Bloodlines

We’d set the table for twenty episodes for the second season finale. Secrets and lies and their consequences were always very much at the heart of The Pretender. In the second season finale, these issues were explored, revelations for the characters were exposed, and choices and sacrifices had to be made. Jarod finds out how and why the Centre chose him, why they stole him, and while doing so, discovers they are planning on doing it to another boy. This is something he can’t allow and he does everything in his power to stop it.

Meanwhile, Miss Parker discovers more secrets and lies of her own, secrets and lies that tie her closer to the man she’s supposed to capture. She discovers that her mother had given birth to her and a twin brother – whom she was never told about, who supposedly died at birth, but in reality was sent to the same clinic from which Jarod had come. She’s not sure who her brother is, but suspects it may be Angelo, who while in the midst of neurological treatment that could give him back his mental clarity, goes to help Jarod save the boy from facing a Centre fate they both shared and in so doing, sacrifices his own possibility for normalcy so that the boy can have his life back.

The second season finale is one of our favorite episodes. It helps Jarod get closer to discovering who he is and why he was stolen in the first place. It also allows him to stop the Centre from doing to another young boy what they did to him. And it lets us see Angelo in a whole knew light. It was about gifts given and gifts taken away and in the midst of casting the show we got one of the greatest gifts we’d ever gotten on the series…
A little boy walks into our casting office to read for the part of Davy Simpkins. He pulls up a chair to read the two scenes. In the first scene, the character of Davy is a normal albeit quite bright young boy, and the young actor was really genuine and pure in his portrayal. The second scene, is after Davy has been kidnapped and his mind damaged by the Centre doctors. The young actor climbed under the chair and as he did, he slipped into an internal realm of dark betrayal, a place of exploitation and pain the like of which none of the ‘grown ups’ in the room had ever experienced. But this little actor was there. He reached into a depth of soul and understanding of humanity that many of the wisest of wise men strive to find. When he was done with the scene, he stood and quietly asked if we’d like him to do it again, that he could do better he thought. But this little boy with the soul of a wise man was looking at a room of producers, in which there was not one face without awe, not one eye with out tears. We told him he was just fine and we’d be very proud if he’d do our show. He smiled like a kid, said he’d love to and left to go tell his parents the good news. We looked at each other truly amazed at what we’d witnessed, neither of us had ever seen anything like it in all the years we’d been in the business. The little boy’s name was Haley Joel Osment, and we knew we had someone special.