Report on the 4400: "Fear Itself"

Oh, who called it!?! OK, I only half called it. No, probably more like three-quarters called it.

And I quote myself from last week's random thoughts on the season premiere: "I couldn't be more curious about the girl Cassie that Kyle talked to. I have a feeling she is tied to his power, which he says he doesn't have... of course Graham said he had none either at first... I wonder if Cassie is from the future?"

There you go -- who told you that Kyle's ability was talking to a girl who knows the future?

While "Fear Itself" didn't quite have the fast-paced action that the season opener had, I still give this episode high marks for advancing the Season Four storylines to the point where now I feel like all the pieces are in place and we're reading to get rolling:
- Diana is officially back with NTAC (again, why did they bother with the whole Spain thing?)
- Kyle's powers are exposed to us viewers
- Shawn is clearly going to be actively opposing the shot and representing an opposing force to Collier's
- Tom is getting over Alana
- Isabelle is officially tested as unable to regain her powers.

Now, we're ready to roll.

Oh, and the episode also featured another "super-power of the week" story, this time centering on an autistic child, who's parent injected him with the shot to try to cure him, who unintentionally incites panic. I cannot say this story really did anything to me, although I did find the concept of a desperate parent and a sick kid turning to the shot as an interesting concept. What this story did lead to was Shawn's first healing since he came out of the coma -- which simply went further to show what his future will entail.

The highlight of the week for me was Shawn's storyline, juxtaposed with Kyle's and Shawn's brother Danny. Something is always wrong for the relationship between these cousins, and you know that in a perfect world, with everyone back together, this should be a bit of a happy ending for them -- but almost immediately the ideological differences between Shawn and Kyle becomes the 800-pound elephant in the room, and Danny's jealousy has him wanting the shot -- sure to infuse drama.

Still, great acting from that trio, making this episode a 8 out of 10 rather than a 7... if I were the type to rate shows on a 1-10 scale. I'm not.

Want some random thoughts from the man who called Kyle's ability? My Pleasure!

1) You just know that Danny is going to die. You just know it. Too many people have lived through this 50/50 chance.

2) Garrity is such a doormat -- when you need someone to get sick, he's your man.

3) Kyle's awfully lucky his visions come in the form of a semi-attractive redhead... his visions could have looked like a 400-pound guy in a mustard-stained undershirt named chuck...

4) I like the idea of this hundred-year-old Cult that has predicted Collier's coming... but I wonder how accurate something like that can be when people from the future could have easily planted this all 100 years ago to make people believe Collier would be something he isn't... I mean, "the future" still hasn't proved to be the good guys, right?

5) Is it just me, or was this episode directed very much like a soap opera?

6) I have a feeling Shawn is going to be a formidable leader opposing Collier -- and this time he'll be a good leader, since this time he is asking to lead, not thrust upon it...

7) ... And wouldn't it be cool if Shawn re-opened the 4400 Centers and kind of flaunt them in Collier's face?

8) Oh, and, ya think new boss lady is going to enlist Shawn's help? Ya Think?

9) The actress that plays Diana slipped into her natural Australian accent a time or two... go back and watch, you'll hear it

10) I wonder... did Isabelle actually fail that test?