Unforgettable “Incognito” 

If a television series wants to get my attention, the best way to do that is with a really good twist.  Just when you think you have everything figured out and know exactly how the episode will end, a bomb is dropped on you and you are left with your jaw on the floor wondering how in the hell you didn’t see that one coming.  Last night’s Unforgettable was one of those episodes.

The episode begins rather slowly, and at first blush, doesn’t seem to be one of those episodes that everyone will remember.  The case this week involves a string of bank robberies, specifically its ringleader who is only known as “Kilborn”.  Nobody really knows who Kilborn really is, and no one has actually seen his face.  So, when the Major Crimes Unit gets a tip that Kilborn and his crew’s next target is a bank in Manhattan, the team sees this as an opportunity to lay a trap and bring Kilborn down once and for all.

Carrie and Al’s big break comes after a member of Kilborn’s team, Eve (Erin Cummings), is apprehended.  After discovering that no one’s identity is ever revealed to the rest of the team and given the fact that Carrie is almost a dead-ringer for Eve, Carrie volunteers to go undercover, posing as Eve, with the hope that this will lead her to Kilborn.

At the beginning, this all seems to work, and Carrie appears to fit into the group with no one suspecting that she is an imposter.  Once inside, she learns that there are three other players – a computer hacker known as “Arnold” (William Jackson Harper) and two career criminals, “Philip” (Sendhil Ramamurthy, Heroes) and “Willis” (Terry Serpico).  Of the three, Carrie takes a particular liking to Arnold, primarily because of his obvious inexperience and the fact that he doesn’t appear to have an evil side to him unlike his two counterparts.  Carrie has always been good at reading people, but she soon finds out that she has been played.

I don’t know about the rest of the viewers, but I personally was not expecting a big jaw-dropping  ending to this episode.  Yes, we know that Kilborn has evaded authorities for years and no one has actually ever seen him.  If anything, I was expecting something very ordinary like Kilborn turning out to be a ghost, and Carrie and Al not able to track him down.  Instead, the writers pull the ultimate twist with Kilborn turning out to be the sweet, innocent “Arnold”.  In hindsight, it does make sense – if you want to make sure a job gets done, the best way is to insure that you are on the team.  However, even still, the last person I thought would be Kilborn was Arnold.  A big kudos and plaudits to the writers for this fantastic storyline.

In this episode, we also got a closer look at the two other new characters, Jay Lee (James Liao) and Cherie Rollins-Murray (Tawny Cypress).  Of the two, the Jay Lee character looks the most promising.  With his technical expertise, he does all the work related to computers, which is a very critical role for the team.  In contrast, I haven’t quite figured out Rollins-Murray’s role yet.  She has been assisting Carrie and Al in the field, but she hasn’t done much, and if anything, she seems like the odd one out.  We’ll see how her character is developed as the season goes on, but at first glance, she doesn’t seem to fit in the big picture very well.

All in all, I thought this was a very good episode.  The writers did a superb job in making the episode go purposely slow, making you feel comfortable, and then, springing the mother of all twists on you in the last five minutes.  If this episode is any indication, I predict we have a top-notch season to look forward to.

Unforgettable airs on Sunday nights at 9/8c on CBS.

Most memorable quotes

• You know, I do look like her – Carrie

        No you don’t, you’re much better-looking – Al

       Ahhhh – Carrie

       <Eliot rolls his eyes>

• Sometimes I wonder how you two aren’t doing it yet – Dr. Webster
• I did it.  So, do I get a dinner reservation? – Jay Lee

        No, you get a protein bar.  Here — Eliot