Stitchers season 3 episode 1 review: Kirsten finds pieces of truth

Stitchers season 3 episode 1 brought a sense of purpose to Freeform Monday night. Not only was the entire cliffhanger from season 2 resolved, but at the same time the setup for the remainder of this season is revealed.

As complicated as this show may be in between stitching and dealing with various cases that come into the lab, Kirsten now has a very specific purpose: Tracking down her mother, who she now knows to be alive. Not only that, but she was able to briefly communicate with her when she was trapped in the stitch at the start of the episode. She just didn’t realize until the end of the episode that this wasn’t Cameron speaking through her until she posed the question to him at the end of the episode.

This one moment was the best of the entire premiere, given that it took something from the start of the episode, something that wasn’t hyped up as a big deal at the time, and made it into something mind-blowing. It was a genuine surprise that the show went into that direction, and it further adds purpose to Kirsten’s journey.

As for the relationship between her and Cameron romantically, they’re going to be able to get past presumably him saying all sorts of terrible things to her as her mother in the stitch world. It was a means to get her out of there, and all things considered she’s being rather accommodating. She was able to get over it enough to kiss him at the episode’s end, and with Nina out of the way, the two seem to be able to have a real relationship now.

Granted, here is the real issue with that: Nothing is ever that easy, whether it be in Stitchers or in life. These two went through a lot to be together, including Kirsten having to go undercover and effectively blackmail the Secretary of Defense to ensure that the NSA didn’t take away the team. They’re still going to have to go through a lot more.

Other revelations

How about the fact that Blair is planning to kill Kirsten’s mother? This was revealed to Kirsten through a stitch from Blair’s own son, who was murdered … by Kristen’s father. Yep, dear ol’ dad decided that the best way he could get a message to her about Blair was for him to murder one of the few people who he could ensure would get to the stitch lab. Kirsten’s seemed to have negotiated herself away from Blair for now, but will that last? It should for now, but there is a better sense of drama when Blair is around the other characters. You need that drama, and the reason for characters to be on edge. If the Kirsten – Ivy relationship is on better terms now, where else are you going to get it?

Final verdict

This show is best when it plays around with alternate worlds and memories, just because there are so many interesting twists and variables that can come from that. As fun as it can be to see Kirsten bust out her whole team temporarily with a sly undercover act, that’s probably the show’s weakest and most unrealistic aspect. Sometimes, it skirts around the intelligence of some of the random redshirts who happen to turn up in the NSA world.

Also, it would be nice to get some more closure for Linus after he learned that his father had died while he was being held, but that may be another story for another day. This was still a very good start to season 3, and an episode that helped to establish several key variables that allow the stitch team to keep on stitchin’ until they are able to find Kirsten’s mom and bring her back. Grade: B+.

Where do we go from here?

Be sure to head over to this link to get a further preview now from what’s coming on Stitchers next week. (Photo: Freeform.)