Posted Nov 6th 2009 11:07PM by Isabelle Carreau

Filed under: Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free

(S05E07) "The answers are there, but you have to know when to look." - Carl the Watcher

Starting this week, TV Squad now offers regular reviews of CBS' Ghost Whisperer. What an episode to start reviews with! The first episode of November Sweeps offered us more backstory and mythology about the shadows, some of their powers, the book ... and Jennifer Love Hewitt in lingerie doing some pole dancing!

We were also treated to a case of the week that kept us guessing as to who was to blame for the death of now-ghost Tina and what secret Dr. Morgan and President Bedford were hiding.

The ghost of the week

Even if I didn't care much for Tina and her death, I must admit that her storyline offered us a good opportunity to learn more about Dr. Morgan, as well as President Bedford and the shadows.

The Shadows, the Shinies and the Book

Here is a rundown of the things we learned this week about the Shadows, the Shinies and the Book:

• Aiden now calls his friends the "Shinies."
• The Shinies said that something would happen soon but that Aiden was safe.
• The Shadows haven't entered Aiden's room yet.
• Carl the Watcher can't give info to Melinda about the Shinies and the Shadows because it's too dangerous. He cryptically tells her that the answers are out there and that she has to know when to look. He also implies that the Book is hiding things to protect itself. Before he leaves, he warns Melinda that she should do as the book does...
• The Shadows don't link it when Melinda talks to "him."
• The Shadows possessed the body of one of Bedford's friends to let him know he had nothing to do to get the position of president. After that, the applicants started to withdraw their names when ugly secrets about them began leaking out. How the Shadows can leak such info is unknown. However, it's possible they possessed people to do so.
• The Shadows attack Bedford in a hallway and an elevator but they don't kill him. Later, the Shadows attack Melinda. She says that during the experience she felt "cold, fear and hate." These attacks show that the Shadows can interact with things, as well as possess bodies.
• At the end of the episode, Bedford visits his mother in the hospital. During the visit, the Shadows come into the room and take over his mother's body. They warn him that he must stop sharing information about them and that he'll pay for what he did. As his mother flatlines and Bedford goes out of the room to get help, we see a huge shadowy form leave the mother's body and sort of crawl on the floor to leave the room.
• Bedford says to Eli that he's been trying to keep Eli and Melinda safe for weeks.

Ghost Whisperer's episodes are getting darker and darker this season, and this week's installment followed suit with those Shadows attacks. We may have gotten some more info about them, but we are still in the dark where the Shadows are concerned. Why are the shadows really controlling the President and wanted Bedford for the job? Can the Shadows be "saved" by Melinda and Eli and return to the light? Maybe it's a task only Aiden can do with the powers he possesses and that Melinda doesn't? We've seen a few evil things that the Shadows can do but since Tina, the other ghosts, Bedford and the Watchers are so afraid of them, what is their ultimate evil goal and what is the extent of their powers?

We can ask pretty much the same amount of questions about the Shinies. Who are they? Can they help in the battle that is brewing against the Shadows? Why do they appear to Aiden but not Melinda?

"Devil's Bargain" was a pretty solid episode that offered a lot of tidbits about the show's mythology while leaving us wanting to know more. Let's hope that the other November Sweeps episodes bring us answers.

Did you like the episode? Do you have theories or answers to my questions? Do you have other questions you would like the show to answer? Share your thoughts with us in comments below.

[Watch clips of Ghost Whisperer at SlashControl.]

Tags: Bruce Davison, BruceDavison, Camryn Manheim, CamrynManheim, CBS, Christoph Sanders, ChristophSanders, David Clennon, David Conrad, DavidClennon, DavidConrad, Ghost Whisperer, GhostWhisperer, Jamie Kennedy, JamieKennedy, Jennifer Love Hewitt, JenniferLoveHewitt, Mark Moses, MarkMoses, November Sweeps, NovemberSweeps