After a season which
seemed to have rather neglected El (which is odd given she’s the one with the
woo-woo) we finally have an episode that focuses on her
I’m also going to
start calling her Jane, as it is the name she starts using, the name her mother
gave her, rather than the number that her captors and tormentors tatooed on her
arm.
She’s with her aunt
Becky and describes the vision her mother Terri shared with her - they focus on
the girl who was in the rainbow room with her and believe this is why Terri
wanted her to come. When Terri was looking for Jane she produced many files
about missing children, including a girl of Indian descent kidnapped from London
- Kali.
Jane uses her powers
to search the darkness for Kali and has a clue to her location. While she’s
doing this Becky tries to call Jim (who is busy with other drama) since he may
be able to help them find Kali. But Jane is worried about her contacting home
and decides to run
She takes a bus to
Chicago and doesn’t exactly fit in in the big city - but she has a confidence
that comes from being able to kill people with your mind. She follows her
vision to find a gang of people squatting and tells them she’s looking for her
sister.
They recognise Kali
from the picture, and one of them, Axel, threatens Jane, worried that she’s
managed to find them even though Mick is less happy with him threatening a
child. Surprisingly it isn’t Jane smashing the weapon from his hand that stops
Axel, but the illusion of being covered in spiders which does it
Kali has arrived
Janes introduces
herself -as Jane (and why I’m not calling her Eleven any more) and shows her
abilities to Kali and explains who she saw Kali. She sounds much more
confident. She mentions the Rainbow room and shows the tattoo on her wrist:
Kali has the number 008
They call each other
sister and hug. And I’m as happy with this as I am curious about the other 9
children.
Jane gives Kali a bit
of history - especially how she doesn’t really remember anything - but that Jim
is looking after her and thinks he can make a deal with the Ominous Lab to keep
them safe. I would share Kali’s cynicism of this if it wasn’t for the Kindly
leader last episode. As well as suspicious (she warns Jane they’ll always be
“monsters” to them), Kali also notes that Jim isn’t exactly encouraging
Jane to develop or encourage her powers. Kali also explains her own powers -
she has the ability to make people see (or not see) anything. And she shows off
a pretty version of it with a beautiful butterfly
I like that she’s
showing Jane some joy from their gifts - as well as describing how she feels
“whole” around Jane.
The rest of the gang
somewhat mocks Kali’s “hick” sister - but Kali points out that Jane can find
people with nothing more than a picture - which is just what they need for
their mission. So much that they’re willing to go out tomorrow to keep hunting
- though there’s some concern that they’re still “hot” after killing one of
their targets
Their targets are
people who worked for Hawkings Lab - the Ominous Lab. Any of the mena and women
who hurt the children and experimented on them - it’s a revenge quest. Kali
quiets that concern - saying that Jane is “hurting” and needs this. I think
there’s a definite sense that Kali is projecting a LOT on Jane - that doesn’t
mean she’s wrong but still she hasn’t known Jane very long for deciding she
knows what Jane needs. Especially since we see Jane picking up a heartfelt
message from Jim about being sorry.
And the others are
all willing to follow her because she helped save them all: she describes them
as outcasts, people neglected by society: We have Axel the White punk, Mick
Black woman (and protector - she seems to be careful), Funshine a Black man
(described as a “warrior” but also a big softie) and a mentally ill white woman
called Dottie.
While Jane has some
reservations about killing people, Kali is very convincing in her argument for
pre-emptive defence and Jane remembers she has also killed - a whole lot of
Ominous Lab people
She also has lessons
for Jane - about how suppressing her anger and pain just makes it fester and is
unhealthy and how she needs to use it, especially with her power. She
encourages Jane to channel her anger in trying to remove a ridiculously huge
train car. Which she does. It is more than a little scary and the gang cheers
her.
She then uses her
power to pick out their target - Ray - the man who shocked her mother’s mind
and used a taser on Kali as a child. So it’s time for an awesome make over (I
kind of love how much Jane’s looks reflect the different stages she’s going
through), some fun road trips, a brief stop to rob a store (Kali tries to use
an appeal to solidarity to get away with this when the shop keeper challenges
her - Jane just throws him into a wall) before they arrive at Ray’s place
Entering, subduing
and menacing Ray goes easily, with Kali using her illusions to make it clear
who they are and why they’re there. He tries to deal with them by saying he can
help them find Brenner - papa - but Jane insists Papa is already dead
Which, of course,
means that he’s most certainly alive.
Kali wants Jane to
kill him slow - except she sees a picture of the man and his two daughters (the
rest of the gang finds the two children in the back room calling the police).
Kali urges no mercy - but Jane can’t bring herself to kill him now he knows he
has kids. (Unwilling to rob kids of a parent like she was? Or just empathy?
Either way she can’t)
And when Kali tries to do it, Jane uses her telekinesis to stop her
They flee - and Kali
is furious. She accepts that Jane wants to show mercy but she is outraged that
Jane would take Kali’s choice from her. Which is an interesting conflict
because Kali has her own quest and desire for revenge and it’s interesting that
she doesn’t INSIST that Jane kill - just that Jane doesn’t make her choices for
her … which is a nice conflict of agency. Except, y’know, vigilante murder and
all that. But how much does self-defence still apply? After all, we know they
were still hunting Jane, so the idea that Jane and Kali have to pre-emptively
defend themselves isn’t necessarily wrong.
Kali doesn’t stay mad
with her sister when they’re back at the base - she does explain why she was so
mad: she thinks Jane is making a lot of the same mistakes she did. She once
tried to go into hiding as well, but they still hunted her. She thinks the
choice is very much between fighting and hiding
Again, Kali may be projecting a lot onto Jane, based on what she needed, what made her feel better and what is making her safe - but at the same time she may not be wrong
Of course, equally
she might be: after all with the shadow monsters now does the Ominous Lab have
bigger things to worry about than the psychic kids?
Kali insists they
have to face the lab people - and confronts Jane with an image of Papa. This
also makes me hmmm on consent and agency - because Kali was furious that Jane
used her power to save Ray and take her choice - but Kali is definitely trying
to manipulate Jane here.
But she does stress
that Jane can leave whenever she wants - or avenge her mother. Yes the
manipulation is strong here. Jane is clearly torn, thinking of Mike, Jim and
her friends. Especially as she gets more and more visions of Jim in trouble
The police raid their
hideout and we get to see Kali’s power at its most awesome - and damn between
invisibility and giant walls, Kali is a force to be reckoned with.
But Jane does not
come with them - she decides to go to her friends who are in danger. Kali
insists her friends can’t save her - but Jane replies that she can save them.
And when a kind woman on the bus asks Jane where she’s going - she says “home.”
It’s interesting that
Jane has moved on from the labs in more ways than Kali - and I think a lot of
that is down to killing “papa”. Jane has got her revenge and ended the big
threat in her mind. She has started to build her own life outside of that and
she also has people in her life who are very much focused on their own concerns
while Kali’s circle very much revolves around her, with no closure moment,
keeping her in the same place. Or, the flip side is that Kali could be right.
Jane is kidding herself that she can live a normal life, keep herself safe and
her friend’s safe and she will see the truth of Kali’s war
I do want to see more
of Kali and her gang - they bring some good diversity, a harsher edge to the
Ominous Lab (which will contrast nicely with the Ominous Lab being led by an
apparently compassionate man now) but more I really like how even in this short
episode we saw some excellent connections between Jane and Kali. Kali is an
excellent big sister for Jane, their ability to share experiences and wonders,
for Jane still finding her way in the world to have that confident,
understanding peer really works well together. And I wonder where Kali’s path
could go from here - especially if she sees the darkness, demigorgons et al
And, of course, I
really really want to see the other numbered kids. Or not kids - can we safely
assume the lower the number the older the child?
