The Medium writers have toyed with the idea of the Dubois girls and their connection to the supernatural before, but never quite like this. In the past the story has always revolved around more of a what if, or what will be, question. Here, there was danger, by the bucketful. Ariel, as you can gather from the picture, had gone a little bit darkside. And that served to ratchet up the tension for Allison all the more.
If I had to put it in a nutshell, I’d say “Who’s That Girl?” was a bit hit and miss. By the time we got to the end, with the showdown between Allison and Elena, it was two thumbs up, to be sure. But getting there … it was a little rocky. Starting with the biggest of the rocks, what was up with the history of murder opening? Yeah, you never know who people really are. And seemingly good people do some horrific things. But couldn’t that bit be run at the beginning of every episode of Medium ever? It just felt completely off, and the episode worked just fine without it even being there.
Moving along, I’m still not sure why Elena needed to be a long time friend of Devalos. When he went in to run the con at the end, I thought surely something would come of it, but he played it completely straight. It ended up bringing nothing to the story, other than being one too many coincidences.
Fortunately, as we pushed through to the second half of the show, things really picked up. The big reveal of who Kevin’s family was didn’t exactly come as a surprise, but it did get things moving right along. Added to Elena finally breaking character with Allison at home, and continuing right through to the showdown in interrogation, things were great.
Elena’s little game of chicken was really the crowning moment, and it had me wondering about the outcome. Clearly, she had Allison over a barrel. Would she really send her daughter to prison? I think not. Fortunately for Ariel, the con worked. Although, you do have to wonder about the little lingering questions. Where did Elena go? Will we be seeing her again? And does she now have it in for Allison?
There are two other points worth mentioning. First, Sofia Vassilieva was very good conveying the two different personalities. And second, the Ariel drama also made for some great Joe/Allison scenes. We’ve certainly seen them fight before, but it was still somewhat shocking when he told Allison, “Knock it off!” It’s a sign that things aren’t quite back to normal since Allison’s return. Just as this episode is a sign that it’s going to be very interesting watching them get there.
Clacked by Brett Love 
on Oct 03, 2009 @ 00:13 EST5EDT
