So far, the second season of the 4400 has not been a disappointment. I was never a particularly huge fan of the X-Files, so I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the "government agent plus partner explore a different phenomenon each week." Perhaps it makes a difference because we are already told why everybody is so strange, so we don't have to come up with government conspiracies or smoking men to string together all of these implausible happenings each week. At the same time, we still have just enough creepy overtones about everything to keep things interesting.
In the last couple of weeks, we've had a couple of interesting cases that show us what a double-edged sword it is to have 4400 people walking around possessing gifts that we have no clue about how they are meant to be used. Many people have gifts that they think can be used for good, but often find that there are consequences they never imagined from using them. As I stated in a previous recap, it's this ripple effect of people using their abilities that has become the theme of the show.
Now, there are some people who have great gifts. Shawn Farrell can heal people with his hands and Maia Rutledge can predict the future. Well, actually, she just regurgitates visions she has, but same difference, right? And who can forget the case of Isabel, who can apparently sense danger and compel people to both murder and commit suicide.
Most of the 4400 with extraordinary gifts have tried to keep them under wraps. Shawn Farrell only uses his to pimp money for Jordan Collier and his 4400 centers. Gary Navarro had the ability to read minds, but was quickly taken by the NSA. Maia wanted so desperately to fit in that she hid her gift, and Richard and Lily are running all over the country trying to keep people from getting to their baby. But what if one had a great gift, and not only told people about it, but used it for his benefit, selling his services to the highest bidder? That is exactly what Trent Applebaum did when he discovered that he held the power to dramatic weight loss.
Trent was abducted 15 or 20 years ago, and when he was gone, his wife died, and his daughter gave up her dream of going to college. She now works at a diner, and he is trying to sell timeshares that aren't worth the phone call he makes trying to sell it to you. Trent had to enlist in a loan shark, and when he couldn't pay up, the gangsters came to collect. They pushed him around a bit, and told him they would kill him if he didn't get his act together.
Now, a funny thing happened on the way to being wrapped up in a garbage bag in the trunk of Cadillac. When Trent's gangster friend came to his house, he not only could give a shit about the money, but he had lost weight. And like any good person who lost a bunch of weight, he wanted to let his spouse in on the secret, and she was more than agreeable, considering he was probably getting some boom, boom, boom on the side as well. Trent had done nothing other than share some saliva with the other guy before he started his rapid weight loss. After taking a swig of water from the wife's water bottle, Trent also started her on the path to weight loss as well. Like any good capitalist, Trent immediately thought of how he could make as much money from his saliva as possible without having to worry about making his jaw hurt.
Although Diana and Tom think that this is the first instance that a 4400 is selling his exclusive rights, we know that Shawn has been healing the ultra-sick (and ultra-rich) in order to get more money for Jordan's 4400 centers. We know that Shawn really believes in what Jordan is doing, and so do a lot of followers. So what does Jordan think about his 4400 centers? Well, for one thing, it is a great way to pull some celebrity ass, in this case Chloe Granger.
« The Gasm NOSE ALL | Main | House of Lying, Daggers: Meet the Big Brother Cast! »
Comments (2)
This show is fucking awesome! It's great summer no longer a wasteland(or as big of one)There's a lot of good shit on, Hell's Kitchen, 4400, and new Battlestar Galatica soon.
1 of 2 | Posted by GNARKILL | Posted on June 30, 2005 1:23 PM
Ooh yay gnarkill, I forgot about Battlestar Galactica starting soon.
I love this show, so glad you recap it J-Unit!
2 of 2 | Posted by Naty | Posted on July 2, 2005 2:34 PM