You seriously can't lie to family on 'The 4400'

Ah, family. You know, for all that everyone on The 4400 has to deal with – abilities, prophecies about a brave new world led by Jordan Collier – their family issues are just the same as the rest of us. Lying, going behind one another's backs, arguing, telling uncomfortable truths… if you don't recognize any of that, then, well – can I join your family?

Uncomfortable spoilers to follow.

So April, black sheep of the Skouris clan, came back, sporting a kicky new haircut and a kicky new power: she can make people tell the truth. Aside from the got-old-real-fast music cue that heralded her ability, which sounded like someone running a finger around a wineglass rim, April's ability was fun; it provided a couple of great laughs when she got Diana to admit how many times a week Diana and Ben… you know (three, if you must know) and Tom to confess to having fantasized about Diana. Not appealing, though, was her scruffy boyfriend/pimp, who made money off her ability. Sure, he said he loved her, and he said it to April, so we know we can believe him, but there was still something far too pimptastic about him for my taste. So when he turned up dead, I wasn't too broken up.

This turned out to be the week in which April learned responsibility, something I feel like the show had been threatening to do for a long time, and maybe actually did at some point in the past. But, whatever; April was forced to choose between running away again and helping secure a confession from the man who killed her boyfriend (who was selling defective body armor to the military, because murder wasn't bad enough), which would get her arrested by NTAC. For once, April chose the responsible thing and was rewarded with more responsibility: a job with the government, extracting the truth from people. Good for you, April. Come back anytime, and bring your cute hair back with you.

Diana, of course, is staying in Seattle, like we knew she would. But this means problems with Ben, who's not staying. Because they mentioned Maia's prophecy that they'll get married, you know the writers haven't forgotten about that; this just means they'll be finagling with things a bit before we get there. Of course, it's probably also a convenient excuse for Ben to be gone for a little while. And speaking of Maia, she must have laryngitis or something, because I swear this is the second week in a row in which she's been seen, but not heard. What's up with that? Throw her, and us, a bone, writers; she's awfully cute when she's not making dour predictions, and I miss her.

Shawn's a politician now, thanks to the encouragement of a former anti-4400 senator, and he started his campaign for Seattle city council. But to get support, he'd have to denounce Jordan Collier. So what did Shawn do? Well, he denounced Jordan Collier. In the mildest of terms, merely saying that Jordan should have waited to distribute promicin until the risks were lower, but it was enough for Kyle, who called him a traitor. Guess Kyle doesn't like it when you insult his messiah.

Because, yes, Kyle is now a true believer; witnessing Isabelle's escape last week converted him utterly. That was awfully quick. But on the bright side, no Cassie this week, so maybe I don't mind the fast conversion. Hmm. Anyway, Kyle stashed Isabelle away in a shack, and in return, she decrypted the coded pages in the book for him. Roughly translated, they said: "These 200 people have to get promicin shots before a wonderful paradise can exist on earth." The last name on the list? Tom Baldwin. Who, incidentally, now knows that his son is promicin-positive. And you know Tom, he's not going to take the shot quietly. So now it's Tom vs. utopia. Where's your messiah now, Kyle? Wait, he's in the previews for next week. Never mind.