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KYLE XY |
Season Overview
Kyle - Matt Dallas Nicole Trager - Marguerite MacIntyre Stephen Trager - Bruce Thomas Lori Trager - April Matson Josh Trager - Jean-Luc Bilodeau Amanda Bloom - Kirsten Prout Tom Foss - Nicholas Lea Jessie - Jaimie Alexander 
OTHER KYLE XY SEASONS Season 1 OTHER ENHANCED PEOPLE SHOWS Now and Again Kyle XY Bionic Woman The Champions OTHER TROUBLED TEENS SHOWS Roswell Point Pleasant 
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Season OverviewKyle is a boy with a past but no history and no memory. He is capable of doing amazing things, but there are people after him and they don't want to be friends. Kyle's search for the truth about himself forms a barrier between himself and the all-american family that have taken him in. Through him, their lives will be both enriched and placed in danger. The first season of KYLE was all about the mystery that the boy represented and his first introductions into the family life of the Tragers and the larger society they inhabit. This second season is about answers to that mystery. Who Kyle is, how he came to be, why he is in danger - all of these questions are given answers in season two. Into this mix, however, there is thrown Jessie, a female equivalent of Kyle, capable of all the things that he is, but without the family guidance and manipulated by an evil corporation that has plans for her, plans that revolve around Kyle. That manipulation invades the family at all levels and threatens to blow apart the whole family. On the lighter side, however, there are all the usual trials and tribulations of young kids trying to make their way through high school and sorting out what this life thing is supposed to be all about. Kyle's back. TopThe ProphetThe end of season one left Kyle in the hands of the man who looks just like him, only older. He learns that Albert Einstein was probably a genius because he stayed in the womb for longer than normal. Einstein and others experimented with prolonging labour, but failed to produce healthy superintelligent children. Except one, called Adam (what else). Adam created an artificial womb and used that to try and create others like him, but only produced one himself, Kyle, who was kept in that artificial womb for his entire life. When the research company decided to terminate Kyle's experiment, it was time to get him out. That research company tracks down Kyle, and through him Adam. When his teacher is killed, Kyle decides to go back to the Trager's, but not before one of the hired help decides on drastic action to keep him safe. The end of the first season promised answers about Kyle's past and there are certainly enough of those to go around. The mystery of who Kyle is is resolved, so it will be interesting to see how the writers manage to keep interest in the show going. No prizes for guessing that Kyle's female equivalent (Kylie?) is going to feature heavily. This is just the episode that wraps up the loose ends of the last season and sets up the start of this one. It's not great, but then it has a job to do and does that quite nicely thank you very much. The Tragers missing Kyle is a bit of a drag, but the show should return to its normal style from the next episode. TopHomecomingThe operation to reintegrate Kyle into the Trager's household starts with Adam Baylin's lawyer concocting a whole story about the death of Kyle's supposed real parents and explaining his mysterious history, weaving reality and fiction. It's good enough, but trouble is brewing on the horizon as Kylie XX is wandering around the city with the parent company of the research centre hot on her trail, and she has seen Kyle. This second episode ties up the fallout from the last series and gets Kyle officially adopted and officially named as well as setting up the threat from the new enemy, this time a corporation that has a face. The female Kyle is also going to be a problem, but it is noticeable that Kyle got himself arrested in seconds in the first episode of Season 1, but this girl manages to walk about for hours with nobody calling the cops and nobody offering to help. Not a lot of this is believable, but it has the essential KYLE XY niceness that got it through the last series. It will have to work harder to maintain that goodwill this time around. TopThe List is LifeAs things start to settle down in the Trager household, Kyle tries to come to terms with himself and the conflicting demands on him. Meanwhile, the school is gripped with fear as 'the list' approaches. A list of names in categories such as 'biggest slut' and 'worst loser' etc, it is social death to be on it. Kyle also struggles with the need to tell Amanda that her boyfriend is cheating on her with his desire not to hurt her. Kylie, now known as Jessie, is introduced into the social circle in order to get close to Kyle, but her programming is not yet perfect. It's to be hoped that KYLE XY isn't going to turn into a soap opera, but there are clear signs of the tendency. Lori and Declan's situation is pure teen soap whilst Josh is teetering on the brink of an actual relationship with a girl that is bound to lead into soap territory. Also Nicole is showing a soapy crisis of conscience and Kyle's whole thing with Amanda is soap central. It is fortunate then that XX is on hand to try and strangle someone and provide a threat for the future. TopBalancing ActKyle is trying to balance the needs of family life with the Tragers and his training with Foss and he's making quite a mess of it. Hollander has made first contact with Nicole and is about to move Jessie into their lives. Josh is looking forward to getting his first car, not knowing that his father has lost his job. KYLE XY continues to be a family friendly soap opera with Kyle finding that he can't quite make all these pesky human relationships work and Stephen losing his job and all, but there are signs of the threat starting to move in, which is keeping interest high. TopCome to Your SensesWhilst testing out his senses, Kyle hears Amanda being attacked in her house. He chases away the intruder, but not before a necklace that is precious to her is stolen. Kyle works out where the bracelet is and how to get it back, bringing Amanda and himself even closer. Nicole, meanwhile starts to treat Jessie and STephen is offered a job at Madacorp, the company that ultimately created Kyle. The 'will they, won't they' of Kyle and Amanda continues apace and actually manages to hold interest. The show also keeps on tackling quite adult themes, this time the smoking of pot that comes between Stephen and Josh and the use of condoms, ribbed or otherwise. The sense of soap opera is a bit reduced, but still lurks. TopDoes Kyle Dream of Electric FishKyle starts to have visions, visions that might be of the near future. Foss believes that it's his own subconcious that he's seeing, but there is a purpose to these visions, a surprising message left to him by Adam. What's happening to Kyle is actually less interesting in this episode than what's happenign to Josh. He's getting ready for a big date and Andy, his female gaming mate, is grooming him. Anyone who's seen SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL will recognise the rip-off when they see it, but it works. The twist ending is a nice one and who knows where that's going to take us? Stephen is being set up in Madacorp and Jessie is heavily into kissing Declan. It looks like it's going to be a bumpy journey. TopFree To Be You and MeWhen the school refuses to sell same sex couples tickets to the school dance, the Trager family get caught up in organising an alternative dance to which everyone is welcome. Josh realises that his friend may be more than that, Kyle gets a date with Amanda and everything gets sabotaged when Jessie shows the same mental powers as Kyle, but none of the control. A bit of a political message, a bit of soap opera relationship stuff and a tiny bit of sci-fi in the background. Fortunately, the cast are so likeable and the show tries so hard that you can't help liking it, like a puppy that really wants to be friends. There's also an event right at the end that might be the promise of darker things to come. TopWhat's the Frequency KyleWhilst the Tragers get over the unexplained attack on Lori, another blow comes in the shape of Stephen's father going into hospital for the last time. Whilst he is there, Kyle picks up on some imagery that could only come from the comatose man and which might lead to some closure between Stephen and his dying father. Oh dear. The soap opera takes over completely for this episode with the story of Stephen's troubled past taking centre stage and proving to be yawn-inducingly unoriginal. The fact that Kyle can hear the old man's thoughts almost puts the show into Ghost Whisperer territory, something which cannot be for the good. To add to that, Kyle finally gets it on with Amanda and Declan starts making up with Lori and the story arc that is supposed to lie above all this has probably come to a grinding halt if we actually even knew what it was. TopGhost in the MachineLori decides that the best way to combat the aftereffects of her attack is to take a trip out to the woods where a hunter was killed. This is the site of the lab from which both Kyle and Jessie escaped and their return there brings back memories for them both and the risk of death to their friends. Kyle XY bounces back with a vengeance with this excellent adventure. It starts off with a pile of nonsense (why would Lori choose to do this, how convenient that she should pick the exact spot where Jessie killed the hunter, nobody has attempted to hide the remains of the lab etc), but once the set up is out of the way the story kicks in and takes over. Kyle starts seeing images from the past. At first he believes them to be ghosts, but as the story evolves, he learns about his past the and truth about Tom Foss. Josh's story takes a turn for the tragic that just hasn't been hinted at in any way and turns out to be a real shock. The soap opera has been jettisoned (for this episode at least) and the story shows some promise again. This is the kind of stuff that KYLE XY can produce at its best. TopHouse of CardsKyle learns that the key to open the box he took from the secret lab is the ring that he pawned, the ring that is now on the hand of Stephen's boss. With Foss and Declan, he hatches a plan to break into Madacorp and get the ring. When Kyle XY picks up the pace it doesn't mess about. In one single episode Jessie learns that her sister isn't her sister, Nicole discovers a link between Kyle and Jessie, Kyle discovers a link between Kyle and Jessie and Foss is taken prisoner. On top of all of that, Lori begins to think that Stephen is having an affair and Josh starts to deal with his girlfriend's cancer. Talk about having enough story to fill out your running time, but it never seems rushed or forced and even has time for a few family and character moments. There may be far too many coincidences going on for it to be truly convincing, but that's OK when it moves as fast as this and leaves us wanting to know what happens next. TopHands on a HybridJosh, Kyle and Jessie enter a competition at a cancer support event. The last person to be left standing with one hand in contact with the prize car wins it. Kyle learns more about Jessie and she learns more about him and they attempt to access her hidden memories to find out what their connection is. Meanwhile, Foss is being tortured at Madacorp. Wow, this is the episode that ought to be called House of Cards because the secrets are falling just like on. By the end of this episode, Jessie knows who and what she is and what her so called 'sister' is all about, Kyle obviously knows all about her, Lori knows that Jessie attacked her, everybody knows that Josh's girlfriend has cancer and Foss knows that he's in big trouble. Everything is rushing towards a big finish and this is the best that the show has been for some time. TopLockdownWith Jessie revealed as Lori's attacker and missing, the Trager household goes into lockdown with nobody allowed out. That many personal secrets and issues inside one house causes friction, tension and, finally, resolution. Kyle faces himself and his own self-doubt until he comes to the only decision that he ever could. He has to go after Jessie, to save her. This episode is the perfect example of what KYLE XY is all about. The contrast of the human, soap opera-ish story strands with the bigger, conspiracy threads works so well and the characters have become so likeable that you can't help but enjoy seeing them working everything out, even whilst not being able to deny how corny it all is. Still, things only get corny because they work so well they get repeated too much. TopLeap of FaithKyle and Jessie get a message from Adam Baylin that sends them into the wilds on a search for the past, but can he trust her? The Tragers try to figure out the story from all they know about Kyle and are forced to question their faith in him. Finally, it's all going to come down to a leap of faith. It's the season finale and, much like the end of the first season, there's not so much closure as a mess of loose ends hanging around in the wind waiting to be picked up in season three. This doesn't allow for a proper conclusion to any of the story strands or for any real climax to Kyle's story, although Jessie's story does get, not so much a cliffhanger as a cliffjumper. Top |
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