Staying In

Tonight is the fall finale for ABC’s V. The episde, aptly titled “It’s Only the Beginning,” is the series’ best hour since the pilot. It further explores the moral ambiguities and grey areas that drew me to Scott Wolf’s Chad and Morena Baccarin’s Anna in the pilot. Elizabeth Mitchell continues to convey intelligence and strength with just a look as she, Father Jack, Ryan and Georgie form a makeshift family. The episode also spotlights two Fifth Column members to a disturbing end. Needless to say, there are quite a few revelations and cliffhangers in “It’s Only the Beginning.” Will it bring viewers back in March when the series returns? Only time will tell.

You probably didn’t notice that I failed to mention Tyler in the above paragraph. I’ve noticed that many critics and viewers are disinterested in the character. He’s not the most fascinating or fully developed character on V, but I don’t really get the hate. Maybe it’s because I like a little romantic intrigue in my shows. I like wondering what Lisa and Anna’s plan for him is and how he factors into it. I like his scenes with the two females. After watching Laura Vandervoort being painfully shoehorned into the role of Kara/Supergirl on Smallville, I feel like V really plays to her strengths. She has a nice mix of sweet innocence and sexual manipulation. I’m curious to see whether she will develop real feelings for Tyler or if she’s more like her mother, Anna. Speaking of Anna… She has some great scenes with Tyler in tonight’s episode that had me very intrigued about her plan.

If any character on V slows down the momentum for me, it’s Valerie, not Tyler. At least Tyler is tied to show’s central mysteries. Valerie just plays the supportive/oblivious girlfriend, although tonight’s episode does make some steps toward making her more of a player and less of a bystander.

V airs tonight at 8 p.m. on ABC.