “No,” he replies, the fear and horror still etched on his face, “it was much worse than that.” They try to glean any information about the Citadel from him that they can but like a traumatized victim, he’s blocked most of it out. Cara helps him, peering into his mind and gathering enough images for TIM to identify the town of New Cane as the Citadel’s location.
John and Cara get a moment alone and he tells her, in no uncertain terms, that this plan of hers isn’t too smart, especially with Jedikiah’s attentions squarely on something like this but she’s set on it. In addition, she wants John to stay put, ready to use Morgan as leverage if the need arises. Cara leads the mission to the Citadel and Stephen’s just able to get a warning shout out to John that Jedikiah knows. The mission is a spectacular failure when Cara’s only able to free one of the prisoners—a young girl by the name of Charlotte. Jedikiah shows up and has Cara dead to rights and her threats to out Morgan go nowhere; Errol teleports in between them a takes a bullet to the head for his troubles. Before Jed can do the same to Cara, John arrives to save the day. It gives Cara a change to hop out of the mess and John to let Jedikiah know that there’s going to be a time in the future where he will have Jedikiah in the crosshairs and things won’t end up well for the ULTRA director.
Completely pissed and feeling the aftereffects of her failure, Cara heads straight to Morgan, ready to turn her into ULTRA. She wants Jedikiah to know she’s not weak but her words show that she doesn’t quite yet understand the role of a leader. “Look at her, Cara,” he pleads. “If you can’t see that she’s one of us, then you are lost as a leader. And we are lost as a people.” His words do reach her and she walks off, her confidence completely shaken.
Stephen wakes up from his drug induced nap and is filled in on the Citadel events by his uncle. Jed throws out oblique comments questioning Stephen’s injury and the younger man draws on the ire of being continually cast in his uncle’s suspicious light—a light that, ironically, is one target. He demands to know more about Simon Plame and Jedikiah acquiesces. Plame was a dedicated follower of Roger Price, one who was killed trying to take Roger’s body. Jedikiah admits to cremating his brother’s body soon after. The news disheartens Stephen but after talking things over with the TP leadership, John gives him hope, not believing for a moment that Jedikiah would burn Roger’s body. Once again, Cara walks off, not sure of anything. Stephen catches up to her and gives her a much needed pep talk. He does let her know that he’s going to search for his father and needs her support. After the Citadel debacle, she in a precarious position but he tells her “Look, I know we’re feeling like long shots today but together…I don’t hate our odds.” It’s just what she needs to hear and another notch in the belt of Stephen’s own climb to becoming a leader.
Of course, Stephen still has the home life to deal with, specifically Peter, his mom’s new beau. Like any telepathic son would, Stephen tries to get into Peter’s head only to be met with headache inducing static. He can only stare in shock at the man before him, a man obviously hiding a major secret.
Tomorrow’s News
- The changes in leadership was not unexpected but it also highlights that everyone in positions of power are not always ready for the mantle of leading others. Cara’s first foray into being the captain was disastrous and some of the growing pains could have been avoided had she listened to John. True, John has been, at times, overly cautious but his overall capabilities are unmatched. Eventually Stephen will get there as well, already displaying a natural tendency to lead, but right now, John is their best bet for survival.
- When you’re fighting the good fight, there are times where you will have to do things you don’t want to do but, no matter how desperate you may become, there are certain lines that cannot be crossed. Cara nearly crosses one of those lines when she wants to sell Morgan out to prove to Jedikiah that she’s not weak. Had she done that, she would have irrevocably damaged herself in everyone’s eyes and crippled the cause they have all been fighting for.
- Hmmm…who is this Peter guy? It’s very interesting that a guy who has some mental shield against telepathy is dating Stephen’s mom. Will Stephen bide his time and try to find out more about Peter on his own or will he tap his Uncle Jed to delve more into this mystery man’s life?