Ties That Bind

Pretender Episode Review

In which Miss Parker threatens to go get a life.

What Happened

Jarod picks up his latest orphan of the week minutes before the child's father apparently commits suicide by blowing up his yacht with himself onboard. Dylan's other problem is that the cops seem to be on the pay of Dad's "firm," so Jarod finds him somewhere to stay. Dylan and his mother thought Daddy was having an affair, but Jarod discovers that the "Ashley" Daddy was making regular phone calls to was his contact at the FBI. Too bad Ashley's dead and all. It was all on account of Winston, the head of security at The Firm, killing a witness to protect one of their clients.

Miss Parker announces that she is planning to leave the Centre and move to Oregon with Thomas. Lyle is fine with that, but Raines finds it "unacceptable" and demands that Mr. Parker stop her from leaving. Mr. Parker offers Thomas money to leave, but Thomas tears up the check.

No one is surprised when it turns out Daddy is still alive and lurking around The Firm (where everyone knows who he is) because he wants to know what Jarod is up to with his son. Jarod sets up the usual sting with the usual results.

Mr. Parker goes to see his daughter, Lyle in tow, to tell her that if it makes her happy, she can go to Oregon with Thomas. Miss Parker is thrilled, until she notices that Lyle has left behind the gun she made a big production of leaving in her father's office.

The Good

• Miss Parker standing up to her father.
• Thomas and Mr. Parker.

The Bad

• The kid thinking he was going to take out Winston with an old revolver.

The Cliche

• Evil lawyers.

What We Learned

• The IRS is all about surprise.
• Lyle quotes Yakuza philosophy.

What Did I Think?

All attention is on Miss Parker and Thomas. It was an especially nice scene where Mr. Parker and Thomas faced off.