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Allison’s lucky she has such a great husband, friend and partner in Joe, because that lady is not great at making friends. I remember when I watched the episode with Neve Campbell, and I thought it was really weird that Allison didn’t have any friends– now it kind of makes sense: they’re all either murder victims or, you know, crazy serial killers.
This week, Medium took a familiar story– that of the Zodiac Killer– and gave it a few new twists. Whereas the Zodiac Killer was never conclusively identified, an overzealous author in this episode wrote three books based on a lie that the Libra Killer had confessed to him.
Of course, when it turns out that the Libra Killer is, in fact, back in business, we have two suspects: the author who originally closed the case, and Allison’s acquaintance Neal, who she met in therapy. There’s also the possibility that the killer is some as yet-unnamed third person. What really works about this episode is that it keeps you guessing up until the end.
Because the main plot of the episode involved coded messages left by the killer, I was expecting Neal to be an actual help to Allison, someone who could help her make sense of the symbols she kept on seeing. Of course, nothing in life is ever that easy for Allison DuBois, so she was forced to break the code herself, while Neal was off being a dirty murderer.
As far as twists go, this was a good one. I never thought the author was the killer, simply because he had no motive. In fact, the reemergence of the Libra Killer would spell the end of his career, so there’s no reason for him to start doing copycat murders. However, I never thought Neal was the killer either. It seemed like there was more to his mugging story, but the extent of his injuries never made me really suspect him.
Throughout most of the episode, I actually believed that the Libra Killer was an unknown third person. I kept on thinking Neal was going to help crack the case, so I was actually surprised, which doesn’t happen every time with me. I love it when mystery-type shows prove my theories wrong, and this episode definitely did.
As far as the “B” plots were concerned, they were a little hit or miss. We really only got one good scene with all of the kids, and Joe and Allison spent most of the episode apart, so there wasn’t enough Dubois family interaction.
The fact that Joe finally got a job was nice– even though it turned out the haircut was totally unnecessary. But here’s what confused me: I understand that Joe wouldn’t be comfortable getting paid to do nothing; that’s just not the type of guy he is. However, in the season premiere, Joe didn’t have a job, other than being an inventor. He was trying to come up with his next great idea, but didn’t feel comfortable because he wasn’t pulling down a regular paycheck and he missed being around other people, as well as commuting every day.
This job seemingly solved all of his problems. He could have had a commute, had co-workers, had a paycheck, plus he would have been free to sit around all days and come up with his next great invention. So what was the problem? Everything seemed to work out in the end though, since Joe was able to keep his job and actually contribute something. It looks as though he values being able to prove himself more than he values independence, in which case, this job will be perfect for him.
Image: Michael Yarish/CBS
I really liked this episode.
I like the mystery- type shows and the surprise too of revealing the killer.
I like the girls but I like the mysteries best so I was fine with them just being in the one scene. I don’t think they need to have a major prescence in every episode.
Joe had a lot of scenes related to work so that took away from the family scenes which I think worked out fine. I am glad he finally found a job so now maybe they will stop dwelling on it so much. So I am glad it all worked out for him and that they caught the killer in the end.
Nice review, Kona. I wondered if anyone else noticed the similarities to the Zodiac killings. It wasn’t exactly the same but it was close enough. It made for a very interesting story, but what I loved was the way the writers wove the cryptograms and brain surgery together, and made us wonder if it really was related to that. Brilliant! And the way she kept seeing the symbols was creepy too. I liked the story with Joe and his new boss. That guy was really arrogant! I’m glad Joe put him in his place and decided to stick with the job. I’m not sure though if I could, in good conscience, take a job when I knew I would basically be doing nothing. Sure, it sounds great, but I know how it is to have a slow day at work. It’s more exhausting than actually working. I’d rather feel like I was accomplishing something.
Another great episode!
Too bad they didn’t revisit the author and the consequences of his lying about the real killer.
Far too many scenes with Joe’s job – let’s hope this is the end of the multiple job scenes with Joe.
I was a bit confused about the guy Bridgette talked about being an astronaut? What was that about? Joe is no astronaut, so why would he be competing for the same job as an astronaut? However, it was nice that Joe clued the guy in on the fact the company was going down in flames in a years time and his wife was cheating on him.
Yep, you wouldn’t want to know Devalos either, since it seems a lot of people he knows die!
I probably preferred the ‘B’ plot, although I didn’t figure the mystery out as soon as some. I did like the creepy ending.
I’ve already been in Joe’s position, albeit on a placement. Most of my days, I had about four hours work to stretch out and it soon wore off the novelty value, especially getting up at 6 to walk 40minutes there. I’m very patient too, spent two whole days + on a train on my lonesome more than once.
Yeah this was a good episode with the Libra Killer good mystery.
They spent way too much time on Joe and his job. I hope that is not going to continue for long. I guess some people like his work stuff. I just can’t get into it.
Good ending.
I really don’t see why everyone is complaining so much about the storyline with Joe looking for work. Medium has always been focused on the family first, and they’ve been fairly relevant with the times, as far as keeping up with current events (without actually ripping stuff from the headlines). But with the current economic situation in this country and the jobless situation the way it is, I think it’s incredibly bold of the writers and producers to continue to tell this story in a manner that accurately reflects the current social climate, rather than gloss over it with a passing reference like most shows do.
I thought this episode was great as I already stated under a different post.
Dawn -I was able to tolerate Joes job better in this episode because it was more interesting with his flaky boss.Normally, I am just so bored by his job that
I sometimes want to channel thru that part. It wouldn’t be a bad idea if they covered his job once in a while to keep up with current events but since it has been covered in a lot of episodes for several seasons it has become boring. I find myself getting annoyed about it because we could be seeing more of the A plot or even a different but more interesting storyline.
This was actually my favorite episode of the season thus far. I’m not sure why. I totally forgot about the author. I wonder if he got in trouble for lying. I suppose he can’t be an Oprah Book Club selection now.
For those of you who dislike the Joe job plot, maybe since he secured one in this episode that’ll be the end of it …?
Dawn, one reason I don’t care for Joe’s job, other than the fact it bores me to death, is that the show is called “Medium” not “Joe’s Job”. All the time they spend on Joe’s job takes away from a tightly woven mystery. I prefer more complicated mysteries than ones so simple I’ve figure it out by the first commercial break. The more they concentrate on Joe’s job, the less time they have to let the mystery unfold. I, for one, would have rather seen the ramifications toward the writer of the book who falsified the facts to further his own needs.
I did think it was cute the way Bridgette dreamed about Joe’s co-worker and what was happening behind the scenes. That part of the story is FAR more interesting than seeing Joe have yet another conversation with his socially challenged new boss, or another boring job interview. Sure, it’s nice to reflect some current events in the story lines, but the show ultimately isn’t about current events – it’s about Allison Dubois and her unique gift which mostly revolves around crime solving and how this gift affects her family. I’m sure Jake wants more screen time, I, for one, prefer seeing him interact with Allison, the kids, their teachers, or like last season, Ariel’s boyfriend – the druggie – which is far more interesting than his workplace. It’s like being in a room full of accountants who are talking in accountantspeak – if you are not an accountant, it is very boring and you have nothing in common to discuss when they keep talking shop.
You said it Betty I feel the same way about Joes Job.
I know they have to talk somewhat about it since he is her husband, but talking over breakfast or dinner about it would be just fine. We do not need to see him on all these interviews and actually doing the job and getting into such detail about it.
The show is about Allison and her gift and helping to solve the dreams she has.
They need to add storylines so it is not just the main one but I am sure they could come up with something a little more appealing tha watching Joe work!
It’s not called “Joe’s Job” LOL
Hey nansee! How is your baby doing? Is he still colicky and cranky or has he gotten past that now? That can be so tiring when you have no one to help you get some relief from a cranky baby.
Another issue I thought of with the Joe’s job situation is that can be a real turn off to new viewers. If they take a chance and are looking to see the mystery/psychic aspect of the show and they see all this job stuff, they are likely to turn it off and not come back.
In real life, if you are going through a job loss/search, divorce, death, or some other very stressful situation, you often turn to TV or movies to FORGET what you are going through and want to take your mind off of it. Imagine someone who is out looking for a job for weeks or months – do they really want to relive that in the evening, too? If it was a show that turned it around and got a big laugh out of the situation someway, that would be different, but I don’t think the old adage is necessarily true – “misery loves company.”
Correction: above I said “Joe’s co-worker” and should have called him his “fellow job seeker.”
LOL If they keep up with Joes job the way they did last week they will have to change the name to “Joe and His Job Troubles”- Don’t know how interesting a show that would make.
I agree with Betty if new viewers start watching looking for an exciting drama about a Medium who dreams about crimes and find it’s about an engineer looking for work they will probably switch the channel quick!
H…mm, maybe by next season they will have a spinoff “Joes Job Hunt”. Better they do that than keep taking time away from the main story for it.
Hi Betty–he’s doing a little better, I think *knock on wood*. All of the relatives have been buying him cute Halloween onesies … boy, is he going to be mad when he finds out babies don’t get candy!
Does anyone remember the Saturday Night Live skit with Christopher Walken as a medium who predicted mundane things (I may be dating myself here …) It was hilarious. Maybe Allison will have a dream and call Joe, in hysterics, screaming and crying, to let him know that he’s about to forget to bring a pencil to a meeting.
[...] In this case, it’s that Allison Needs. To. Get. Off. The. Phone. There was an extended scene in last week’s episode in which Allison was driving and talking to Joe on the phone. The point of the scene is that the [...]