TVSquad

(S03E16) This was a strange episode. Strange in the good way though. I say that because the b-story seemed much bigger than what we usually find in a Medium episode. Often the main mystery just dominates the hour and various bits of family goings on come across as interesting asides. Not that one way is better than the other. Joe's work story getting so much attention just struck me as unusual, or strange, if you will.

From what I'm told though, more Joe is always a good thing. This past weekend one of my friends mentioned to me that she would marry Joe DuBois in a second, so it's probably a good idea to give the fans what they want once in a while. Especially if you can do it in such an interesting way.

For me, what made Joe's story had little to do with what is, or isn't, happening at work, and everything to do with his relationship with Allison. Getting a job that doesn't exist on a project that his company isn't doing is clearly something that Joe would like. And it was interesting as they hinted around at just why Allison was a red flag, or security risk.

The scene that really sold me on this story though came as Allison worried that she was costing Joe this opportunity. You could read it on his face, and you knew it already anyway, that even if she was costing him this opportunity, it just didn't matter. He'd trade a thousand more missions to Mars for Allison and the girls. In Joe's world, being with Allison, he's already won, so the rest is just gravy. They are such a great TV couple.

I did really enjoy the second run at the polygraph. The confusion from the agent administering the test was entertaining, as was Joe's continuing string of affirmative answers. It was all topped off nicely as the agent rationalizes what Joe is saying so it fits into his world. Everybody wins. Joe tells them flat out that his wife can read his mind, and the agent hears what he wants and gets the right man for the job. The little kicker at the end of the episode where we find out that Bridgette can also read his mind was fun too.

Now, not so much fun happening in the other half of the episode, and a good bit of the creepy. Colleen (Gina Philips) freaked me out twice in the dream sequences. First, when she licked Armando's blood, and then again when we saw demon Colleen. Scary stuff.

Half of the case was obvious right from the start. As soon as Colleen brought out the candy, I was thinking drugs. I didn't jump right to 'husband after her money,' but that piece of information wasn't much of a surprise. The angle of his romance with Colleen's doctor though, that one caught me off guard. In retrospect, I did miss the big clue in Colleen's evaluation session. When she attacked Dr. Randall, calling her a whore, she was revealing that she had some idea what was going on.

For me, their scheme all came to light with that phone call in Allison's dream, and after that it was just a matter of seeing how it would play out. Not the best mystery that they have done on the show, to be sure, but a fun little tale. It was also interesting to see Mimi Kennedy in something of a different role. To me, she's always Abby from Dharma & Greg, and this gave us a little glimpse at what it might have looked like had she been cast as Kitty.

Overall, another strong episode. The Medium team continues to march to the beat of their own drummer, and that works just fine for me. Thumbs up to Miguel Sandoval as well. He directed this episode.