"Medium" enjoys utilizing its young cast members, the three Dubois daughters, and have often involved their growing psychic gifts as plot devices to move the seasons forward. It was just a few episodes ago that Ariel's dreams about her mother as a teenager helped save a kidnapped girl, and last week Bridgette had a vision about the caller from the credit card company and his apartment being broken into. Even little Marie has proven in the past to be able to watch television shows when the screen shows nothing but static. This week, in "Burn Baby Burn," the first of two connected episodes, an entire case rests on the shoulders of Ariel Dubois.

In her dreams, she sees a boy from school wave to a woman across the street. The woman waves back, dumps a gasoline container over her head, and lights herself on fire. She shrugs it off as a strange dream, but it becomes important later as Lee Scanlon comes upon the scene of an arson where that same woman is the victim. Allison is called by Manuel Devalos to interview the woman's estranged husband and finds herself in the middle of a Scanlon-Devalos battle, with the former believing the husband is guilty and the latter sure he is innocent. It is undeniably strange to see two beloved characters, so often brothers in arms, on opposing sides. Allison is just as off put by their war as the audience. This was not how we envisioned the return of the dream team!

On Allison's side, she has a dream about Joe hitting golf balls with his dead father, who warns them both to avoid a visit from Joe's mother (Kathy Baker from "Boston Public.") Joe does not wish to do this, as she is bringing much needed funds to the Dubois family, and Allison is rightfully nervous that his mother will hold a grudge against her for not being honest about the psychic part of her life. Instead, Joe's mother reveals a secret about herself to Allison, something she must keep from Joe, and complicates their relationship further.

Allison also has a visit from guest star Anjelica Huston, Cynthia, and she gives Allison several files to go through and try to get a 'hunch.' This works, since a dream comes that night and one of the girls is within it as a prostitute who is being tortured by a dentist. This is a very heavy episode, and all cases are left open to hopefully be concluded in part two.

While Huston is a talented and believable actress, her character has certainly overstayed her welcome. Cynthia has proven herself to be cold and callous, laughing off the dentist' torture with a remark about kink and focusing on cases only to get the money from it. Her inappropriate anger has been a concern since the beginning, and it is now becoming clear to Allison. Hopefully with the return of Devalos as her partner, and Lee's inclination to disobey the current District Attorney, they can team up again to dream dreams and solve crimes.

One consistent annoyance is that after years of being around Allison, why do people still question her process and expect instant results? Devalos worked with her for many cases, and he wanted to just snap his fingers for an answer. If she has to say one more time "It doesn't work that way!" to someone who should know very well how it works, I may just throw up my hands in disgust. The fact that Joe had to remind Allison how her abilities work is even more ridiculous. It feels like they add this frustration for more drama without considering how disingenuous it feels.

This was an excellent first part, and it seems that mother and daughter will have to team up for real in the conclusion. Ariel's dreams may indeed be connected to Allison's, and only together will they find the truth. Hopefully it will also be revealed why Joe's father was so adamant that Allison keep away from his former wife, who seemed terribly sweet and understanding ... for now. Tune in on Monday for the answers!

Story by Chelsea 'Dee' Doyle
Starpulse contributing writer