Medium 2.19: "Knowing Her"

Written by Glenn Gordon Caron
Directed by David Paymer


Despite Allison’s heavy presence in this episode, I got the feeling that she was mostly in the background. This was a strong episode for two supporting characters, Scanlon and Ariel, and the big question for the audience is whether or not those characters are compelling enough to maintain interest. For my own part, I was initially interested in Scanlon’s past but quickly found that entire situation to be predictable. Scanlon, at least for me, works better as a secondary character.

Ariel’s situation, however, was a little more interesting. As I said before, it should be interesting to see how the daughters react to their evolving and expanding abilities, and this is a mundane yet relevant aspect of it. It’s not always going to be dark territory or dead serial killers; the hard part will be dealing with knowing more than one should know. And we’ve seen how the abilities once crippled Allison; she has to know what the girls are in for, and Ariel is likely to be the furthest along the path.

In response to the review for “S.O.S.”, many noted that this emerging challenge to Allison’s family is the arc for the show. I’m not entirely convincing. It’s a recurring through-line of the series, certainly, and it should become more important over time. But when I mention an “arc structure”, I’m thinking more along the lines of a “Babylon 5” or “Buffy” seasonal structure, with a distinct beginning and ending for character transitions and the three-act format for the episode progression. I don’t see an “introduction/complication/resolution” structure to any recurring storyline in this season.

There’s nothing wrong with that, because a strongly episodic series can still have very satisfying serialized elements. This is a good example. There’s nothing in previous episodes that pointed to these particular revelations about Scanlon and Ariel’s abilities that would suggest a subsequent consequence to either plot point. Things will inevitably come up when they come up, and by the end, there will probably be a discernable character development. But there’s nothing exterior to the characters that I would call a “season arc”, in terms of larger set of events driving the character development.

That’s what makes Scanlon’s development in this episode a little frustrating. It adds to the character, but what is the likely consequence of this new knowledge? Probably nothing. Similarly, there’s no reason to think that Ariel’s interesting development of psychic abilities will lead to any specific future event. Thankfully, the characters themselves and the subsequent dynamics are enough to keep the series more than viable.

Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4

Final Rating: 7/10