The Tomorrow People sure knows how to keep our hearts racing. “Modus Vivendi” has everything … love, sex, betrayal, blood and guts, re-animation of a frozen person, jealousy and a wise-cracking super computer.
Bathory declares a desire to strike a modus vivendi with The Tomorrow People. What is that, you ask? Modus vivendi is a fancy way of saying there will be a temporary agreement between warring factions such that they “agree to peacefully disagree” so both sides can conduct the business of life without threat of harm from the opponent. In other words, let’s all play nice in the sandbox, capisce? But nothing is as it seems with Bathory, The Founder. Let’s dig in!
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Jedikiah Stands Vigil, Bathory Screams “Crucify!”
When the episode opens, Jed slips into Ultra, kills his way past two guards, then tries unsuccessfully to shoot his way into the bat cave where The Machine, which I like to call the Stargate, awaits.
Bathory addresses the troops calling for Jed’s head on a platter. (This doesn’t sound much like a ceasefire, does it? Just wait.) We must put an end to his brutal regime, to your former leader’s deranged reprisals, he roars. And a battle cry goes up from the crowd, “Heil Bathory! Off with his head!”
Stephen sends a brain tweet to John about the price on Jedikiah’s head and John takes off for Jedikiah’s where he’s been living next to his frozen brother. Jed pleads with John to join him, but John says you have to leave this place or they will find both of you and what good will that do? But Jed is desperate and he looks like he hasn’t been eating or sleeping very well so, yeah, he’s a bit deranged.
Stephen, still playing both sides and hoping to find out what his dad was so desperate to tell him during his first visit through the Stargate, eagerly begs Bathory for another spin around the block in The Machine. Bathory pulls a Yoda and tells Stephen he needs to go through his paces and learn to be purposeful with his ability to stop time. Basically, Stephen needs to show that he can raise an X-Wing out of a swamp (thank you, George Lucas) before Bathory will let him back in The Time Machine.
Stephen does have a reservation about this time stopping deal. It’s about time, Stephen!
“If I go to the promised land, Master, will I be able to make it back?”
“Why would you want to do that?” Yoda asks pointedly.
Well, duh, it looks like Bathory’s not very good at math … or physics for that matter. So, how is Stephen supposed to report back what it’s like in paradise and then get all the TTTs transported over there if he doesn’t come back? Duh. It looks like you should really think this through more thoroughly, Bathory. (You too, Stephen)
Spring Training
Bathory begins putting Stephen through his paces as Hillary looks on in in a super tight skirt and high heels. The workout includes punishing a punching bag with his fists, then only with his mind while telepathically speaking to Bathory and then teleporting across the room. Stephen has a modicum of success until the teleporting stage. Hillary offers to go at the training from another angle and it’s clear she’s not talking about a vertical one. (She’s talking about a horizontal one!)
Modus Vivendi
Cut to Stephen lighting enough candles to burn down Manhattan when buzzkill Bathory arrives and insists Stephen help him secure a modus vivendi with the Tomorrow People. Of course, you know he’s only doing this to have the Tomorrow People let down their guard. He also makes it known he would be very disappointed if he were to learn that anyone was helping Jed. Translation: Bathory will kick that person’s booty six ways to Sunday and then he’d get radical on his ass.
Kumbaya, My Lord
Well, Stephen wants to get rid of Bathory and get his mojo back in the sack as soon as possible, so he reluctantly agrees. He brings the ceasefire proposal to Russell and Cara. Stephen, still not sure which side is the lesser of the two evils, wants to tread lightly on both sides. Upon hearing the plan, Tim the computer says what everyone’s thinking: Bathory and Jedikiah can just suck it! Yeah, everyone’s pretty much sick of all the BS on both sides of the equation. It appears Russell has been reading Tim the Word of the Day from the Urban Dictionary. You go, Russell!
Cara meets with Astrid and spills the beans on Hillary and Stephen hooking up. Oh, man, that was cold! Oh well, misery loves company, right? What is Cara’s deal anyway? Does she want Stephen or not? Together, she and Astrid hatch a plot to get Hillary alone and scan her to see if she’s toying with Stephen or if she really loves him. (She doesn’t, by the way, she just loves his biceps.)
Cara agrees to the summit (now that she has an ulterior motive) and requests Hillary as collateral when she sends Russell to Bathory.
A Dope Proposal
Bathory wines and dines Russell and returns him to the Tomorrow People lair sloppy and stupid. Bathory, Russell reports, has offered his “word” that there will be a ceasefire. We all know that man’s word isn’t worth the paper it’s written on … or, in this case, the breath it’s exhaled upon.
Why, oh why, is Russell so damn gullible? Because he just wants to have a real life. Something tells me Russell might not be long for this world if he doesn’t get a grip on the reality that Bathory is the devil incarnate. You do feel sorry for Russell, though. These people have lost everything. Russell needs a break and a little love. Whatever happened to that Super Hero Girl who so admired him?
Victoria Reveals Some Secrets
Hillary (Victoria, for the purposes of this recap) arrives at the lair and makes out with Stephen right in front of Cara, and then gives Cara a headful of x-rated images when she allows herself to be scanned. If Hilary had urinated all over Stephen, her message couldn’t have been more clear: Private Property — Trespassers Will Be Prosecuted!
We find out later that Cara didn’t get jack from Hillary. What the hell, Cara? Scan that girl and get at the goods! Find out what she was up to! But Hill’s no dumb blonde, she’s a kid from the wrong side of the tracks who spent her youth in the school of hard knocks and she knows how to protect her mind from intruders.
Jedikiah and John Mind the Popsicle Stand
Back at the popsicle stand, Jed warns John that Bathory cannot, under any circumstances, get his hands on Roger. If it comes to that, they have to kill Roger instead of allowing him to be captured and used with that Time Machine Stargate. Dang! Five minutes later, an Ultra tactical team descends, most of whom John tele-kicks the poo out of, and the secret is out that Roger is on ice in Jed’s basement.
Jed wigs out and threatens to kill Roger unless John calls in the Tomorrow troops to fight the good/crazy fight against the Ultra tac team.
Dance with Me or Me or Me
At the bar where the Ultras and the Tomorrow People are supposed to mingle, Cara is looking amazingly sexy in the curliest locks we’ve seen on her so far. She drags Stephen to the floor and they have a moment. Stephen then dances like he’s having a ’80s seizure when all of a sudden Astrid walks in and she’s not happy. For a minute, it looks like we’re going to be treated to a dance-off the likes of which we haven’t seen since Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed cut a rug in It’s A Wonderful life. If that was before your time, think Dirty Dancing or Footloose. Anyway, it looks like a dance is gonna break out.
Stephen can’t stand the estrogen explosion and begs off saying he needs his beauty sleep but goes instead to the popsicle plant, which has been vacated.
Someone Call 911 or Mary Shelley
It turns out John and Jed brought Roger to the Tomorrow People lair and are packing him in ice in prep for surgery. Their plan is to take out the bullet in Roger’s chest and then revive him. Wait … what? You don’t really think that’s gonna fly? Cra-zy!
But they need a nurse and you are not going to believe who they call upon. Hold onto your hats, people! John retrieves the most surprising person possible for the job, and he can’t believe he’s doing it: Roger’s wife, Marla! She says everything will be okay before she knows what the deal is, but her world is about to be rocked. Nothing could have prepared her for this, right? She’s gonna go completely berserk. But no, when Marla does find out hubby’s been on ice for the last six years, she’s basically unflappable and we suspect she might have a big gold ‘S’ printed on her t-shirt underneath that surgical gown she’s wearing.
I Sing the Body Electric
So, Marla and Jedikiah perform surgery while the whole gaggle stands around watching. But wait! He may be physically ready, but is he mentally ready to come back from the dead … I mean, the freezer? They need to get these two in sync or they will be dealing with a vegetable.
Stephen decides to go talk to dad using The Machine. Hillary, who has seen all this weird Frankensteinian stuff in the lair, wants to help. At Ultra, Stephen’s shirt flies off and Hill helps strap him in.
Stephen stops time as his nose starts to bleed. He sees Roger who warns him away. What about the warning, Stephen? Ask Roger about his warning from the last episode.
On the operating table, Roger is losing blood. In The Machine world, Roger starts bleeding at his bullet wound. You have to let me go, son! cries Roger.
I’m bringing you home, insists Stephen, as he drags his father’s body a bit, then returns to the present time. Hillary and Stephen escape Ultra a moment before Bathory walks into the bat cave.
Roger looks like he just might make it … and Stephen fawns all over Hillary with gratitude for her help.
And then the other shoe drops: Bathory thanks Hillary for being his double agent and we know this was the plan from the beginning. Doh! And down the rabbit hole we go once again.
Joins us for The Tomorrow People next week — Monday, April 21 at 9pm on The CW — for “A Sort of Homecoming” when Stephen enlists John and Cara’s aid in dealing with The Machine.
(Image courtesy of The CW)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
