Extraordinary – Season 1 Episode 1 “Have Nots” Recap & Review

Have Nots

Jennifer is almost 25 and still has not got her “power” as Extraordinary episode 1 begins. She sits down for an interview that seems like an ordinary one. But it is really not. Quite surprisingly, she cannot lie to the interviewer and it turns out, that is her superpower. Jennifer does not get the job. Her personal life is not going too well either. She breaks it off with her boyfriend, Luke, who can fly after learning the hard way he does not care about her emotionally. All around Jen, we see people possessing all kinds of powers.

Some use their bodies as taxis, ferrying people around. Others use their hands to light fires and sway the movement of water to wield it like a sword. Jen feels embarrassed that she does not have a power. Carrie Jackson works at a barrister’s office. During divorce proceedings in a case, we learn her special powers: the ability to manifest the soul of the dead and allow them to take over her body momentarily. She does so for that case quite abruptly, but in real life, she has a sweet and kind demeanour. Jen spots a cat outside her door and brings her in.

It turns out that she is Carrie’s roommate and Carrie’s boyfriend, Kash also lives with them. He has the ability to reverse time and have a perspective of the future. But he cannot go back for a very long amount of time. Jen is stressed about her mental state but has an exciting date with Gordon. Jen discovers that her new date has the power to make people orgasm with his touch. Despite craving to be “touched” and literally sleeping with Gordon, she is unable to do so. Her stray cat does manage to touch Gordon and explodes on him. He walks away, ending things but not giving Jen what she most wants.

Jen is late for work – a dress-up character for parties at Party Hamlet. Tim and Angela, a small child, work at the Hamlet. Angela’s superpower is that she remains young looking despite being almost 56. Andy, Jen’s sister, is celebrating her 18^th birthday that night. The cabbie who leaves her at the destination has the gift of foresight and tells her that she will die due to “bears”. Andy and Jen do not have a very jovial relationship. It is the snippy sibling bond that so many of us have with our siblings. Ian, Mary’s partner, tells Jen that she should go to a clinic that will help bring out her power.

Andy does not get her powers as she turns 18, upsetting her. But she discovers the next moment that she has super strength when she breaks the fridge door. Jen is disappointed and leaves the party. She goes to Luke’s in her distraught state but finds he has a date with a shape-shifter called Olivia. Breaking things off, Luke gives a valuable lesson to Jen; if you do not love yourself, how can you love anyone else? She mentions her failures to her father.

He calms Jen down and assures her that she will get her powers someday, even if it is not today. It turns out that Jen was actually talking to Carrie, meaning her father is dead. The next day, Carrie goes with Jen to the Discovery Clinic, where she will start her power journey. But the packages are super expensive for her, forcing Jen to turn on the place.

The Episode Review

What a jolly good opener! With no major stars headlining the project, it just needed to be good. And from what we have seen, Extraordinary seems to have the right mix of humour, drama, and absurdism to promise us an exciting season. Mairead Tyers seemed really assured in her central role. Her natural integration into Extraordinary’s universe was matched by Sofia Oxenham (Carrie).

Both performers have the appearance and appeal of the girl next door, while clearly having charisma that distinguishes them. We now have a conceit – Jen trying to discover her powers and it surely will bring us closer to the show’s universe.