Medium 2.16: "Allison Wonderland"

Written by Michael Moore and Bernadette McNamara
Directed by Ronald Schwarry

In which Allison begins having bizarre visions and dreams involving David Carradine and a sinister murder, while Bridget’s interest in a children’s book takes an unexpected turn…


A few shows have tried to capitalize on the ideas within “A Beautiful Mind”, and the results have been mixed, as one would expect. Once I figured out where the episode was going after the teaser, I admit that I was worried as well. But the writers managed to give this borrowed concept an interesting twist by placing Allison under the influence, so to speak, of the paranoid schizophrenic’s point of view.

It’s also interesting that the victim in this case was, in fact, breaking a secret code using mathematical skills of a savant. His relatively unique situation was manipulated by someone who knew him well enough to feed his delusions, and then the illness did the rest. In a way, it was as close to the perfect crime as it gets, because who would make the necessary connections to wade through reality and fantasy?

Obviously, Allison can and does make the connection, but only after experiencing some odd visions and dreams, all of which make the episode a lot of fun to watch. The conceit of the episode doesn’t always work, as hard as the writers try; I still don’t feel as though Devalos is consistent in his reactions to Allison and her gift. That lack of understanding made sense in the first season, but now the characters have known each other for a while. If Scanlon picks up on the nuances of her communication on a regular basis, then Devalos certainly should.

Just to get into that topic a little bit more: Devalos seems to be written so as to allow him to challenge Allison, usually along with Joe, when the writers need some external pressure to be applied to push Allison in the right direction. But once the case is on its way to resolution, and Allison needs the legal backup, Devalos tends to be right there, with little or no challenge. My problem is that Devalos tends to be very adamant in his dismissal or disagreement with Allison in the early acts, and sometimes it doesn’t quite mesh with the support he gives later. I suppose I’m really looking for the professional relationship to settle in a bit more.

It wouldn’t be an episode of “Medium” without a subplot involving the family, and in this case, it meshes well with Allison’s thread. Bridget once again provides the balancing perspective. Allison is dealing with a victim who was caught between his own creative talents and insights and outside influence. In many respects, that’s exactly what Bridget is supposed to have experienced. The difference is that Bridget isn’t dealing with delusions or schizophrenia, so she remains in relative control of how that intersection of internal and external influence is expressed.

Joe remains the solid foundation of Allison’s world, even when he’s spooked by the thought of a dead woman dictating a story to his young daughter. Allison, perhaps predictably, doesn’t really understand his point of view, and in the end, he comes to terms with it all. But I’m waiting for the moment when Allison doesn’t turn out to be correct and Joe’s fears are realized more than they already have been. I get the feeling the season could be moving in that direction, and of course, one cannot ignore that the season finale is only a handful of episodes away.

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

Final Rating: 8/10