4400 2.12: "Mommy's Bosses"

Written by Ira Steven Behr and Craig Sweeney
Directed by John Behring

In which the source of the illness afflicting the 4400 is discovered and the race is on to find a cure, while those behind the illness attempt to maintain control and events converge…


This short summer season for “4400” has been bittersweet. Looking back, it’s hard not to think that some of the early episodes wasted time that could have been spent on the kind of strong storytelling that marked the last few episodes. The writers managed to take something that felt rather disparate, without a clear vision, and make it all look like a cohesive (if chaotic) whole. I feel as though this episode really made a case for the series to continue on stronger footing.

So what did this episode give us? Turns out I was right about the promycin, at least so far as the fact that it was being used as a means of control. It’s just that the government didn’t know what to do once things started getting deadly. I’m happy to see that it was due to NTAC’s lack of information and understanding; NTAC simply ran with what they had. It means that their one weapon is now apparently gone, and the 4400 will all gain the abilities they were meant to have.

Maia is entirely correct: this will lead to a war between “normals” and 4400s. Casualties are already beginning to mount on both sides, and it’s just a matter of time before things explode. This is a lot more interesting to me than the “4400 of the Week” mentality that drove earlier episodes. I can easily see the third season being all about the struggle to stop the conflict from turning into a full-blown world war. (Anyone out there read “Rising Stars”? I foresee something similar to that, and have from the beginning.)

I wasn’t expecting Kyle to turn himself in, or for Tom to be there at his side when it happened. Was the crisis that Tom would experience, as foretold by Alana earlier in the season, really the “plague”, or is something worse coming on its heels? I also wonder how Kyle is going to be able to defend himself legally, now that the controlling consciousness is gone.

A couple of things were too easy. It’s a little convenient that Sean would be able to heal the other afflicted 4400 so soon after being given the promycin boost. No treatment works instantly, and if his immune system was compromised, it would still take days or weeks for it to be restored, once the neurotransmitters were back to normal levels and the body chemistry was back to equilibrium. Also, Tom’s standoff with Dennis was a little too public, and Dennis backed down far too quickly.

Still, it brought a lot of plot threads to a satisfying momentary resolution. Isabelle was, as predicted, the source of the “cure”, and the events of the second season premiere actually led directly into the events of the finale. So far as that’s concerned, I’m damned impressed. Even better, the stage is already set for the (hopefully) third season, beyond the obvious escalation of the conflict.

Why Jordan Collier is running around as a bum, I don’t know. I have a hunch that it’s somehow connected to the consciousness that was controlling Kyle, since Collier’s “removal” was orchestrated by the “future humanity”, who clearly knew he wouldn’t die (I pointed out the Jordan Collier = Jesus Christ metaphor a long time ago). Whatever the case, he seems to be awaiting the right moment to return; perhaps Isabelle’s vision of his Nobel Peace Prize weren’t so far from the mark, especially if he comes back and manages to stop the war from happening.

In this episode’s latest lesson in Awkward Temporal Mechanics, there’s the little issue of Kevin Burkhardt. Kevin is supposed to become the “Father of the 4400”. What better way than by testing the ability to transform an ordinary human into something more? Of course, this brings up an automatic “chicken or the egg” issue: was the creation of the 4400 directly predicated on their arrival at an earlier date in the timeline?

And then there’s Isabelle. I’m on the fence about this. While it will certainly enable the writers to explore Isabelle’s purpose and agenda in far more detail, this “rapid aging” thing is one of the oldest tricks in the book. The only thing that keeps me from rolling my eyes is the fact that mentally Isabelle was already operating at an adult level. The question is this: without years of influential nurturing with Richard and Lily, will Isabelle manage to have a moral compass? Or will she continue to manipulate others on a whim? (And as an aside: just how hot will she turn out to be?)

Seems like Isabelle could make a play to control Sean through various means, and that should make things interesting. She’s the ultimate wild card, because NTAC doesn’t know a thing about her. One interesting possibility is a rift within the 4400, should the war come to pass. Whatever the case, Isabelle’s presence and purpose lies at the very heart of the questions surrounding the “future humanity” and their true goals.

At this point, there’s no word on the future of the series, though the producers and writers speak as though renewal is a done deal. Apparently, even with the ratings slump experienced this season, the ratings were good enough at the end to beat out some heavy competition (“Six Feet Under”, for instance). That ought to make a third season worthwhile to USA Network, but who can truly understand network executives? Hopefully they will continue to see “4400” and “Dead Zone” as a powerful summer line-up, so that the writers can continue to take this series to the next level.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 3/4

Final Rating: 9/10