Tabula Rasa: Richard and Isabelle Share Some Family Time on "The 4400"

Richard Tyler is a bad-ass.

That's really all I wanted to say about this week's episode of The 4400 ("Daddy's Little Girl"), which finally brought the much-missed Richard Tyler back into the fold. I've missed Richard and Lily (she, obviously, for much longer) and I'm glad to see that the series' producers have decided not to drop last season's dangling plotline, in which Richard took off on his own after depowering his duplicitous daughter Isabelle.

So what does Papa Richard do as soon as he turns up in Seattle? Why, track down the errant Isabelle, kidnap her, and force her to drink a solution that begins to turn her back into an infant. Sure, Isabelle, er, grew up way too fast (literally overnight) but I couldn't believe that Richard would do something so devious as to rob his only child of her free will and trick her into starting over as a child.

Tabula rasa. Isn't it something we all wish we could have? Some might say that Isabelle is lucky and gets to start her life all over again, freed from the memory of the truly awful things she once committed (i.e., last season) and able to begin anew. Others might argue that none of us deserve the right to forget, especially not former mass-murderers. To remember is to suffer and that is Isabelle's just punishment for her crimes.

My jaw hit the floor when I saw Kyle pinned to the ceiling, thanks to Richard's 4400 ability. Meanwhile, I can't help but wonder is Richard Tyler now a friend or foe? Looks like we'll have to wait until next week to find out.

Next week on The 4400 ("One of Us"), Tom is forced to confront his nightmares about the future, Richard is visited by his dead wife Lily (!??!), and Kevin Burkhoff makes a discovery that could change that dreaded 50/50 proposition that is the promicin shot.