'The Tomorrow People' Goes Back in Time

Yay! Another flashback episode for The Tomorrow People. Once again, we're delving into Cara's past. This time, we're learning about her history with a guy named Julian, who is topping Ultra's Most Wanted list in the present. His M.O.? He tortures people until he himself collapses. The Tomorrow People have the best plans, don't they? Basically, Julian's deal is that he doesn't care if humans know about the Tomorrow People. He's tired of being hunted when he's a "superior species." The whole thing is very Magneto of him.

Really, it's nice to have a villain other than Ultra, since Ultra and the Tomorrow People don't really seem to ever get anywhere for all of their rivalry talk. Every time anyone has the opportunity to make a move, mercy is shown or a Hail Mary play saves the day. The problem with Ultra and The Tomorrow People is that both groups are too governed by rules and order. This week, we got a nice loose cannon villain to switch things up. Julian is crazy with power and, well, just plain crazy. Finally, someone fun for the TP to play with.

But don't think Julian is alone in the New Adversaries on the Block Club. Ultra has, as Russell describes it, its own Triwizard Tournament (and quips like this are exactly why Russell is the best character on the show). Basically, Stephen is competing with two other recruits for one final spot with Ultra. The losers get stripped of their powers and, naturally, none of them want to lose. But the person who wants to not lose the most is definitely Hillary (played by Alexa Vega, AKA Carmen Cortez from Spy Kids). She's ready to exploit any weakness she sees in Stephen to win the final spot at Ultra and he's making it easy on her so far, what with his multitude of weaknesses.

The biggest of said weaknesses is his seemingly willful insistence on underestimating her. When they face off in sparring, all it takes for her trick him is a couple of fake whimpers. He also doesn't seem to get that she really doesn't care if everyone else loses their powers, so long as she keeps hers. I love a girl with a purpose, but especially when that purpose is beating down on a lackluster protagonist. Maybe this competition will be just the kick in the pants Stephen needs to get it together and grow a personality.

In less villainous news, Charlotte (you know, the girl the Tomorrow People saved during Cara's ill-conceived attack on the Citadel last week) almost got kicked out of the secret Tomorrow People lair because of her crazy, uncontrollable screaming fits. These fits aren't just annoying (but they're that, too); they cause intense, TP-y mental distress to every Tomorrow Person in the vicinity. Luckily, Saint John steps into save the day. Since being dethroned as the leader of the Tomorrow People, he has time to dedicate to being a surrogate Big Brother to Charlotte. He teaches her to control her outbursts and opens up for some aww-worthy sharing about his own past at Ultra. It's adorable and they bond and it will just make you love John more than you already do (or, at least, it made me love him even more).

tl;dr? Cara is still sucking at leading the Tomorrow People, and her sucking is compounded by a villainous blast from her past: Julian. Julian is a TP who just loves torturing humans and being loud and proud about his TP powers. At Ultra, Stephen is getting his ass handed to him by uber-competitive Ultra Agent Wannabe Hillary. And back at the lair, John has taken up troubled TP youth mentoring and is getting his big brother on with Charlotte.