On part three of Netflix’s Raising Dion, Pat has discovered Dion’s powers, and has embraced his role mentoring the boy with Nicole. Dion’s also been away from school for two days now, so it’s time for him to return, but he’s still struggling to fit in being the new kid, and his powers aren’t helping. Spoilers after the jump:
1. Nicole’s Finally Having Fun
The first scene, where Pat encourages Dion to demonstrate his powers while playing, exemplifies my issue with the show thus far, which is that Nicole’s worried expressions render what’s meant to be a wondrous and uplifting moment into a disconcerting one instead: I just identify too strongly with her to start enjoying the fantasy of superpowers.
Fortunately, Pat’s a good listener and picks up on Nicole’s observation that her son rationalizes his powers as the objects being alive (rather than him manipulating them), and suggests she give Dion a tool for him to concentrate with, comparing it to Thor’s Mjolnir or Green Lantern’s ring. She picks Mark’s watch (which looks like a gauntlet on little Dion’s wrist), and this act of make belief, that it helps him masters his powers, strengthens his confidence, and finally allows her to start enjoying this adventure.
2. Principal’s A Racist
The burst of optimism doesn’t last long though, when a white boy called Jonathan steals Dion’s watch, and our young hero accidentally throws him into a wall trying to pull the watch back. The principal appears on the scene and instantly his gaze, his rage, are fixated on Dion, and clearly ignoring his explanation that Jonathan is a thief and a bully. If Nicole hadn’t been nearby signing to volunteer at the school, the principal would’ve likely carried out his threat of suspending the vulnerable new kid, and allowed Jonathan to keep the stolen watch. Even after Nicole verifies it’s her husband’s watch, and the kindly science teacher Mr. Fry intervenes to talk to the boys, the principal only punishes Dion with detention.
It broke my heart to see Dion being subjected to that – the disdain, the dehumanization racists display when they see even a hint of dark skin – at such a young age, and to not understand that he didn’t do anything wrong. Truly, superpowers make far more sense than racism. I could only imagine, at the end when Nicole explains to Dion that he didn’t do anything wrong, how many families have had this conversation, and how many 7-year olds are already aware that “Dr. King” didn’t “fix” racism.
3. Frenemies?
After Mr. Fry gets the boys to resolve their differences, Dion asks Jonathan why he was such a jerk, to which he responds he was sickened hearing him talk about what a great scientist his father was in class. I’m guessing Jonathan has a deadbeat dad, obviously that doesn’t excuse his actions but I understand his envy now. I like that when he and Dion glance at each other when they both leave school that there’s no resentment, he’s still a kid and there’s time for him to become a better person – part of Dion becoming a real hero is that he’s going to have to empathize and understand why some people are awful.
4. Basketball
Pat picks Dion up from school because Nicole gets an answer from Charlotte Tuck, who’s in Atlanta and says she needs to meet now. They bump into Tessa and her son Malik, who’s going to play basketball with his friends, and at her urging, invites the boy and his godfather to come along. It’s a pleasant scene, one that depicts Dion using his powers to win in a much less goofy way than the skateboarding scene in part one – plus, you have to give respect to Jason Ritter for participating with his dad bod on full display through his undershirt.
5. Inheritance
Nicole meets with Charlotte, the woman Mark died saving: it turns she can turn invisible, and that she met Mark while he was in Iceland to observe an unusual aurora event. Furthermore, everyone there — except Pat, who “stayed in the yurt” to observe the live data — gained superpowers, which is why Mark was in contact with her, and how Dion inherited his abilities. (In a comic booky way, it makes a lot of sense, given auroras are just bursts of radiation scraping past the atmosphere.) Oh, and what’s more, the storm is alive, and it’s hunting anyone with powers, which is why Mark sacrificed himself to buy time for Charlotte to flee New Orleans.
Continued belowIt’s a lot to take in, and Nicole is understandably upset that Mark kept his powers a secret from her, even though he was trying to fully understand what was happening before he disclosed any of it. Like she says, he left her unprepared for any of this, which further brings nuance to Mark’s saintly character, and casts a dubious glance over the whole notion of a secret identity.
Bonus thoughts:
– Pat suggests a feather could be the object Dion uses to focus and my mind immediately went to this hilarious deleted scene from Thor: Ragnarok about Dumbo.
– It’s amusing that clerk at the sweet store is too busy with her phone to notice Dion testing out his watch on those pesky Twix bars.
Alright, time to fire up the Netflix queue – see you all next time for “ISSUE #104.”
