Julie's Review of Charmer

While Jordan and Nigel trade lines from Indiana Jones, they are shown to the body of a 22 year-old man covered in snake bites. Though he'd signed up for a charismatic reverend's rehab program, he ended up the victim of a murder. The episode starts off quickly and shakes Jordan to the core when Woody is kidnapped after crossing the reverend.

Strengths

Storyline: The story was very well written, and though there are often stories centered on charismatic religious figures, this one definitely worked, featuring the oily Reverend Midkiff who conveniently twisted bible verses to suit his warped sense of self importance.

Dialogue: The dialogue in this episode entirely consistent with televised Crossing Jordan episodes, and discourse between Jordan and Garret was especially touching when Jordan was melting down. When Garret delivered the lines " You can either stay in here…in this storage closet…and admire all the cleaning supplies or you can get up and go back with me into Trace and try to find something that will lead us to him

Artwork: Harbor Runner's artwork was a key element in this episode, as it clearly provided a detail critical to finding where Woody was being held. Additionally, the artwork helped the reader to picture scenes that were vividly described by episode writers Bourbon and NCCJFAN. Music: The episode music was well selected, especially the more poignant songs, No Place That Far and Only You, which truly depicted the emotion of the scenes.

Personal development: Jordan made some very definite progress emotionally in this episode. While her first instinct was to hide in a closet and declare that she couldn't love a cop, she demonstrated growth when she faced Woody and didn't run. Continuity: This episode made a reference to Jump, Push, Fall that was actually welcome, as Jordan said the phrase, "I need you. Don’t leave me," with more favorable results.

Favorite Quote: There was definitely a clear-cut winner in this episode, as Jordan's character was so perfectly captured in the phrase "Holy man my ass. And I’m Mother Teresa."

Areas for Improvement

Medical facts: There were not many elements that served to impact the episode negatively, although some of the drug-related facts were not entirely accurate. Compazine is prochlorperazine, and that and perphenazine are not sedatives (though they can be sedating). They're antiemetics, and they aren't drugs that patients get hooked on. But such would likely only be of note to those in the pharmacy/medical profession…

This Virtual Season 7 episode, brought to us by writers Bourbon and NCCJFAN and artist Harbor Runner, was an outstanding effort. I'll give it 3.75 scalpels out of 4 for an edge-of-your-seat episode that tested Jordan's mettle, and showed her ability to overcome her urge to run.