By Jennifer Larson

Parents, when will you learn that stashing your pot in a shoe box and hiding it on the top shelf of your closet is not only cliché, it’s also the first place your kids are gonna look?

Oh, if only the Trager parental units figured this out before young Josh (Jean-Luc Bilodeau) got hold of the stuff. And, kids, word to the wise: Adults like video games too. Remember that the next time you decide to confide in your gamer buddies. I think one of the morals of tonight’s episode of KYLE XY is how sneaky both parents and their kids are; Stephen (Bruce Thomas) found out about Josh’s pot smoking by listening in on his buddies’ conversation, and Josh only found the stash after snooping around his parents’ bedroom. We’re also reminded that breaking up is hard to do, and it’s never a good idea to break into a house with a clone living next door.

I’m not sure, but I think I may be in insulin shock after watching tonight’s show. I get it — this is family fare and all, but I need a good dose of reality with my TV (and I don’t mean the fake kind of reality we get from shows like BIG BROTHER). That said, I did get a kick out of watching as the Trager parents discovered where Josh got the pot, even though I’ve seen that scene a million times before in a hundred different television shows and movies. Watching parents squirm never gets old.

Stephen did end up handling the pot fiasco successfully, which left Nicole (Marguerite MacIntyre) free to concentrate on her new patient, Jessi XX (Jaimie Alexander). I smell trouble brewing here, folks. I mean, besides the obvious; she’s Kyle’s (Matt Dallas) clone sister sent to disrupt the lives of the Trager family — trouble.

Jessi appears to have taken a shine to Lori’s (April Matson) ex, Declan (Chris Olivero). Of course, no family show is complete without the obligatory love triangle. And, Lori was just getting on with her life without Declan, filling the void by taking up the guitar. You certainly can’t get over an ex if your mother’s new patient is crushing on him.

While we’re at it, what happened to Declan? I don’t understand why he careened into a fit of despair over Kyle leaving and taking his secrets along with him. Even Kyle’s return didn’t seem to perk Declan up; in fact, he’s acting like he broke up with Kyle, not Lori. Meanwhile, Kyle is too busy acting like Amanda’s (Kristen Prout) knight in shining armor to notice anything else going on around him.

It seems as though Kyle may finally be winning over the fair Amanda with his chivalry. How could any girl ignore a guy who chases down an intruder in her house, supports her during a police lineup, and gets back the bracelet her father gave her on his deathbed? Even more charming is the fact that Kyle found out the bracelet was actually pawned by Amanda’s mother, not stolen by the intruder, and he didn’t rat her out (although she certainly deserved it, after the nasty way she’s been treating Kyle). How she can look into those confused, puppy dog eyes and not just melt is beyond me. It all worked out in the end, though, as all good family dramas should. Amanda’s mother told her the truth, Amanda forgave her mother and Kyle got the money he spent on the bracelet back.

We didn’t hear much from the evil Mada Corp tonight; however, at the end of the episode, Stephen advises Nicole of an interview for his dream job. I smell a rat here. Considering that Mada Corp’s intention is to wreak havoc in the Trager household, and that they presumably orchestrated the takeover that caused Stephen to lose his previous job, I don’t see this ending well.

It’s no wonder poor Jessi needs to see a therapist; she’s got one cold-hearted sister. Agent Emily Hollander (Leah Cairns) will have to work the sisterly love a little bit better if she wants to be convincing. I’m also a little confused with the drone-like way Jessi is acting. I thought Madacorp implanted a lifetime of memories in her brain. While she seems to know that Emily is her sister, there doesn’t appear to be any connection on either side. And, Jessi is still walking around as if she’s seeing everything around her for the first time.

One thing is for sure: Kyle and Jessi are cut from the same cloth. They both have amazing artistic ability, wide-eyed innocence and freaky good looks. But, is it all enough to escape the clutches of Mada Corp?