Charlie Jade: Betrayal

A number of developments make this week’s episode exciting, disturbing and, probably, largely incomprehensible to anyone who hasn’t been watching the show.


Title: “Betrayal”

First aired June 4, 2005

Written by David Cole
Directed by Darrell Roodt
Created by Chris Roland and Robert Wertheimer.

Cast

Jeffrey Pierce as Charlie Jade
Patricia McKenzie as Reena
Tyrone Benskin as Karl Lubinsky
Michael Filipowich as 01 Boxer
Michelle Burgess as Essa Rompkin
Marie-Julie Rivest as Jasmine/Paula
Danny Keogh as Julius Galt

Plot:

As Jade and Lubinsky uncover more about Vexcor’s plans, Vexcor realize that someone from the alphaverse, but not from Vexcor—Charlie Jade—is wondering about the betaverse. Lubinsky finds his life in danger when Galt traces Jade to him.

Meanwhile, 01 Boxer recovers in the Gammaverse, and Reena makes some changes to her life. The episode ends with Reena, having taken on the identity of the woman who died in the previous episode, applying for a job with Vexcor.

High Point:

The scenes in the woods with Lubinksy. You really didn’t know for certain how the scene would end, but you knew it would be unpleasant. Once you knew how the scene ended, you still wondered if some twist would enable the partnership to stay together, you know, as would happen in a more typical show.

Low Point:

I felt a chill at the end of last week’s episode when 01 Boxer found himself in the gammaverse. This presented an interesting challenge. While not without an awareness of evil, violence, and other trouble areas of the human psyche, the people of that earth clearly run a more ethical and trusting society. How would they respond to an evil, self-serving socio and/or psychopath?

I felt let down by what happened, although I concede we don’t have all of the information required to understand those scenes. Did 01 actually reform under the woman’s care? Or (since the children call him “daddy”) has he previously lived a good life, with another personality, in the Gammaverse? Is the 01 we see the result of corporate expermentation, drugs, and universe-travel? This new enigma in the life of the show’s most enigmatic character may prove interesting, but I really felt lost in those scenes, and a little disappointed.

The Scores:

Originality: 5/6.

Effects: 6/6.

Story: 5/6. Several things happened that were bound to happen, and the episode handled them well. Obviously, Charlie Jade’s actions would eventually get someone’s attention, and they finally do, with unpleasant consequences.

I wonder, however, how much the betaverse—the show’s version of our world—will stray from consensus reality. Can anyone from South Africa help me out? Could powerful enough people really cover up a public shoot-out and multiple killing? It seemed to me this was a departure from the (relative) realism with which the betaverse has been handled.

Acting: 5/6.

Emotional Response: 5/6. The scenes in the woods should have viewers on edge. You really don’t know where this show will be willing to go.

Production: 6/6.

Overall: 5/6.

In total, “Betrayal” receives 37/42

Additional Comments

I wonder if they’ll even attempt to explain how the gammaverse can remain so pristine, given the presence of technology that parallels ours.

One reply

  1. Great!
    Somewhere on the internet I read about Charlie Jade: “Great on atmosphere, low on story.” I was about to think this is right but this episode made me change my mind.

    I’m looking forward to the following episodes.

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