While mom and dad are away on a mission, Viv and Geoff have the run of the house and Geoff, in an attempt to win friends, influence people, and rebuild his rep, leads him to throw a party at the mansion. Deloris and Fred head to a Presidio outpost where everyone is on high alert because something wicked is coming and the kids try to ignore their visions and sixth sense.

WHAT WORKED: The reveals, the writing (except for Madison, see below), the acting, the visuals, it was all pretty damn good. Each episode seems to build upon the last almost flawlessly and when it comes to the family they are well drawn out and feel like real people in an unreal situation, which makes them interesting and draws you into their world.

The realistic portrayal of the almost rape scene with Viv (except for the “cyborg” rescue) it showcased a “nice guy” who wasn’t bad looking and the girl who went off with him. Before they went out Cat shared that he had been with half of the girls in their class and she suggests that she, Viv, should be smarter than that, which shows the stigma that the onus is on the girl and even the usually levelheaded Cat could fall prey to society’s blinders when it comes to the sexuality of women. Cat stopped short of slut-shaming the other girls but, her mentioning that the guy had a rep didn’t take into account that maybe not all of those girls wanted to be with him and might have been too afraid to say anything about it. In that small scene on the grass we see that rape isn’t about sex or need or desire, it is about power and when Viv rejected him he sought out to show her a lesson and it didn’t matter what she was wearing, doing, saying (besides NO and STOP) he was going to put her in her place. I commend the writers for exploring these nuances, not letting us have to see Viv or anyone, get raped to push forward the storyline and for being careful and respectful of the subject matter.

WHAT DIDN’T: I am not understanding why Madison is featured in every episode, what her issue is with Viv and why she is taking up any screen time. Her character isn’t central to the story and it doesn’t move the series onward so, having her show up and spend two minutes talking smack about Viv and then going off into the moonlight is becoming repetitive and annoying. We get it, she’s a “queen bee” , “bitch” type but, we kind of got that memo in the first episode and there have been no new developments or even the hint of a character arc. At least with Phillip there was method and depth to his madness and jerkiness and layers were revealed in every episode that made us care about him but, with Madison, she’s just coming off as a stereotypical, cliched mean girl which would be fine is she was entertaining (think: Regina George or Cheryl Blossom) but, she isn’t so, I find the 2-5 minutes devoted to her antics each episode a waste of screen time.

BEST MOMENT: When the October Faction secret comes out of the bag and Viv and Geoff catch their parents red-handed when an alarm goes off and security protocols are engaged while their parents are in the middle of scolding them after catching them cleaning up after a party and lecturing the kids about trust.

EPISODE’S MVP: Geoff. For one of the most real, most heartfelt “it gets better” speeches on the rooftop to save his nemesis, the closeted Phillip, from jumping.  Gabriel Darku gave one hell of a performance and, I’ve been sleeping on his talent, this episode showcased not only his ability but the depth of his character.

Overall: 8.1