"He's like a male Halle Berry."

O-M-fucking-G. FlashForward delivers every week. This has been my gateway drug to weekly television. Previously, I didn't have the patience to watch, wait, and anticipate a 22 hour drama stretched over 7 months, but now my Thursday nights go on hold until I get my hit. And damn, I am still high (low?) off this week's episode, The Gift. It was crazy in one hundred ways, the least of which was because AL COMMITTED SUICIDE. Yes, that really did merit all caps. It sent me into fits of shock and awe, from which I'm still recovering. Okay, not that dramatic, but really, Jett Jackson, man? Did you see those guns?! I thought it especially cruel to parade him around in a wifebeater only to toss that sculpted body over the edge like peanuts moments later. Rest in one mushy piece, Agent Al Gough.

I guess if you're going to have the distinction of being the first casualty though, you might as well shake shit up instead of going gently into that good night. On an intellectual level, I can understand and accept the dispensing of our dear doe-eyed Agent Al. After 7 episodes, the show was not so much predictable in plot as it was in formula. As the visions were coming to fruition, everyone grew increasingly resigned to, or restored by, what might happen, what would happen. While that dilemma induces enough tension, it sidesteps the whole issue of controlling the future. They all talk about change but who acts on it? Even Bryce, the doctor who was saved from suicide by the blackout, passively, if passionately, accepts his future. The assurance of a happier life allows him to embrace each moment but also threatens to make him too comfortable with what assumes will unfold. Babysitter Nicole, meanwhile, remains troubled by her vision of being drowned, seemingly for some immoral act she will commit. She volunteers at the hospital in order to atone, but she does so believing in the sinfulness of her own wrongdoing before the fact. Al's death then radically refocuses the story, and once again we revisit the central question - do we control our future? Because he had a vision of himself, alive, 6 months after the blackout, the answer would seem to be yes, there is no future except the one we create. But if that's the case, how do we understand these visions? What is the relationship between this mystery experiment by two creepy Brits, these glimpses of the future, and a present that is quickly catching up? I don't know either, but life in the FBI's L.A. office just got a little more frenzied.

So...while I'm able to rationalize Al's departure, that hardly makes me happy with the decision. He was a fine supporting player - actor and character, someone who was not just a body in the background but whose personality and storyline really complemented those of the main cast. He had presence with a purpose, both in forwarding the plot and in softening the more established character types. It was a pleasant touch, I think, to know that Al's futon played host to Demetri and his video game cheating ass on occasion. Boys. Sweet. Well, there is my farewell. I will have to grow accustomed to a Lee Thompson Young-less tv lineup just as I was getting used to that very idea.

On a slightly critical note, I'm still having a bit of trouble with the writing as some of the finer details often get brushed aside in order to perfect key plot points. The focus is clearly on making sure the puzzle fits together and in a way that delivers constant suspense but not necessarily in ways that seem the most believable or natural. Of course this show, more than the average Thursday night drama, is one contrived piece of storytelling, but there are ways to dampen the effect. I am continually amazed that this Mosaic thing - think Facebook for flash forwards - so quickly became the primary catalog for visions all over the bloody world. First of all, do you think constructing an online database is going to be a primary concern in Stanford's office in the immediate aftermath of the blackout? Secondly, do you mean that no other government or branch of the US government has come up with the same idea? How does everyone know to post their vision on Mosaic and not on, I don't know, MySpace or actual Facebook. (And you know there would have been a group topping 1 million members for that.) I mean, Demetri pops in his (non)vision and a couple hours later someone from Hong Kong is already all over it? (By the way, it can't be night time in both L.A. and Hong Kong.) So the whole Mosaic business is a bit eye-rolling, but it is what it is. Another minor example comes in this week's episode. Nicole sees some of Bryce's drawings of the Asian chick in his flash forward and declares that this mysterious woman is 'obviously' in Japan. Yes, because I have never seen a Japanese woman anywhere outside of Japan. Also, both Chinese and Japanese share the character for "believe." Maybe Bryce's chick was a Chinese woman - in Hong Kong with Demetri's mysterious caller from episode 2. Details, details. As the major elements of the blackout mystery are established, however, I sense, or hope, that these blips will fade and more attention can be paid to those little things that complete a show.

Oh, and apparently the combined salaries of a criminal defense attorney and an FBI agent can land you a sweet, sweet pad in L.A. Land. And Aaron's daughter is alive.

Plus, I love dirty rice too, Al! But it wasn't meant to be.

(The Halle Berry quote is from Scrubs. Lee Thompson Young made an appearance as a sexy intern, prompting Zach Braff to remark on Young's uncommon beauty. Word.)