If you had known the title of next week’s episode which is “Meltdown,” you probably would have had a pretty good idea what Drill may be up to (and when I say “meltdown,” I don’t mean the kind that people think Claire may be having because she thinks her husband is still alive). But, before we dive into that big reveal, let’s talk about how wonderfully well-crafted the episode is, providing the audience each clue at precisely the right moment thus making the story feel natural and like we were right there with Wes and Claire at the same time that they make the discovery.

THE DOTS ARE FINALLY CONNECTED

One of the most frustrating things for me in last week’s episode was the fact that there was all this talk about “a new friend,” and neither Claire (Lily Rabe) nor Wes (Barry Sloane) could see the writing on the wall, that their children had the same new friend “Drill,” and this was the same Drill who had persuaded the other boy, Jackson Benning, to set off the bomb at Westings Industrial Designs. But, they do finally connect the dots tonight, and I must say it was so much fun watching them put all the pieces together.

It all begins with Wes deciding to take a 2nd look at the video footage of Jackson Benning at Westings Industrial moments before the bomb detonated. The office that Jackson walked into was that of a David Miller, and right before he opened the office door, Jackson seemed to be talking to someone. At that moment, it came to Wes — David Miller wasn’t just a victim, he was the actual *target*.  But, why? Miller was a low-level analyst and didn’t have a great deal of influence. As it turns out, Miller had tried to send an email a few hours before the blast, and while the content of the message had been corrupted, the attachment remained intact. It was what appeared to be an image of some kind of pipe, and even though Wes didn’t have a clue what it was, he had a good idea of who might — the recipient of the email message, who was Harrison Weil, Harper’s (Abby Fortson) father and the head of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Ding, ding! Now, we’re getting somewhere.

Next stop is Capitol University Hospital where Harrison Weil is still there along with Harper. Wes shows Weil the image, and he immediately knows what it is. It’s a cleaning pipe of a nuclear power plant and is made by Westings Industrial Designs. The image depicted a flaw in the design of the pipe which David Miller was trying to alert the head of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission about by sending that email. Obviously the explosion that killed Miller was designed to keep him silent about the defect, which also means that whoever is behind this plot is likely trying to cause a nuclear meltdown.

Now, the only question is which nuclear power plant or plants are impacted by this defective pipe. They really don’t have time to inspect every plant, and this is where Wes making the Drill connection comes in. In passing, Harper mentions that she had been questioned by Claire about her Mom’s accident, which makes Wes suspicious enough to pay Claire a visit. He tells Claire everything that he has found out about the possible nuclear meltdown, and when Wes mentions Harper, Claire brings up her imaginary friend, Drill — and we know that Minx (Kylie Rogers)  had said that her new imaginary friend’s name was Drill too. Ding, ding, again! We have now seen the light!

Immediately Wes and Claire are back at his house talking to Minx, and this is the one part of the episode that just seemed off and that I didn’t like. Now, the end result of the scene was great, because Minx finally gives up the classified documents that she downloaded off the DoD server using her Dad’s login. The documents are the schematics for Harper Point Nuclear Power Plant, and now, we know the target (or at least one of them). This is all great because we finally have our first solid answer, but the one thing that kind of ruined the scene was Kylie Rogers’ performance. Is it just me or was she just awful here? One minute she is mad and saying she hates Claire and her Dad for what she put her Mom through. Then, almost immediately and just because her Mom asked her to, she’s all nice, cooperating and answering Claire’s questions. WTF?? This was very surprising to me because up until now, I thought the child actress had done a good job as Minx (not quite as good as little Abby Fortson as Harper, but none of the child actors on this show is as good as her). Hopefully she will do better in later scenes, and if not, perhaps her arc is near complete as she seems to have finished her assigned task for Drill.

SEAN AND THE DOCTOR’S ROAD TRIP TO HARPER POINT

I had mentioned last week that I thought Sean Bennigan’s (Milo Ventimiglia)  next stop would be the company whose logo was that anchor symbol, and as it turns out, that was right on target. After a short pit stop at a gas station to buy a razor, shaving cream and some scissors to cut his hair, Sean and the Doc are back on the road. and although Dr. Benavidez (Catalina Denis) doesn’t know it at the time, they are on their way to Harper Point Nuclear Power Plant.

But before they get there, the Doctor decides to make an offensive move and purposely crashes the car into a ditch. Sean is knocked out cold, and so, this gives Dr. Benavidez time to escape. Unfortunately for her, though, she ends up right on the doorstep of Harper Point, with Sean showing back up moments later. And, with the lights flickering and the facility’s electric fence losing its juice, it looks like Drill is there too, waiting to give Sean his next set of instructions.

In the meantime, a technician inside the facility notices an anomaly, something big enough to call in to Harrison Weil. Well, while Weil is talking to the doctors at the hospital, little Harper grabs her Dad’s phone and takes the liberty of responding to the text herself.

Aware of the situation.

Will handle

She then casually drops the phone in the hospital’s biohazard bin, and right then, her Mom wakes up. This is a sign that Harper’s task has been completed as well, which will also likely cause the nuclear meltdown to move forward at Harper Point. And, of course, with the title of next week’s episode being “Meltdown,” I suspect we will find out soon enough.

ANOTHER FANTASTIC, SUPER-CREEPY ENDING

One of the great things about this show is the impeccable talent the writers have of creating the perfect ending, one that gives you the creeps hours after the episode has ended. Boy, did they pull a humdinger tonight. I had neglected to mention that Minx’s mother had taken her to see a psychiatrist, and he made clear to Minx that Drill wasn’t real, and that all of this was going to end before she left his office. Minx agrees, but also says very ominously, “It’s just. I don’t think Drill is going to like this.”

And, no, Drill doesn’t like it, not at all. Honestly, as soon as Minx said that, I knew that therapist was doomed. And, sure enough, when he goes biking that very night, Drill recruits yet another kid to throw a ball in the street, causing the doctor to swerve and drive into oncoming traffic. Hell hath no fury like a Drill scorned, right? Damn. I am so going to have nightmares about this.

So, what’s next going into next week’s episode? Well, if we believe Barry Sloane in a recent interview that he gave, we will finally learn who or what we’re dealing with. But, is Drill really done and have set in motion everything he needs to execute his plan? I’m not sure. At the very end of tonight’s episode, while Harper and Minx may be done, it looks as if Drill is now giving instructions to Claire’s son, Henry. And, that indicates to me that Drill’s plan has not come full circle just yet.

The Whispers  airs on Mondays at 10/9c on ABC.

Critic Grade — B+

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