Junk

Pretender Episode Review

In which you should never trust people who rhyme. Attitude of gratitude? Puh-leeze.

What Happened

Jarod protects the daughter of a man who once helped him survive an experiment conducted by Raines. Pretending to be a drug addict, he joins her in a recovery program in order to find out why she was brought in, strung out, the day before the custody hearing for her son.

The Good

• "Who's the egghead in the go-cart?" Miss Parker missed the memo on politically correct.
• "Don't let them take me!" Jarod screaming as he's being picked up by the police. Making it look like he was flashing back to his kidnapping was especially effective.
• Broots complaining that he had to watch Mr. Raines get his rub down.
• The connection between Jarod and the woman's father being the reason he's going through all this. It's touching to see a Centre employee who's not a conspiracy-freak power-mad thug. He is pretty snazzily dressed, however, for a janitor.
• "So Raines turns Jarod into a junkie lab rat and you just bury your head in the sand?" It's not often Miss Parker gets huffy on Jarod's behalf.

The Bad

• Jarod reminds the Doctor of the "circle of trust," and he moans. Must be as nauseated as the patients.

The Cliche

• "Attitude of gratitude." Never trust people who rhyme.
• How convenient that Jarod finds the connection between the Doctor and the step-mother so quickly.
• Oh, look. Jarod even made a difference in druggie Huey's life. Everything neatly wrapped up.

Best Lines

Doctor: "Why don't you tell the group what brought you here."
Jarod: "A large cop with bad breath."

What Did I Think?

The flashbacks were good, as was the focus on the Jarod/Sydney relationship, but the rest of the plot was a little too predictable. It's the same save we've been watching Jarod perform for four years.