Last week we got to know hip, young medium, Monica Ten-Kate, and got to witness her heart-stopping abilities in action. But this show is more than just the adventures of a young woman who stops people in her college town and gives them readings, Monica The Medium also explores the day to day lives of an average woman (Albeit one with a very unusual ability) and her friends.
Monica’s sisters are still visiting and after Monica complains about how high her bills are, her sisters suggest she gets a part-time job. “Look at my work friends — a gaggle of dead people!” Monica jokes.
Okay, stop. Needle scratch on a record. How is being a medium not paying the bills? Based on the results we’ve seen, how is Monica not fending off desperate people and their cash-filled hands? I would expect campus paparazzi camped outside of her house because: 1) There are cameras following her 2) she is a MEDIUM!
At my campus, it took mere days to know whose parents were famous, who had been a child star, and who had won a Pamela Anderson lookalike contest (don’t judge, it was the late 1990’s). Monica is college campus famous. She’s basically the social status of a college athlete, someone who appears on The Real World (is that still on?) or poses for Playboy’s college issue.
Monica first stops in a boutique and strikes up a great report with the girl working there. I have noticed that many of the stores in State College have massive walls filled with earrings. Do Nittany Lions love their accessories, or what? Look out Monica, the stuff at Sercy there is so cute that you’ll spend your entire paycheck!
Next, Monica stops into a sandwich shop. “I like eating sandwiches, so I figure, maybe I’ll like making them too.” Bwahhaa! If I had to eat one food for the rest of my life, it would definitely be a sandwich. I am a sandwich junkie! Monica reveals her status as a medium to the shop owner and he jokes that there’s no communicating with the dead allowed when you’re serving the living. So I guess that won’t work.
Monica’s next stop is The Apple Tree, a free-spirited store. I see what appear to be wall tapestries, so I’m thinking Head shop/ smoke shop. It has a very cosmic vibe. Monica is immediately distracted in the store, there is a young woman grabs her attention …
The young woman agrees to have Monica pass along a message. Carter receives a message from her deceased mother Kim meant for her and her brother Sam. Monica is able to tell her brother’s name, and that her mom had breast cancer which metastasized. Monica even points to a ring that belonged to the girl’s mother and reveals that Mommy still comes to visit her daughter and also revealed a loving message that she acknowledges and accepts Sam’s homosexuality. It is an incredibly touching moment, for Carter to know that her mom is still with her and her brother, and she follows their lives even though she isn’t with them physically. Phew! If she doesn’t get this job, these guys are bozos; who wouldn’t want their business frequented by lots of people? People with money?
That evening, Monica’s roommate invites Kristi the roomies on a group bowling date. I’m pretty sure that Monica nearly chokes on her wrap. She must be thinking, “another blind date? I hope this one goes better than the last one.” And then she gets a call from Sercy, letting her know that she’s been hired! (I totally thought that her gift was right up the alley of the guys at The Apple Tree)
The next day, Monica heads to her first day of work, pledging not to do any readings that day. And before long, she has the ins-and-outs of retail sales. And then, Spirit speak up…
In an interstitial, the girls share their embarrassing first date stories. I think most first dates are basically the most awkward experiences of our lives. Mine involved a very hot day, and the unwise decision to bite the bottom off of a very large chocolate ice cream cone. Mess ensued.
1) Wear a cute outfit?
2) Learn your job responsibilities?
3) Give a customer a message from her dead mother?
4) All of the above?
Back to Monica and the slightly stunned young woman who Monica has just approached while working her first day. Monica takes a moment to breathe so she doesn’t want to douse the woman with “Spirit vomit.” Eew, but an apt term. The young woman, Cassandra’s mother is coming through to acknowledge responsibility for the alcoholism that claimed her life. Cassandra’s mother apologizes for actions that turned her daughter into an adult. The woman’s mom is still aware of the family’s goings on; even that Cassandra’s younger sister had just been accepted to Bloomsberg University. Cassandra is relieved to know that her mom really is still with her.
And after she blows this woman’s mind, Monica gets back to work. Luckily, Monica’s boss, Erica, is cool with the powerful moment that just happened.
After her first day or work, Monica and her roommates prepare for their group date. “How are you Bowling Chic?” ponders Ann. Definitely go for long shirts girls, lots of bending goes on at a bowling alley.
Image credit: ABC Family/Donald Rager
At the lanes, Monica and her pals meet the group of cute guys, and the date gets rolling. (Get it?) Monica and one of the guys not only strike up a vibe, but they match!
Image credit: ABC Family/Donald Rager
While Monica and Mitch wait for their pizza order, Monica gets a vibe from a family in a nearby lane. While her friends wait for her to eat, she stops at a lane to pass along a message to a woman and her family. “She’s not a Ghostbuster,” says Krista, to the table. To Julie and Krista, Monica passing messages to strangers is nothing new, and not too unusual. But this is all really new to Ann. Mitch (the cutie guy), is excited to know that Monica has the ability to change people’s lives with her gift and the other guys want to know more! It’s encouraging to Monica — maybe a possible boyfriend is in the works?
The next time Monica works, her coworker tells her that it’s no big deal that she gave a reading. But Monica is trying hard to push down Spirit when a woman comes in. Monica doesn’t want o have to choose who she is and what she does, and decides that retail isn’t for her. She quits. Erica understands and is a really cool girl. Well, if Monica’s goal was to make a little money, and meet cool people, I think she succeeded in both places.
So what to you think after Episode 2? Do you think those people are prescreened? How are there so many people who have loved ones with unfortunate deaths? It makes me so sad for them, and sorry that Monica has a constant stream of the passings of so many people. I’m not saying that Monica knows anything about these people ahead of time, but I wonder if the producers have panted people with emotional pasts to see what Monica’s intuition can uncover.
I’d love to see Monica walk up to someone that I’m sure hasn’t been prescreened. I’d love to hear only the good that happened in people’s lives. I’m sure that Cassandra’s mother was much more than her alcoholism and the violent way she died. Maybe it’s just how the spirit world works, since a person’s death was their last moments on Earth, maybe it’s some of the first energy that Monica receives. I’d love to ask Monica about that, because it seems like such a heavy burden for her, to revisit the violent, tragic or graphic deaths of those who come through.
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More about Monica The Medium
Monica the Medium Makes a Campus Connection
Recap: Monica The Medium, Episode 1 “Blind Date Surprise”
Very interesting. I wish i could have a reading of my own. Id like to know wat my family says or who would say something.
Do you think your episodes will be on Netflix soon??
It would be very much enjoyed!
I really am scared my grandpa will tell me how it is