By Brandon Nolta
Jaime Sommers (Michelle Ryan) has a lot to process. Beyond the stress of having most of her limbs replaced with bionic parts, dating a CIA agent and working for a hush-hush agency headed by a fellow named Jonas (Miguel Ferrer) who’s equal parts paternal and ruthless, her friend and mentor Antonio (Isaiah Washington) got himself killed in the previous episode. Needless to say, she’s a little harried. Like many folks, she buries herself in work, but since her kind of work can get people killed—or at least in dire need of reconstructive surgery—this approach is of some concern to her boss. So, he tells her to take a break. When she’s less than receptive, he modifies it into a simple delivery plus vacation. Simple, right?
Well … Jaime makes the delivery to a fellow who looks like he’s not been recently acquainted with a shower, then heads off to enjoy a vacation with little sister Becca (Lucy Hale). Meanwhile, the guy who took the delivery checks into the same hotel, promptly produces what looks like a heroin addict’s kit and takes the needle. Whatever’s in it, though, probably calls for a refund, because it kills Scruffy Guy right quick. Jaime has turned off her cell on Becca’s orders, but Jonas is right persistent, and manages to get ahold of Jaime to tell her to check this guy out … at which point, I’m wondering why they just don’t get in touch with her through her bionics. Anyway, Jaime breaks into the hotel room where Scruffy is registered, finds his corpse, and officially notes that vacation is over.
A little digging clues Jaime into the fact that Scruffy is an assassin, and his target package is in the briefcase. As it turns out, the target is the father of Becca’s new friend Nick, and Jaime finds herself spending time in this fellow’s company. Whee! I love it when plot twists come together. Anyway, the target, a nuclear engineer suspected of preparing to sell secret technology to North Korea, is a sharp guy, and a mistake on Jaime’s part clues the guy in that he’s being hunted. Now, we’ve got a rogue engineer, a pissed-off bionic enforcer, Jonas and his pet genius Nathan (Kevin Rankin) and who knows who else all converging on a Montana hotel. Sounds like the setup to a 21st century DELIVERANCE, but it gets better: Jonas tells Jaime that she’s going to have to kill the guy. Will she continue to avoid doing the homicide tango? Oh, come on; this is network TV. They still frown on the heroes being assassins.
If this is truly the last episode of BIONIC WOMAN, then it’s not a bad place to stop; Jaime has reached a point in her development that makes for a natural resting point, although the stop-and-start storytelling still hasn’t progressed as far as it should have. Ryan and Hale interact well together, and if Ryan isn’t completely believable as Sommers, I’m inclined to believe it’s more a matter of writing than anything else. Ferrer is as ruthlessly charming as ever, and the other assorted characters are at least not a distraction. Still, as reported in an earlier news rant, it’s tough to conclude that BIONIC WOMAN will continue on much past this episode. Maybe it’s for the best; driving off down a long country road may not be the most original image to end the show with, but it’s apt, and considering the long history of shows that have ended badly or just weirdly (e.g. ST. ELSEWHERE, SLIDERS, etc.), BIONIC WOMAN could do a lot worse.