Jane: "I wish I could see things as clearly as you do."

I was going to title this article "Undressing Jane" rather than "The Changing Room," but I just knew that somehow I would get in trouble if I did, so I went with the safer title. None-the-less, while Jane removed her top in front of and had her blouse ripped open by Tarzan in this episode more of the emotional aspect of her character was also peeled back allowing the viewer to know her just a little bit better…just a little bit….

Whether she was unloading her worries on sister Nicki, being confronted about her intentions by Aunt Kate Clayton, or trying to explain her rationale for hiding John to partner Sam, throughout this episode Jane Porter had to get to know herself which brought the viewer a little more into her world. Much of this was accomplished by the continual development of Sarah Wayne Callies' performances. She made me care for Jane and want to see the character more in this episode. Ms. Callies, who is quickly growing as an actress, is beginning to successfully combine glances and mouth expressions to show the audience she is changing her feelings. She smiled in this episode, if not for the first time in the series at least very believably. I hope we will see more subtle changes in the muscles around her eyes. Psychologists have found that merely through subtle muscle changes, we convey varied, deep emotion.

As Tarzan, Travis Fimmel must rely on these subtle eye muscle changes to communicate character thoughts and emotions to the viewer since Tarzan speaks so few words. He did this marvelously well when Tarzan was trying to revive an unconscious Jane after she is apparently shot by a high-powered sniper's bullet. Besides caring about Jane Porter, I am also beginning to care about the character of Tarzans.

I appreciated the increased interaction between Tarzan John and his Aunt Kate. Lucy Lawless remains solid in her performances making me sit on the edge of my seat as she shares secrets of the character's past while drawing Tarzan John out of his shell -- a shell developed during his years of absence. Kate's description of loving her brother and losing her family and then finding John, again, reminded me a bit of the Elizabeth Smart story. I could feel the sadness behind her story. At the close of the previous episode Kate had asked John if he would stay. We never heard the answer and, unfortunately, this week Kate told Jane that John had told her everything. Though this helps the story progress without getting bogged down in detail, I know I would have enjoyed listening and watching the aunt and nephew as he described his years in the jungle.

Once again, the producers, story editor, and writers tied two stories together to express one theme. Both John Clayton, Jr., using his instincts as Tarzan, and Howard Reinhardt's son were portrayed as vigilantés. The storyteller tells us that Reinhardt is wrong and somehow Tarzan John is in the right because of…well I still haven't figured that out. Tying John's life with that of the criminal story is becoming a pattern. Not that I mind. It works. I just find myself seriously disliking the scenes in the police headquarters. Along with this revelation, the story of John's love for Jane, Jane's confusion, and the witness to Michael's death continues. Jane will not share the witness with police since she is still hiding facts. So, Uncle Richard Clayton gets the information from the reluctant witness so he can blackmail Jane and Tarzan. Tarzan John oversteps accepted boundaries for men touching women, but Jane cannot understand why she wants but resists his touch. I see many interesting potential plots on the horizon. The writers keep hooking me into watching the next episode.

Besides the possible stories that the current scenes suggest to my mind, things I think might be interesting to see include John saving his Aunt Kate and John saving Jane in addition to saving others. Only the writers and story editors know if this will work or not, though. As Jane suggested, I just do not see things as clearly as Tarzan John does.

I give this episode 9 out of a possible 10 skyscraper jungles for an interesting story. To this I add 5 of a possible 5 gold shields for Lucy Lawless' performance as Kathleen Clayton.

Taram (TVtome.com)