Hey, "No Ordinary Mobster" isn't the same-old, same-old! I'm still not in love with the series. I'm still not recommending it to friends, but this morning there are no Please Release Me letters to Tubey in my e-mail draft folder. And I smell something different. If I'm not mistaken, it's the faintest whiff of hope.

The skinny: It's George's Very-Buffy Birthday. Our handsome A.D.A. fails to convict mobster My-Name-Is-Luka (hi Vampire Diaries fans), and his cute co-council, Amanda (Amy Acker; Fred on Angel), is shot in the chest, right after she kisses George and maybe kinda sorta agrees to go on a date. Jim trots out his newbilities in order to catch My-Name-Is-Luka red-handed and give George another chance to prosecute. The only problem is, My-Name-Is-Luka rips off Jim's ski mask, gets a good long look at his mug, and he gets to see Jim in super-action. My-Name-Is-Luka tries to use what he saw to get George to drop the charges. George calls his bluff and then bluffs him (when I ponder the difference, that pretty hope-scent fades, so I'm not thinking 'til the weecap) into submission. My-Name-Is-Luka agrees to plead to (somewhat reduced) charges and testify against his big boss.

But... when My-Name-Is-Luka is hauled off to jail, the WATCHER kills him WITH HIS MIND. Bringing the mysterious Watcher into this week's story is what makes the difference. As I'll hit in the weecap, he continues to do Dr. RevCam King's bidding, but also seemingly works an agenda of his own, and that agenda of his own might just be contrary to RevCam's. Why do I say that? Well, for one thing, he tells RevCam he's unfamiliar with Stephanie and the Powell Clan, even though he's been watching Jim in action. He may have killed My-Name-Is-Luka to protect our Powells. For another thing, the Watcher targets Katie as his entry into the Powell inner-circle, and I'm thinking there's no way he won't fall for our cute sidekick, even if he doesn't plan to -- much like poor, scrawny JJ seems to have done. There's more romance in this episode, too, some of which includes Daphne reading a boy's mind to glean information that will impress him and catch his interest. There's also intrigue involving Dr. Volson's widow, who is on RevCam King's payroll. From her wheelchair, she warns Stephanie off pursuing the late Dr. Volson's research and indicates the powers will fade, as they did for her.

Thing happen this week -- things that ought to matter in the coming weeks. That's the eau du hope's essential oil. I'll be back tomorrow with the full weecap (but possibly less hope). In the meantime, grade the episode up top, and then please join the discussion in our show thread/online dating service.

Watch the episode below, discuss it in our forums, and see the ineffectual TV superheroes the Powells wish they were.

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