S01E06: 'Better Halves'

Further intrigue is heaped upon on us in an episode with so many twists that you almost expect Jack Bauer to run into shot screaming “WHERE’S THE BOMB!?”

Thankfully he doesn’t, and the various narratives of our ‘heroes’ continue to unfold and gradually merge together. That said, the show does still feel like its in an extended prologue mode and in need of a central plot line to emerge and draw all the protagonists together. For the time being, the ‘glue’ that gives the action much-needed cohesion is the character of Mr Bennet.

What is his true nature and agenda? He seems to flit between the archetypal bad guy trying to pursue the ‘heroes’, yet conversely comes across as having a deep caring attitude towards his daughter. Could he have lived a lie as a doting father all those years in the name of some fiendish plot? Hopefully we’ll soon find out.

The main focus of this episode is the plight of Niki and her vicious alter-ego. This throws up some interesting questions pertaining to how far one should go in order to ‘survive’. The blonde mother’s other-self has already been the cause of some serious bloodshed in the series, but it’s hard to tell what stance to take yet. So, for the moment, the jury is out on whether we have a ‘Nice Niki’ and a ‘Naughty Niki’ thing going on.

Previously so endearing, Hiro’s excitability and mannerisms are now starting to grate. Fingers crossed that he develops into his suave, no-nonsense future self soon! We want to see that hair slicked back and the American lingo crisply coming off his tongue.

Overall, ‘Better Halves’ is an episode that continues to set future events up and leaves us hungry for more. Particularly with the unveiling of a seemingly innocent character having a duplicitous hidden agenda…