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Written by: Travis Donnelly, Corey Reed
Directed by: David Arquette
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The One Where: Allison loses her hearing while trying to locate a deaf kidnap victim.
Verdict: The gimmick of the week – Allison’s deafness – is handled with harrowing sensitivity, but it’s only one among a number of stand-out ingredients in this taut, edgy episode. The plot mechanics may be a bit melodramatic (and you’ll probably guess the twist about five minutes before it’s revealed), but once again Medium pulls off an outlandish storyline with some powerful performances, clever scripting and Joe grounding everything in day-to-day reality. You’ve got to love the practical way he deals with Allison’s hearing loss, while a phone scene – in which Allison pours her heart out to Joe not knowing if he’s even on the other end of the line – is very touching.
Highlight: When the dad realises that his plan has gone to pot he asks the kidnappers what he should do with his daughter. The chilling reply? “We dug you a hole out back.”
Cythia Watch: Allison’s hard-nosed new employer proves good at her job this episode, but is not beyond callously using Allison’s deafness as a way of gaining some sympathy from her clients. She’s also brutal to the point of emotionless dealing with the distraught parents, describing the kidnap as “just a business venture”.
Trivia: This is the second episode of Medium to be directed by Patricia Arquette’s brother, David (after season three’s “1-900-Lucky”).
Best Line:
Joe (typing what Cynthia is saying so that Allison can read it): "I feel a really bad case of carpal tunnel coming on."
Dave Golder
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