The big addition to the series here is Emily Hampshire’s Jennifer Goines, the mysterious mental institution patient who knows something about the Army of the 12 Monkeys. Hampshire’s wacked-out portrayal of Goines – daughter to Leland, the man Cole murdered at the end of the pilot – is the funnest part of the remarkably dreary series so far. She’s interesting to watch, but never goes over-the-top with it, especially when we get a pretty quick backstory reveal on what got her locked up in the cuckoo’s nest in the first place.
And that’s probably the biggest asset of “Mentally Divergent,” it doesn’t feel as closed off as the pilot. We find out who the mysterious scar man could possibly be working for, we know how Jennifer got locked up, and we know what the Army of the 12 Monkeys is looking for, the “Night Room,” which we’re told further is probably the location of the virus that decimates the world. That’s a decent chunk of info for the second hour of a series, but it never feels like an over-share.
The show, seemingly determined to shirk references to its predecessor, doesn’t seem likely to spend much more time in the insane asylum, which is unfortunate because the dynamic between Cole and Jennifer there, while brief, was highly enjoyable. There’s a lot left to question and a lot left to answer, but I have more hope for 12 Monkeys coming off of the show’s second hour than I did the first. If the pace is kept brisk, big answers come at a steady pace, and Emily Hampshire is dragged out as often as possible, Syfy could have a interesting little hit on their hands come season’s end.
