Seven is considered a lucky number in several countries. I’d like to add a children’s cartoon to that list. "My Brother’s Keeper" is the episode that "got it" so to speak; it turned the series away from its standalone unconnected, episodic plots and instead churned it into something grander where its stories now proceeded to intertwine with others to create a deeper arc. If "MBK" influenced its path, "Bitter Reunions" serves as its appropriate precursor. Danny's unique role as half ghost is now threatened when he finds another like him, only more deadly and manipulative—the sense of danger, story, and character has just been upped.
And what a dangerous foe he is. Vlad is an elaborate chess master, a magnificent bastard who schemes, deducts, and improvises his plans to get what he wants: love. He has a keen sense of patience—having waited and structured his goals for the past twenty years—but he is quick to rearrange his hard-earned works with a back-up lest something unexpected throws him off. In this case, Danny. Picture yourself in Vlad’s position: a rich, debonair, well-known billionaire on the outside—so loved by the growing public and as much an influence to them, he’s worshipped by the media and dreamers who want to be him. In the inside though, he suffers the traps many single stereotypical high-ranking money-grubbers face: Loneliness. As much as he prides himself on his glorious position, he knows the follies that money can’t buy him happiness. Unfortunately, he’s stuck in a delusional trap that Maddie will, despite her happy marriage to Jack. Add to that his secret ghost powers which he spent twenty aching years honing and cooing over, but just the same, groaning over, if not because Jack was the one who gave it to him. He’s the only half ghost, so to see another has him in fascination, especially if it means gaining a probable son. He only has one major obstacle in his way.
Nothing frustrates him more than seeing Jack, this bumbling, idiotic, goofy ape, married to the love of his life; the beautiful, intelligent, capable Maddie, and worse, conceived a son with all the same powers and situations he has. He gets hospitalized for years, how is this fair? Easily, it’s not hard to feel for Vlad. He’s not a typical one-shot villain, he has motivations and Freudian excuses for why he justifies his dark actions and by golly, you can’t help but hug him after all the shit he’s gone through. That doesn’t excuse him from employing murder, kidnapping, and backstabbing, mind you, but he wasn’t born this way; certain circumstances drove him to become the relentless jerk he is now. And it is with these actions that would inevitably lead to his downfall. It’s with both his cunning deposition and emotional heartbreaking moments that makes him a complicated, contrasting character, one who proved he can carry an episode by himself (notice Tucker and Sam is absent here). Kudos to Martin Mull whose voice captures the pomp and ego that is Vlad, even if he sounded a little helium-inducing here. Hey, it was his first time.
Though Maddie is just as much on his mind as Danny, Vlad’s struggle to compare and contrast his fatherhood with him and Jack is just as captivating. It’s an ongoing theme that Jack’s methods may be less then unorthodox, but so is Vlad’s. The major difference is that Jack loves and cares for his boy. He may force his latest anti-ghostly gadget towards his offspring, but he never pushes or forces him to become something he doesn’t want to be, a problem Vlad currently wades through. It proves no matter how much someone possesses common senses, that doesn’t mean they’re more valid then someone who isn’t as well-tuned. It’s this glaring irony that makes the bulk of Danny’s daddy dilemma. Jazz would have a field day analyzing this.
Unfortunately neither Harriet nor the Dairy King had much to offer. The former seemed to be designed to give a wider background on Jack, Maddie, and Vlad’s younger days, but she's nothing more then a glorified extra who doesn’t move the plot or contribute anything to the episode or the overall series. The Dairy King is slightly more acceptable; mentioned earlier in the episode and later serving as dues ex machina to Danny, so he at least did something useful. I won’t miss any of them regardless.
Animation is nice all-around. The constant use of blue inside Vlad’s manor gives it a cold, creepy, haunting vibe. Interestingly, the palettes only show during the night, in the daytime, Vlad’s manor only shows off the brighter yellow and gold. If that isn’t an intriguing comparison to Vlad’s double-shifting personality, I don’t know what is. The big mouth syndrome kicks in again and there's some slight off-modeling, but overall, it's a solid presentation. 9/10
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Article Written revised in: Jan. 17, 2010
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