When the facts of a murder investigation are trapped in the mind of a child with a learning disability, Natalie attempts a very unethical experiment.
Also, this episode gives us the most successful guest star to appear on the show. Like Nick, he has a dark side...
First of all, I'm not sure what sort of learning disability the kid has. Then again, maybe he's on the autism spectrum. Or both. I can't tell, and I don't want to offend anyone by using the wrong terms. Joey is obviously very special, but doesn't always know what's going on around him in a deep way.
Until Natalie injects him with vampire blood. In a previous episode, vamp blood was used to make women young and beautiful, but now it is making someone more mentally developed. It lets Joey understand that wrestling is fake, and that his beloved guardian is the same person as his favorite wrestler, Bulldozer. But it also comes with violent side effects. Which is sort of predictable, when you think about it.
Flashbacks:
Nick's sister has died, and La Croix is still upset that he wasn't able to bring her across. Le Fleur was his one great love, and he's never going to forget that Nick kept them apart.
She made Nick promise to take care of her son. Trusting your kid to a vampire doesn't seem like a brilliant idea, but whatever. All that matters it that the child is played by FREAKIN' HAYDEN CHRISTENSEN, A.K.A. DARTH VADER!
(Sadly, that picture up there is the best screenshot I can get. It was the 90s and they were filming in the dark. Sue me.)
Little Bites:
-Natalie refers to it as "joint custody" when she and Nick take care of Joey, because she can't resist playing house.
-Rob Stefaniuk, who played Joey, later wrote, directed, and starred in a vampire movie called Suck.
-How long did Nick really think his time with Andre would last? The kid's asking questions about Nick's eating habits already, and it was only a matter of time before he looked in the basement. Nick's on crazy pills if he thinks the kid is going to be okay with being raised by a vampire.
-This is the darkest and creepiest we ever see Nick. He's keeping people barely alive in his basement and enjoying it. (This is obviously the best environment to raise a child.) This scene is refreshing, in a way, because it's very rare to see Nick's dark side. He feels guilty all the time, but all of his flashbacks show him as a white knight.
Final Analysis: We get to explore vampirism in a few interesting ways, and the case is actually interesting. Four out of five light sabers.
Adam D. Jones is a writer, musician, and medievalist who feels a kinship for vampires because his sensitive eyes that make it difficult to go outside during the day.
That escalated in the end in a hilariously amazing way. I was ready to complain yet enjoy yet another portrayal of a special person as a wholesome morality-pet, and well he still fits the bill but I really enjoyed him becoming a center problem for a hot minute. That was refreshing
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