The second episode of Forever– airing for the first time on what will become its usual Tuesday spot- keeps up the momentum it built with the pilot. We get deeper insight into Henry, the dastardly nemesis ups the stakes, and the character chemistry is fantastic.
Our hero, Henry, is put into a compromising position by his nemesis and has to puzzle out a way to keep his immortality secret. If we keep up with this pace, this show is going to be a lot of fun. The breathless, nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat kind of fun. …we all consider that fun, right?
***WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD WARNING***
We start off with an open that introduces the character. I personally detest these, but it is a brand new show, so I’ll allow it. (For I am nothing if not a gracious goddess.)
Next we’re spoon-fed an awful, cheesy line in order to flash back into some exposition and frankly, I was worried. I was thinking, Forever, I thought you were better than that. And- relief- it is. The flashback was just a reminder that Abe, the old dude he lives with, is his adopted son he raised from a baby. As opposed to the reveal of some long-lost child that died tragically, which is where I was afraid they were going and would have been a bit hackneyed. And, ok, I kinda needed the reminder, so I’ll forgive the clumsy segue.
Harder to forgive a bit later in the episode is why the bereaved parents didn’t wonder why an M.E. was investigating alongside a detective. I know we only have so much screen time to work with, but could we not find a place for a quick “Why’s he here?” I’m guessing police procedurals are a thing in the Forever-verse, so they would have found it weird.
What I loved was the advancement of the plot-line with his hidden nemesis, a mystery villain we were introduced to in the first episode. We learned that this character has a couple thousand years on our hero, and that he’s a pompous douche- telling Henry to call him Adam after the biblical first man. I feel like this guy is fully capable of playing puppet master to the mortals around him and isn’t beyond killing a few people just to torment the good doctor.
I also appreciated how morbid Henry is- casually mentioning how he looked at the victim’s teeth and lungs- as well as a few of the well-placed immortality inside jokes. Executed the wrong way, this kind of thing can get tired and feel trite. But Forever gets the balance just right.
It was also nice to see Henry and Abe at home and seeing their relationship. The way they tease and care for each other as father and son is genuinely endearing.
I find this story terribly engaging, the characters and their qualms staying with me long after I’ve turned off my TV. And I’m quickly gaining faith that the writer’s won’t lead me to a place where I’m frustrated with Chekov’s guns, waiting, ready, and left unfired for so long I nearly stop watching. (Looking at you, Blacklist.) It’s only the second episode, so it’s too early to call, but Forever just may make it to the “must watch” list.
By the way, I’m not the only one noticing how smooth Henry is at pretending everything’s ok while he’s really dealing with nasty surprises from his nemesis. Your skill at lying and your box full of passports make me wonder about you, Henry.
What did you think of the episode? Did the cheesy line make you face/palm, or did it go unnoticed? Let me know in the comments!
Forever airs Tuesdays at 10/9c on ABC. If you missed it, you can catch this episode on ABC’s website.
