Overall: 8.8
A very strong episode that is shot through with a sense of God's Divine Providence.
Plot Synopsis:
When the episode opens, Chuck is conveying Gary to a city preschool where a five-year-old by the name of Allie Chapman will soon disappear. Chuck is driving like a maniac to get Gary there on time and thus doesn't notice - at least, not until Gary sees a new story in the paper - that a man has walked out into the road in front of his car. When Gary warns him, Chuck screeches to a halt and just barely misses the pedestrian, who immediately faints from the shock. It is here that the plot temporarily diverges.
Chuck stays with Walter, the aforementioned pedestrian. Though Chuck didn't actually hit Walter, he's still concerned about getting sued, so while he waits for his lawyer to draw up a release form, he sits Walter down in McGinty's and offers him a drink. Under Chuck's ministrations, Walter unloads his tale of woe. He is an inventor, you see, and what he's carrying in his silver case is a digital aurometer, which is designed to detect micro-vibrations in the earth. Recently, he was scheduled to present his aurometer to a society of inventors, but tragically, his device failed to turn on at the critical moment. He has since replaced the on/off switch, but as far as he's concerned, his chances of success now are slim to nil. Upon request, Walter fires up his device, and as an astonished Chuck and Marissa watch, the machine picks up the sound of Cat's heartbeat.
At this point, another patron turns around and asks Walter if his machine can detect groundhogs, mentioning that the police captain has been having some trouble with groundhogs in his garden. Chuck gets to scheming. He encourages Walter to call the police captain and offer to get rid of his groundhogs. Walter is very reluctant - he would rather his device be used for scientific purposes - but he follows Chuck's lead. Unfortunately, at the police captain's house, all Walter succeeds in doing is detecting and subsequently rupturing a gas line. They should've called Ms. Utility.
Now what has Gary been doing during this time? Well, after Chuck and Gary encounter Walter, Gary leaves Chuck behind and heads to the preschool on foot, but by the time he gets there, it is too late: Allie has already followed one of the class bunnies into the city sewer system. Gary's interest in locating Allie arouses the suspicion of the detective assigned to the case - Detective Barnes - and when Gary, following the paper's lead, finds the preschool's bunny and Allie's teddy bear in the sewer, Barnes takes Gary in for questioning. Fortunately, before Gary is officially charged with anything, a teen arrives at the station and reports that he heard a child's voice down a sewer grate, thus confirming Gary's explanation for Allie's disappearance.
As the police rush to find Allie in the sewer system before she drowns in the flooding from the day's storms, the plot converges. Chuck, who has just gone to retrieve Gary's paper at the State Street wash (where Gary was apprehended), is driving through torrential rain to the police station when, once again, he very nearly runs over Walter. When Walter hears what's happening with the Allie Chapman disappearance, he insists that he - and his aurometer - can help find the girl. Chuck is extremely skeptical - and so are the cops - but Walter does manage to locate the little girl's heartbeat under the street. Gary then jumps into the flooded sewer, finds Allie, and swims her to safety. Walter's aurometer attracts the attention of the press, and Gary is redeemed in the eyes of Detective Barnes.
The Skinny:
Although this is not the first - nor the last - time that Gary's supernatural knowledge arouses police interest, the grimmer undertones in this episode are very interesting. Although we viewers know the real reason Gary gets involved in the Allie Chapman case, it's very easy to see the situation from Detective Barnes' point of view. There's a new edge to Gary's defensiveness here that does seem very suspicious; by this point, he has already lost some of the wide-eyed obvious innocence we saw throughout the first season and has taken on a more world-weary look. "Oh, gee, the police suspect me again. That's not new."
In this episode, Gary's faith is tested; this, of course, is not new either. But what's interesting here is how the writers subtly call attention to all the little signs of God's presence that we, wrapped up in our troubles and worries, tend to miss. When Gary complains early in the episode that the paper has given him no further hints regarding Allie's whereabouts, Cat leads Gary upstairs to hear the weather report -- and Gary doesn't understand the meaning of that sign. He doesn't catch on that Allie must be somewhere where flooding rains present a threat -- not until he is explicitly told the following morning via the paper. Gary also tells Marissa that he senses Allie's presence nearby, but again, the significance of that intuition eludes him. Isn't that how it works for most of us? God's "still, small voice" is speaking to us all the time; usually, however, we are too distracted to hear it.
Writing: 8.5
No lines jump out as particularly memorable, but the basic story is strong.
Acting: 8.5
The guest cast is decent, but again, with the possible exception of Tim Kazurinksy (who plays a cute and funny Walter), no one stands out. On the other hand, as noted above, I find Kyle's artistic choices here rather fascinating. The transition he's making from doe-eyed innocent to worn-out hero is noticeable and very welcome.
Message: 9.5
As already discussed, the sneaky way the writers highlight God's constant presence is worthy of much praise.
The Benevolent Hand:
Given Gary's intuitions, Cat's signs, and Chuck and Walter's lucky meeting, I think we can safely say that there isn't a moment when God is not driving the plot of this episode.
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