As the Blackout Turns

FlashForward

(episode descriptions from Wikipedia)
"Playing Cards with Coyote" - Mark gets a lead on the tattooed assassin that he saw in his flashforward. Simon and Lloyd play a game of poker to settle old scores. Aaron uncovers the harsh truth behind Tracy's death. Janis has second thoughts about her career.

"Believe" - Bryce begins his search for the woman in his flashforward, Aaron becomes concerned over Tracy's odd behavior, Mark attempts to track down the person responsible for texting Olivia and outing his drinking during his flashforward vision, and Demetri's co-agents try to find the mysterious caller who forewarned him about his unfortunate fate. The music playing as the episode ends is "Shelter from the storm" by Bob Dylan.

Egads, but this show has seriously devolved into a bad version of Grey's Anatomy. There is just too much focus on the soap opera elements. Case in point, I am tired of Mark's and Olivia's (Joseph Fiennes and Sonya Walger) "You're going to cheat on me in the future" "I'm never going to have an affair" "But we can change our future" back and forth. It's repeated over and over. You know, perhaps this see-sawing back and forth might happen to a married couple in this situation, but there has to be another way to approach the material.

In a way it reminds me of the first several years of Smallville and the "will Clark Kent and Lana Lang get together" ongoing storyline. Everyone knows Clark and LOIS LANE are destined to be together, but episode after episode, year after year, Smallville kept this fire going and it just became ridiculous. The Benford's of FlashForward haven't been doing it that long, but it's beginning to feel like it.

The story with Aaron (Brian F. O'Byrne) and his back from the dead daughter Tracy (Genevieve Cortese) isn't very interesting. If military contractors are out to get her, wouldn't her dad's home be the first place they'd look?

The cancer-striken Bryce (Zachary Knighton) throwing caution to the wind and flying to Japan to find the girl of his dreams felt like it was more appropriate for a teen show on the CW, complete with Bob Dylan song (admittedly a bit older than most recording artists used on the CW). This despite the fact that the actress playing the girl, Keiko (Yuka Takeuchi), is seriously hot.

And how much BS was it when the NSA with all their superduper software can't create a decent upgraded photo of Suspect Zero (the man at the stadium) during the blackout, but they could bring out ALL THAT DETAIL on a ring on his finger. Bad, sad writing there.

Goyer, get this show back on track!!!