“Blowback”

“Blowback” evolves quite well on the prior notion that Dan going off rails can have serious repercussions on his present life.  You do have to accept a lot about the character of Aeden Bennett that doesn’t quite add up but it’s not necessarily a dealbreaker.  This episode literally opens with a bang when Bennett throws opens Dan’s door and shoots  him.  Bennett begins to stalk Dan right as Dan vanishes in the past with a bullet hole in his shoulder.

Dan wakes up and is helped to the hospital where he is stiched up.  Returning to where he jumped in, Dan discovers his mission.  It’s a young boy alone in a house.  The boy’s mother had abandoned him, and his father keeps him locked up day and night in his room.  Dan has to fight through his injuries while trying to help the boy out and do so as quick as possible so he can get back home and make sure Bennett doesn’t hurt his family.

Which of course is what Aeden is thinking.  Aeden fgures the best way he can hurt Dan is by taking Katie prisoner and forcing Dan to return.

After Dan helps feed the boy (something he likes called a pizza sandwich - ketchup and bread yum), the boy’s father comes home and it turns out he’s a cop.  The father comes in and berates the boy but Dan knows he’s in no condition to fight the father.  He tries to call 911 when he finds a piece of mail that shocks Dan to the core.  It is then that he realizes that the young boy is in reality a  young Aeden Bennett.

The father leaves, and Dan is tested.  Part of him wants to simply kill Bennett, but he knows what kind of effect that could have on his present time.  So he lets the boy go after telling him what’s in store for the young Bennett.

Meanwhile, Jack is still trying to cover for Dan with regards to Garrity, when suddenly Livia appears at the Register and Jack sees her.  Finally.  Jack fully believes in Dan.  This was a great moment, as it was really a tease the past two episodes that the writers yanked away from us.  Livia tells Jack that Dan is shot and somewhere in the city.

Dan finally jumps back and calls Jack immediately.  The two rush over to the house and Dan tries to call ahead to stall anything Bennett is planning.  Bennett’s anger rises and he is about to shoot Katie when Dan tells him to ask him if he wants a pizza sandwich.   Obviously this slows Bennett down for a bit and it seems like Dan’s mission was to save Katie…considering that Aeden is still fresh out of prison and holding a gun at her.

But maybe not.  Dan gets there and Bennett lets Katie go, but Dan is able to talk him down into talking to a shrink about his mommy and daddy issues. So maybe his connecting with Aeden in the past made him able to talk him down in the present.

The only problem I have is the disconnect between Aeden.  His past didn’t quite measure up to his presence.  The fact that there is good in him?  But he’s a child molestor/killer?  It didn’t ring quite true at all to be honest.  But Aeden is less important than his effect on Dan and his life.  Thus this is a decent episode overall.

B

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