The Invisible Man
"The Devil You Know"

Airdate: July 21, 2000

In the aftermath of a botched rescue mission, The Official is ousted while Luke Lawson, a new, even less scrupulous boss is assigned as the head of The Agency. That's when things start to really go wrong in Darien's world. Despite all that our hero has had to endure from The Official in the past, subsequent events prove the old adage from which the title of this episode was taken: "Better the devil you know than the devil you don't."

The Official

It turns out that Luke is as ruthless as the terrorists he fears. When he learns about Darien's special ability, he has no qualms about blackmailing his subordinate into doing things that go against Fawkes' own moral code. By withholding the necessary counteragent until he performs an assassination, Lawson hopes to keep the former thief in line. Only he doesn't count on the determination and cleverness of his new toy, something The Official would never do.

With a lot of help from the ever suspicious Hobbes, Darien figures out a way to circumvent his new boss and get The Official back in office. Using more investigative skills than invisibility, Fawkes is able to bring in the bad guys and makes a dramatic entrance thereby saving the day and his former boss.

Just as "Impetus" humanized The Keeper, "The Devil You Know" adds dimension -- and a name (Charles Borden) -- to The Official. While he may have come off as cold, heartless, and unfeeling in previous episodes, he has never forced Darien to go against his own personal moral code. He even expresses an affection and admiration for his subordinate and his talents, many of which he recognizes have nothing to do with the ability to become invisible.

While I had fretted over Darien's mental health in regards to his isolation, I can't help but wonder if the recent turn of events have come too soon in the telling of the story. By fully revealing the once shadowy characters as full blown good guys they've lost some of the edge that made The Invisible Man more enjoyable than the average television offering. One can only hope that with the loss of the tension between Darien and his keepers, the show can find some other, equally interesting conflict for its hero.

They could start by bringing back The Phon, Darien's evil twin from the pilot. Now there's a character that will never get touchy-feeley. Plus, I just love when the characters try to say the name with a bad French accent.

-- Linda M. Najera

The Invisible Man airs at 8pm EST, Fridays on The Sci Fi Channel.

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