This episode is called "Rumble" which rhymes which "jumble," which is exactly what it is. We get more of Cara's snooze-worthy backstory: when she first came to New York six years ago, Ultra nearly captured her, but rogue SUPES Julian Masters (James McKay) and his love, Nelly NoName (Monique Ganderton), rescue Cara and try to lead her into a life of crime. A Have-Not, Julian, is fixated on beating the snot out of Haves and then robbing them.

I've been hard on Cara since she and Stephen had sex, but she's not a sadistic thug so she doesn't have the stomach for Nelly and Julian's way of life. During a robbery, Julian beats up -- and then ties up -- the wealthy homeowner. When no one is looking, the victim pleads with young Cara to untie him. She relents and tells the man to run. He runs right to his gun safe, returns armed and shoots and kills Nelly. Devastated and furious, Julian tries to kill Cara, which he can't do because he's a regular SUPE. The painful bio-feedback SUPES experience when they try to kill gives Julian a rush, though. He's hooked!

Today, Julian is back in the city. Jed has been pitting his SUPE Ultra trainees, Stephen and two characters whose names I'm not sure were ever spoken on screen (but the female is named Hillary and played by Alexa Vega), against each other. Hillary is a cutthroat, but I can hardly blame her for it since the first time we see her, Jed makes her, Stephen and Nameless boy watch as he de-SUPES a washed-out trainee.

There are too many jumbled pieces of "Rumble" to detail in a recaplet. Charlotte (the girl Cara rescued from the Citadel) has these nightmares, during which she emits some painful psychic screaming and angst that adversely affects those SUPES in her vicinity. John and Cara are more patient with her than Morgan and the gaggle of ill-defined other lair SUPES.

Eventually, Cara uses Charlotte as a weapon against Julian and his minions. Stephen, Hillary and Nameless cuff and arrest Julian's gang (although Julian escapes) and Cara gets propped aplenty. While Stephen shares credit with his fellow Ultra trainees for apprehending Julian's gang and seemingly impresses Hillary by doing so, at the end of the episode she's spying on the boy and sees him teleport SAP Astrid to school. Dun dun dun.

"Rumble" is rife with stilted dialogue (particularly anything out of Julian's mouth), and dominated by a loose collection of indistinguishable extras. While Julian, Charlotte and Hillary may prove interesting, having them so central to the plot makes me remember how Morgan seemed like she was going to matter, too. Instead she's marginalized and spends her paltry screen time first trying to oust Charlotte on behalf of the gaggle, and then sucking up to the little girl.

Similarly, Jed's threat to de-SUPE any trainee makes me wonder what happened to SUPE scientist Irene, who was supposed to be working on an antidote. Since the unwritten, ignored stories are more captivating than anything on screen, perhaps Jed should stick a needle in the neck of the entire series.

I imagine Morgan and Irene will surface in meaningful ways again, but the pacing of this season feels off. "Rumble" is clearly an exercise in positioning all the pieces. That "clearly" bit is the problem. Even the best series include set-up episodes. The good ones are smart enough not to remind the audience that's what's going on, by including a chess game scene.

I'll be back tomorrow with the full weecap. In the meantime, please grade the episode at the top of the page, and then come on over to the show thread where we're keeping Russell on a leash.