Jane: "I know that there's a part of you that most people don't see…a part that is very gentle and very kind…and I want you to know that I see it. And I'm glad that I do."

In 1920's Italy lived a monk who could see into the souls of anyone who came to see him. His name was Padre Pio. One day, four very proud seminarians dressed in their best cassocks came to see him. Padre Pio's fame for insight had spread throughout the land and the seminarians wanted to hear the seer tell them what very fine men they were. Instead, when they appeared, Padre Pio told them "Get to confession! You stink of sin." One of the seminarians eventually became a priest and years later related that the shocking statement by the one-day saint saved his life as he was heading down a path of debauchery and ruin. This insight saved his life.

Each week on "Tarzan," viewers learn a little more about the character of John Clayton, Jr. The skilled producers only ration out a little information each week in order to keep us coming back and I love it. In Emotional Rescue, we saw that John has the ability to see the feelings of others. That is not really anything special. He is merely very attuned to his surroundings. He had to hone that ability when living in the wilds of the Congo. Unfortunately for him (and fortunately for the storyline), this skill gets John into trouble this week when he senses worries in Jane's sister Nikki. Being the automatic hero who helps the downtrodden, he shadows Nikki when the 18 year old tracks down a missing friend. The friend, Darcy, is living with an abusive man and she cannot free herself from him. When the man beats Darcy, John comes crashing through the front door and assaults the man. Naturally the viewer and every woman who hates abusive relationships loved this, even while it upsets the cop-side of Jane.

The producers and directors have become comfortable enough with the show that they have begun to add cute visual jokes for the observant viewer, like Tarzan falling out of a window when Nikki is surprised by his sudden appearance and the Porters' apartment number 513--most hotels and apartments do not have a number 13, so this place doesn't exist. (Did you really think it did?). These inside jokes were most evident, though, in the attack of the abuser scene mentioned above. First, after John crashes through the full glass in the abusive man's front door, Nikki follows him and enters by simply opening the unlocked, empty door frame. Then, as John is flying around the room to attack the villain, he swings from a hanging fern, much like Johnny Weismueller (1940's movie Tarzan) swinging from tree to tree in the jungle using vines. Hey! A hanging plant is probably as close to a vine as one can find in New York.

The series is filmed in Toronto, Canada, though the city where the Claytons and the Porters are supposed to live is supposedly New York City, New York, USA. In order to give a polite nod to the city birthing the show, the writers gave the abuser the Internet username of "Raptor." Jane, being the really smart cop that she is…sometimes, figured out that this name was like that of Toronto's NBA basketball team the Toronto Raptors. With that knowledge, the good detectives figured out that no wonder the criminal records search came up empty. This criminal came from…drum roll please, bbbrrrrrrr-crash: TORONTO! So far the series has used every one of my family names as names for the series villains, so rather than seeing the identification of Toronto as the home of the bad guy as a slam against the city, I see it as a compliment. I hope Torontoans see it that way, too.

As in previous weeks, John's zest for justice (that can go overboard when seen by a lawman) parallels the villain of the week's violent temper. Once again, the viewer and Jane are left to ask what the difference is while Tarzan understands that he uses his anger to help the needy no matter what that person feels for him while the abuser uses his anger to hurt others if he can't get what he wants. What Jane cannot see is that she shares this same sense of self-sacrifice for others that John embodies.

In this episode, in addition to matching John's plight with the weekly victim, Jane's personality paralleled that of the victim. In the beginning of the episode, Jane is being beaten by a thug just as her Internet "boyfriend" beats Darcy. Jane does not leave this situation because she sees it as her duty to help the community while Darcy stays with the abuser for reasons never understood by those watching from the outside. She and John are becoming more and more alike, but as Aunt Kate mentioned people can have more than one feeling at the same time. Unfortunately for John and Jane, their feelings aren't matching up at the same time yet.

When John dives in the Hudson river to save a drowning Nikki, Jane realizes how very special John is and finally starts to see the marvelous character this reviewer already sees. As she mentions in the quote above, Jane has insight regarding John that others do not share (except for Aunt Kate, in my opinion). Again she is becoming like John.

Many interesting side stories occur in this episode to keep the intrigue high. Aunt Kate does not interfere with Uncle Richard trying to get John back by saying he loves John. Richard Clayton does love John, which makes the underhanded attempts to get him back even more heart wrenching. At the end of the episode, Richard looks at a frame containing photos of his father and young John. He misses them both although he is so unlike both of them. Also, the continuing story of the witness to Michael's death allows us to start disliking Richard again while Richard keeps the man against his will until he agrees to say John killed Michael.

Sarah Wayne Callies has improved by leaps and bounds as a television actress. I enjoy her now spirited, emotion-filled performances as Jane. Travis Fimmel has become one of my favorite TV heroes of all time. (Of course I am a sucker for male heroes with long hair like Tarzan and Hercules.) His eyes and voice are quite moving. I started watching this series because I knew Lucy Lawless was a fine actress. While re-watching the episode tonight, I realized that Mr. Fimmel is beginning to upstage Ms. Lawless – a Herculean feat. (Mitch Pileggi, Leighton Meester, and Miguel Nuñez round out a fine ensemble cast.)

The editor for this page reports that viewers are not watching "Tarzan." I encourage everyone who has not seen the series to watch it. Yes, it is fantasy, but so is most of television (including the news at times). It is wonderful escapism when one steps out of real life for an hour each week to imagine a handsome longhaired hero out there to save us from our worries. As Jane told Tarzan, even if others do not see this, I am glad that I do.

I give this episode 10 out of a possible 10 skyscraper jungles for a moving story, fund hidden points, and a marvelous cast. If you read my "Good Morning, Miami" reviews, especially toward the end of the first season, you see I am usually not this complimentary to a series. If you haven't seen "Tarzan," I encourage you to take a gander at it next Sunday night. I really want to see the stories play out, so the series needs more viewers for my pleasure if for nothing else!

Taram (TVtome.com)