True, if they could bring in some of that L Word (tri)angle into The 4400, the ratings might get better, though most people would then put the show on mute (if they're smart...)

I couldn't agree more. Much much better than the two previous episodes. I have always thought that the show is at its best when Maia or Lily is a focal point. With Lily gone the show is struggling to find interesting characters.

The Isabelle/Shaun plot is just eye candy and neither character is interesting. Isabelle was looking good :-) But if thats all you can say about a character then there clearly is something wrong with that storyline.

The X-Kids looks promising. I don't care if they blatently rips off X-Men, as long as it rescues the show from its downward spiral.

Agreed! While watching last night's episode, I kept thinking how weird everyone kept reacting to things. For instance, Maya and Diane think that this woman is Maya's long lost sister. If Maya was taken in the 30s (I think that's right), then her sister would be either incredibly old or dead. This woman, though, looks like she's in her 40s or 50s. That doesn't add up at all -- why would they trust this woman at all?

I know LOST does a little bit of this: characters react in some way that makes you think they are idiots. But at least in LOST, their reactions are believable and consistent with the characters. It works for LOST but not so much for 4400.

Maia disappeared in 1946. They said her sister, Sarah, was born 5 years later making her 55ish in 2006. That woman easily looked 55ish to me.

This episode seemed to imply that Maia will never have been returned in 2004 and she'll be coming back sometime earlier. I wonder if we're going to see an older Maia watching Diane, NTAC, and the other 4399 (or less?) from a distance if she's allowed to remember her time when she was brought back "too late".

Sounds like an excuse to add another hot teen to the cast.

D

True. Alice Krige, the woman who played the character was born in 1954, so that's pretty close.

Obviously the future wants to bring back Maia at another time, although it remains to be seen how successful they will be.

I felt the same way. This was the first episode in a season or so where I really thought that this could be good.
I almost didnt watch the episode either but am glad I did.
So we have two Trek alumni on now, Alice Krige and Jeffrey Combs.

My tivo cut off the end. All I saw was the stuff vaporizing in the apartment. Anything else happen after that?

We also have 2 Deadwood alums: Garret Diillahunt and Alice Krige.

Ok, can someone explain to me why Tom had to commit suicide to find Maia?

Good episode...looks to be an interesting season, even though the 4400 Center soap opera seems pretty hokey.

Tom was betting on him being important to the future peoples' plans so they would take him to the future instead of letting him die. At least that is how I look at it.

Hey all,

I kind of liked the 2 parter. Did anyone catch any comments about how the future changed, when the kids were sent further back, other than an off-hand reference to "the lunar colonies?"

Ciao,
Smithsguy

Yes, they also mentioned the development of synthetic petroleum.

Thats what I came up with as well. But only after he appeared in the future.Another example of weak writing. They should have given us evidence of his importance before he jumped so we could understand his motivation. Throughout the entire scene I was wondering why he was jumping.

We have the odd behavior of Shaun's assistant?? He obviously is doing things control people, but its not a mystery ... just confusing, because it involves the actions of other people. What is his relationship to Isabelle and what control does he have over her?

It would help me if some of these important points were revealed before or as events happened, instead of at a later climax point.

We've been told before that's he's important to events by the future people at least once (season 1 finale) if not more.

There was also the second season episode where he first encountered Alana.

I agree with Ayre, that the show is always at its best when the shows are Maia or Lily centric. Frankly, when it gets Centre (Shaun or Isabelle) centric I sort of tune out...and so tuned out of a lot of season 2.

Here's hoping that the return of is a bang and not a dud.

Yeah, I thought that one may have mentioned some things too, but wasn't sure.

I don't remember a single time. (quite possible I forgot it). I haven't seen much of season two except for the best of marathon. I thought there wasn't a season 1. It was a mini-series and it ended. USA asked for 13 more.

Even if they had demonstrated his importance, it obviously didn't work. I am not the only one who didn't understand why he was on the bridge. I just guessed it was because he was testing his importance.

Just an odd scene and didn't work for me at all.

Season one was the miniseries and 3 more one hour episodes. The last episode is the one where they find out what exactly happened to the 4400, since Tom talks to the entity from the future that is inside his son's head. This may have been the first time they say Tom is vital to saving the future. I got what he was doing, but not until I saw him standing with the noose around his neck.

Anyone have any thoughts on last night's episode?

Seemed to me it was another case of the wheels spinning but the plot not going anywhere. I guess a lot of stuff did happen, but I just didn't care too much. Matthew's death was..eh. In fact, as the episode started to wrap up I was thinking "Wasn't someone suppose to die this episode?..Oh, yeah, Matt." And his revelation that Isabelle's destiny is to kill the 4400 wasn't as shocking as I think they wanted it to be. I'm really not interested in Isabelle at all, which explains my apathy for this episode. Unfortunately it seems she will be the focal point for at least the remainder of this season.

I knew the "A 4400 will die" promotion wasn't going to be a main cast member. With 4400 people, they could kill someone ever week and still have 4300 people left by the time the series ends.

I don't think they said "a 4400 will die", and AFAIK Matt wasn't a 4400. I think they said "someone on The 4400 will die, and not who you think" or something like that. Whatever it was I got the impression that it would be a regular cast member. I think Matt qualified in that respect, even if his name wasn't in the opening credits.

Maybe with Matt out of the picture Jordan can finally resurface. Matt mentioned him in passing in one episode, but I have a feeling the writers just stuck his 'resurrection' scene at the end of last season to make it a good cliffhanger. Now that they actually have to flesh it out it has been conveniently put way on the back burner, or actually poured into a Tupperware bowl and put in the deep freeze down in the basement. But maybe I'm missing something, was the actor playing Jordan one of those cut from the show? It would be near unforgivable if they just write him out off camera or drop his storyline completely.

The best episode of the season for me, it had been dragging a bit up to now but it looks like finally it will kick into gear.

Billy Campbell was never going to be available until the last few episodes of filming because of a previous commitment to serve as a crew member on a sailing trip around the world...seriously.

I completely agree with wmansir, Isabelle has been set-up as the focal point of the season, and I just don't care or like her character. I lost count of how many time I yelled "Kill her" at the screen last night. I'm hoping Collier comes back and slaps the bitch down.

Very odd. This was only episode six of S3 so we're only halfway through.

I could do with a "monster of the week" episode that has some cool "ripple effects". We haven't been seeing the changes yet. I liked "Gone" but would still like things to move forward. I'm hoping Isabelle visiting Jordan Collier will keep her off screen for a while.

Looks like next week returns - YES!