“Life Interrupted”

While “Life Interrupted” does exactly that – interrupt the flow started by the previous episode, it’s done in an engaging enough fashion that it doesn’t bother the viewer. It’s an alternate timeline type episode that most genre shows attempt at one point or another. Maybe it’s me though, I’m a sucker for these types of episodes, although I know not everyone is so keep that in mind.

Tom wakes up and encountes a very happy Kyle, dressed in a suit as he goes to college. Confused slightly, he goes to NTAC where everyone celebrates his “return”. He has no idea what is going on. As he tries to put the pieces together he heard Diana mention the name Doherty and asks if it has to do with Collier’s murder. Diana is shocked and says that Governor Collier isn’t dead. Trying to just move along, he asks if Doherty is a 4400. Diana has no idea what he’s talking about.

Tom goes along with Diana on the car ride to get Doherty who is at the Collier Museum of Contemporary Art. Tom has Diana explain what happened. Ok…so this is a stretch. This is obviously for the viewers sake as Diana just wouldn’t repeat what happened over the past three months and act as if there is not that much weird about it. But I digress. Diana explains to Tom that he was undercover, but his cover was blown. When his cover was blown, he was tortured for about three weeks until he escpaed. Doherty was in on his torturing.

The museum basically is the 4400 center. They find Doherty who runs into a locked room. Tom looks in the window and sees some kind of laboratory. Diana shows up momentarily and the door is a normal unlocked wooden door. Tom is shocked but he follows them in to arrest Doherty.

Tom continues to search for clues about the 4400, even finding Maia’s address and looking her up. Maia’s grandaughter answers, looking just as Maia did. Tom is shaken and feels he’s going insane. He finds out that Kyle was never in a coma and that Danny and Nikki are getting married, while Shawn is still playing with his band.

And he’s not alone. Tom remarried. Drawn back to the door, he goes to that room and sleeps until Diana comes in. Getting close to him, she injects him with tranquilizers. Tom wakes up strapped to a bed and says his wife is there to see him. He freaks out saying he doesn’t want to talk to someone he doesn’t even know. His “wife”, Alana, though tells him that none of it is real to her either and that she is a 4400. She tells Tom that he has to get out of here so they can figure out what happened so Tom fakes a recovery and gets out in three days. Alana and Tom try to figure out what happened. The two put an ad in the paper to see if anyone else knows anything.

What? That’s a great plan. An ad. Ok. Moving on.

A few weeks go by and Kyle is accepted to Stanford Medical School. Tom gets a reply from Philip Kendrick about the 4400. Unfortunately Peter thinks Tom is talking about cars.

Tom goes to the storage room again and finds the lab. This time he enters the lab and finds a gurneyTom then goes to the storage room and finds the lab again. He goes inside and finds a gurney in the center of the room with a sheet over it. Unfortunately Alana shakes him back to reality before he can see what’s under the sheet. He is convinced that the room is key.

Tom keeps sitting by the door trying to figure things out and a month goes by. He shares a frank conversation with Diana who read his psych file about all of his thoughts. Diana comforts him slightly by asking him if this reality isn’t better than the one he left? Kyle is in Stanford, his family is not dysfunctional, he has a beautiful wife. Their Mulder/Scully type relationship has never seem so spot on than during this moment.

Alana is beginning to break down as she shows Tom all these pictures of them doing things that they have no memories of. Tom promises they’ll find their way back and if they don’t than they’ll make new ones. The two begin to kiss and make love.

BAM

That was an 8 year time jump. A unique entry into this type episode, the hero stays in the timeline for eight years. Tom and Alana renew their vows and they both get promotions in their jobs.

It is then that Tom finds the door again. Alana convinces him to come home. That night though, he dreams of Kyle being arrested. Not being able to let it alone, he returns to the room and enters. He goes to the gurney and reveals Alana. She tells him that the lab is where the 4400 were taken and changed.

It seems her ability is to create imaginary words so vivid that people don’t know they are imaginary.
The people of the future forced Alana into this to force Tom into a relationship that will give him something to fall back on support-wise as his life is about to enter a major crisis. She also then tells him that she is not really Alana, she is merely a program. Alana doesn’t know that this is her doing.

Tom is forced to convince Alana.

As he wakes up he finds Alana in the real world and the two share their memories and embrace.

It’s an interesting segment and even if there are some stretches, it continues the show along at a more engaging pace, despite not answering anything about Collier in this episode.

B

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