Seriously, tell me you watched Medium this week and weren’t reminded of Flatliners, the 1990 movie with Kiefer Sutherland and Julia Roberts, and I won’t believe you. Once it was finally revealed Dr. Brian Seward (True Blood’s Sam Trammell) was killing himself with the help of the girl from Men in Trees another doctor named Victoria to watch rich men do bad things and then blackmail them, the first thing that came to mind was that movie.
All in all it was a pretty interesting case, and a bit of a departure from our usual murder mystery on Medium, which is always welcome. I really liked that even though she was conflicted about it, Allison didn’t tell the DA or the police about Dr. Seward blackmailing the man who killed that girl.
For one thing, it would be pretty tough to convince a jury that when you die, you become a ghost who can go anywhere you want with a mere thought. But more importantly, I thought it was the right thing to do. The guy who killed that girl was a dick, and he deserved to be blackmailed. Sure, it’s unconventional, but wouldn’t you do whatever it took to take care of your family if you knew you were going to die and leave them with an enormous debt?
That’s where the similarities to Breaking Bad came in. The entire premise of BB is a man finds out he has terminal cancer, then uses his skills as a chemistry teacher to team up with an ex-student to make and sell meth so he can provide for his family after he’s gone. I love Breaking Bad, but I would have to say out of the two methods I enjoyed Medium’s more, unrealistic as it may be.
It comes down to Schadenfreude, as it was truly satisfying to have not only the killer be blackmailed for half a million dollars, but also see that the money got to Brian’s family even after Victoria killed him to keep it for herself. In that last bit, it seemed Allison finally took a cue from her husband, and resolved the issue without bringing the Phoenix PD into it. Victoria didn’t get arrested, but it doesn’t really matter. Brian would’ve been dead soon anyway, and he got what he wanted — his family taken care of. The fact that Allison told Victoria that Brian would always be keeping an eye on her should keep her paranoid enough to not do it again.
Clacked by Cate Cropp
on Feb 11, 2009 @ 12:11 EST5EDT
I’m gonna get you Billy Mahoney!
Yeah, this episode totally went all Flatliners. It was interesting, but is it crazy that I thought the premise was too out there? I mean, considering the entire premise of Medium, it’s kind of stupid to say I didn’t buy it. But I didn’t, maybe it was too sciency?
Good to see Sam Trammell(this has been a good week for True Blood Cast member cameos)and the chick from Men in Trees again.
I like that we had another sub-storyline with one of the girls. It is really neat to see how their ability pops up in their lives. I hope they keep it up.