Fortunately, The Middleman is back on track this week. The writing is crisp and the plot moves along quickly. Events are easy to follow, so as to be appreciated by all, instead of mainly hardcore comic book fans, as in last week’s episode. As always, the following sentences contain spoilers.

This week features training day for Wendy Watson, and it doesn’t start off well. She finds out from her roommate Lacey that Ben, shown in episode one, has taken his tape of his and Wendy’s breakup and posted it on the internet. That is followed by pop quizzes from the Middleman, starting with a riddle to meet him at the Rendezvous Point, which turns out to be a restaurant. He gives her a tour through headquarters and the tests continue. Wendy can’t seem to get her mind off the breakup and takes out her frustration on an interrogation robot. Lacey and Noser (he’s finally left the hall) show up with flowers and inspirational material, but nothing helps, but even when a teleportation even occurs at an upscale mall in an upscale neighborhood, where a decapitated woman is found.

With Ida’s help, the Middleman, with a reluctant Wendy in tow, visits an establishment operated by Dr. Newleaf, who eats a Faberge egg offered by the Middleman, thereby exposing him as an alien exiled on Earth. Wendy draws her gun, which the Middleman has locked, and she is sidelined, force not the first line of action for a Middleman. Dr. Newleaf says the woman is an alien like himself and that several other Manicoids have been disappearing. The Middleman gives Dr. Newleaf a middlewatch and then the heroes leave. During the drive back, the Middleman asks Wendy what’s wrong, even pulling her psych file from the glove compartment of the Middlemobile, to prove to her he knows she has a problem. She tosses the file out the window.

Early the next morning, Wendy is summoned by the Middleman via her middlewatch. She reports to work and discovers that Dr. Newleaf has been abducted. They trace his watch to a broadcast studio where they find Dr. Gil, a popular psychotherapist Lacey’s been watching on TV. Dr. Gil admits abducting the Manicoids as revenge for death of his father, who died from being struck by a piece of metal that fell from the spaceship he shot. The Middleman and Dr. Gil exchange gunfire and then Dr. Gil teleports off to his hunting ground where he hunts the Manicoids and mounts their heads as trophies. Unfortunately, Wendy is caught in the beam with Dr. Gil.

With her gun still off, Wendy is forced to rationalize with Dr. Gil, and ends up telling him her troubles, to which he feels obligated to listen. This gives the Middleman enough time to take a Manicoid spaceship and teleport Dr. Gil away.

Back at the apartment, Lacey and Wendy watch on TV where the death of Dr. Gil is announced. Ironically, he died in a hunting accident. Wendy starts to act normally and takes out her frustration in her art.

I’m glad more is being done with the Noser character. Again, casting is great. I like the aliens looking like they had bad plastic surgery. The humor is well done, without appearing too sarcastic. The Middleman is great fun and a show I hope sticks around.