- Title: The Pretender – Not Even a Mouse
- wiki: link
“Not Even a Mouse” gives Jarod his first Christmas outside The Centre as he assumes the role of a coroner to investigate the death of a homeless man known as “Christmas George” who was a beloved hero to local orphans every year before he died due to complications after an unsolved hit-and-run. Making use of one of his colleagues’ (Kimiko Gelman) love of Puffer Fish, Jarod unmasks the murderer (Wendel Meldrum) and gives the doctor a taste of her own medicine immobilizing her and prepare her body in a death-like trance to be scheduled for autopsy (much like she did with George).
Being outside of The Centre doesn’t stop Jarod from offering a little Christmas cheer to those back home as Jarod (Michael T. Weiss) sends a rabbit to Miss Parker (Andrea Parker), inspired by the flashbacks of a young Jarod’s (Ryan Merriman) interaction with Parker as a young girl (Ashley Peldon) and her fascination with one of the creatures in Sydney’s experiments. The episode also reveals the existence of Sydney’s twin brother Jacob who has languished in a coma for decades and who Sydney discovers Jarod has stopped by to visit.
“Not Even a Mouse” begins to demonstrated Parker’s complicated relationship with her father who cancels their family get together at the last minute. And Jarod discovers his first Christmas candy by becoming fascinated with fruit cake. In assuming Christmas George’s role with the children Jarod also discovers ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, although it confuses him as much as Curious George‘s relationship to the Man in the Yellow Hat. Jarod also spends time (mostly off-camera) tracking down the family of a Jane Doe and offering the family some comfort in knowing what happened to the young woman.
