NBC
(Season 1, Episode 3)
What I like most about My Own Worst Enemy is the inner battle between Henry and Edward. The family life scenes and the missions are only a means to an end to put Henry/Edward in unfamiliar settings and situations that can create conflict. “Hello, Henry” offered just that: conflict between for the lead characters and that’s why I enjoyed the third installment of the new NBC show.
Luckily for Edward and Henry, they now have a better grasp at when the other is about to take over. This allows them to record longer and more detailed snarky comments and warnings to the other so he can continue what was started. This week, however, the video messages included a few threats such as Henry breaking his pinky so that Edward wouldn’t have all his fingers to help him on the mission, and Edward saying that since Henry broke a finger, he (Ed) decided that they would not have pain medication. It must be freaky to have someone else live instead of you and live/mess your life. But those two will need to work hand in hand if they want to stay alive and free.
It’s clear that both men are in reaction mode towards one another instead of prevention or action. They are impulsive and don’t think about the consequences of their actions. Buying a $2000 dress must be normal for Edward but when in Henry’s life, this is a decision that is not only out of character but that can also have his wife become more and more suspicious in time. Edward is the one who knows best how important a cover is, so I’m surprised he is taking such risks. Even if minor for now, these out-of-character decisions can have his wife hire the same P.I. Mary did… that is, if the P.I. is still alive. More on that later.
Henry, who doesn’t know much about Janus and who Edward really is, is the one who does the most reacting. I’m willing to cut Henry some slack because he is scared and a newbie at this, but the guy will need to accept Edward soon or they’ll both get killed. Okay, since they are the stars of the show, they won’t get killed for real but you get the idea. After his actions lead to the death of the doctor, I expected Henry to lay low and let Edward control the show for a while. Maybe Henry could have used to that time to gather more information about the missions, Edward and the people he works for. Instead, the death has Henry react even more and eventually meet with the FBI agent. Henry was so not thinking when he contacted the FBI guy. Family man Henry clearly wanted a way to protect his family after Edward put Ruthy in danger, but if he had taken a second or two to think, he would have come to the conclusion that Edward and Janus would have found out about it sooner or later and that it was a bad idea to contact the agent. Then again, maybe watching the agent get shot will have Henry consider consequences next time….
Mary. Mary. Mary. If you only knew what you were getting into… Then again, I’m glad Mary hired a P.I. and hope that he gets some dirt on Tom/Raymond and gives a report to Mary before some Janus operative kills him (because you know that’s the only way this story will end). I hope things go as I want them to because I’m interested in seeing Janus handle a Mary that knows Tom is a spy. I don’t think they’ll kill her since they need Tom and his cover story. Will they brainwash Mary? Will they hire her? Will they implant a chip in her brain so she is Mary by day and Marianne the lady spy by night?
After watching this third episode of the series, I’m left to wonder why Janus doesn’t train Henry a bit in the ways of a spy. It’s easier for Edward to fake working at AJ Sun than for Henry to fake it while on a mission. When the bad guy of the week found the 2-way mic behind Henry’s ear and destroyed it, Henry was left on his own and could have wrecked the mission way more than he did. Plus, since they want to keep the fact that Edward/Henry are “broken” a secret, one would think that Mavis would try to turn Henry into somewhat of a spy. Not training Henry doesn’t only put Henry/Edward in danger but can also affect the mission and destroy Janus in the end….
Clacked by Isabelle Carreau 
on Oct 28, 2008 @ 10:05 EST5EDT
I love where this show is going……I hope the execs dont cancel
I like this show. I’m also not surprised that therapist showed up at the end. I knew that she was involved some way or another.
I still like this show, but having Henry blab to the bad guy exactly what was going on with him was total stupidity.
I think they don’t train Henry because they are trying to keep it a secret from everyone else at Janus that Edward is “broken.” But you’re right– it seems weird and inconsistent (and inefficient AND dangerous) to throw Henry into Edward’s missions without any kind of training at all.
I hope they don’t kill Tom/Raymond because I love his character– I think he is probably even better at his shifting back and forth than Christian Slater is (shhh).
I wasn’t surprised by the therapist showing up either, because Henry was told by his handler (the woman who puts him in the elevator) to go to his therapy appointment, so obviously it’s part of the experiment to “keep an eye” on Henry. We haven’t seen Edward at therapy yet, right?