Episode Title: "Scary Monsters and Super Creeps"
Written By: Seth Hoffman and Quinton Peeples
The Story: Agents Demitri Noh (John Cho) and Al Gough (Lee Thompson Young) investigate the bullet-filled ambushes from last week's episode, while Agent Janis Hawk (Christine Woods) recovers from her wounds in the hospital. Meanwhile, the hospitalized son of Lloyd Simcoe (Jack Davenport) — the man that Olivia (Sonya Walger) will leave Mark (Joseph Fiennes) for in her flash-forward — goes missing, leading to an awkward encounter. Elsewhere, Simon (Dominic Monaghan) reemerges, and he's not the friendly little Hobbit we're all used to.
Simon Says: Finally, we spent a significant amount of time with Simon, a self-described "quantum physicist genius" who just so happens to take enormous pleasure in crushing people's tracheas. Clearly, Monaghan is playing a very different animal than Merry the Hobbit or Charlie the rock star — and for me, it works. This guy is utterly creepy, and the very fact that he and Simcoe admit their culpability in the blackout makes him all the more terrifying. Since Monaghan is a series regular, we'll likely learn more about the enigmatic Simon in the coming months.
Nothing's Gonna Change My World: Simcoe's direct hand in the blackout might make him a bad person, but it's his future affair with Olivia that makes him a home-wrecker. The three-way encounter between Simon and the Benford spouses was truly amazing and revealed a serious chink in Mark's armor — the guy can't admit when he's at fault. Olivia pointedly makes that inability to acknowledge his own failures quite clear, showing the audience exactly why this marriage might not survive to see April 29, 2010.
Blue Hand Group: Noh and Gough's investigation into the blue hand symbols proved quite interesting as yet another piece of the Mosaic fell into place — the Rutherford investigation, which Gough saw in his flash-forward. Clearly, the team is making progress, but is it at the expense of Noh's life? With everything seeming to fall into place, it's only a matter of time before Noh's death in March becomes a reality — which brings me to my biggest frustration with the show...
No Fate But What We Make: An effort is made to point out Janis's newfound inability to have children, the dissolution of Mark and Olivia's marriage is becoming clearer and clearer, and Gough's flash-forward inches ever closer to reality. Are we really to believe that the oncoming flash-forwards can't be stopped? The essential argument centers on whether the future is malleable or set in stone, and with only six episodes having passed, it's too early to say which side "FlashForward" falls on. Personally, I'm very much hoping that the flash-forwards aren't tamper proof — if they can't be stopped, then where's the suspense?
Best Quote: "Our experiment killed 20 million people, Simon. What more is there to say?" — Lloyd Simcoe
Verdict: Overall, I didn't enjoy the episode as much as last week's, though it was still a solid entry in an increasingly captivating television series. I could've used a little more Simon, but that's a testament to the strength of the character — maybe he's best used sparsely. I definitely enjoyed the confrontation at the Benford household, and Noh's investigations continue to keep me glued to my seat.
The Future: Aaron Stark's flash-forward reunion with his deceased daughter might not be as crazy as everybody thinks. Simcoe approaches Olivia with a classic "welp, this is awkward" attitude. Leoben from "Battlestar Galactica" tells Demetri that there's no escaping his fate — and I believe him, because he's a Cylon.
What did you think of tonight's episode? Let us know in the comments section or on Twitter!
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