An Ode

Oh gimme a break okay, I love what I love so bear with me. This is my Ode to the show Kyle XY. Now you might be thinking , it's Wendy, she loves shows, she's been an immediate fan since the show started. But you would be wrong. I never saw the first season when it was on. It was only as they advertised so heavily for Season 2 that I decided, on a bored summer evening, to look online for the series premiere.

And that was when I was drawn in and welcomed into the world of Kyle and the Trager family. From that first episode I was entranced. So many things that we take for granted, because of the years from when we are born, we learn all along the way these parts of life. What being hungry is and how to satiate it. What is right from wrong, and how to tell the difference. What things are okay to say out loud, and what you should keep to yourself.

Kyle is "born" at the age of 16. And yes, I am sure even non-watchers know he has no belly button. Either you are a watcher and KNOW why, or you will just have to rent the first 2 seasons and see for yourself. Anyway, as he wanders around naked, not knowing what clothing is, or that walking in your natural state is not acceptable, Kyle is brought to a boy's facility by policemen. Kyle is an innocent, he knows nothing. How to speak, anything. He starts to watch people when he is given a tray of odd objects and watched another boy place the objects into his mouth and chew. So Kyle does the same and the look of pleasure and wonderment on his face is priceless. And he begins stuffing his face, but this other boy did not like being stared at. Which leads to a confrontation outside. Kyle sees the boy and is happy to see him, even though he is feeling an odd pressure he can't understand. He is punched and experiences pain as he falls to the ground, just as he learns that the pressure he felt, was...liquid that needs to be released. Yup, he does not know what peeing IS. Or that it is a neccessary thing. Can you see how the things we learn from when we are babies to now, are a blessing?

This is when Dr. Nicole Trager is contacted by a colleague and enters Kyle's life. She sees in him, something special. He has talents, which make him remarkable. Someone she thinks she can work with. Now everyone assumes that Kyle, who the colleague names after his own brother, has amnesia, but are they in for a surprise, but that's far down the road YOU will have to travel. Now Nicole's family, Steven (husband) and her two teenage children, Lori and Josh, are less than thrilled that their mom is bringing a "crazy psycho" into their home. He is an inconvenience to them, watching them, listening in on conversations, not understanding that Kyle is learning from them, watching for cues. At a meal, Kyle is thirsty, but as yet, has not spoken. He remembers the things one of the boys at the home/hospital had said that resulted in his glass being filled and repeats it, much to the shock of the family. Lori is like "he learned english in one day?!", which gets Kyle to repeat part of HER conversation with her BFF, which is VERY embarassing and NOT something she wanted her parents to hear. Ever. So this alienates Lori. And when Kyle finds Josh in a...compromising position, which causes Josh to scream, Nicole finds Josh's Playboy magazine and confiscates it, earning Josh's contempt.

While the Trager's sleep, which Kyle does not understand, he discovers more food. Oh the love. He bites into everything. Does NOT care much for bananas (yes he eats peel and all, you LEARN the banana peel is not edible people) or eggs (too fragile and slimy). And then he discovers Sour Patch Kids. At first he is like the rest of us, whoa sour, but when it turns sweet, the look of LOVE makes YOU smile. This love does NOT go away. Kyle like them on everything, in his cereal, everything. This actually caused me to want to try them again and see what they were like now. And guess what? I now like them! LOL! I find the sweet after the moment of sour quite addictive. Sure not to the extent of Kyle, but you get why he found such delight. Imagine what you as a child might have experienced the first time you had chocolate. the wonderment of the flavor bursting in your mouth. The way it melted into gooey goodness. This is what Kyle is experiencing for the first time, but with everything!

Nicole starts testing Kyle and the level of intelligence he displays is mind-blowing. Unknown to the Tragers' is he finds computer code more understandable than the human language and finds it sill they do not communicate in that. Kyle slowly begins worming his way into the Tragers' hearts. He used his computer skills with Stephen to fix something. He found the hidden Playboy for Josh, when Josh said he MISSED a girl from it. He didn't go look what I did for you, he placed it under Josh's pillow and when Josh found it, you could see a softening in his expression. Lori, being the eldest is a tougher case. Kyle follows Lori one night (without her knowing) when he is again not asleep, to a party. Where Lori is hurt when Declan, the boy she likes is with another girl. Kyle ets drunk for the first time, NOT a pretty sight. And then cops show up, and one tries to arrest a drunken Lori. Kyle walks through a glass wall, startled, glass in his face but goes to get Lori, protective of her. The cop tries to hurt Kyle, but a new talent kicks in and Kyle bests the cop with his non-human-like quick reflexes,etc. Kyle picks up Lori and carried her home. It isn't until the next day, when talking to the BFF, is she alerted that him doing that, for her, had not been a dream. SO that night, when Nicole broached the subject of keeping Kyle longer, until she found a suitable home for Kyle. Each Trager shows a special sign that they are okay with that, and you see the wonderment on Kyle's face as he feels like a part of something.

Oh the adventures continue. What do you do with a teen boy who doesn't understand what sleep is, or even what tired is. Why he finds the bathtub the most assuring place to be. And yes, Kyle continues to be a pain to the teen Tragers. But Kyle has to learn social norms and cues, and he IS a quick study, but with morals we could only hope to all have. He begins to display extraordinary talents and abilities, things even he knows he must keep to himself. And feel things he can't explain when he meets Amanda...yeah he IS a teen boy. He feels tears for the first time when he hears Amanda play the piano...why does he leak from his eyes? Watching Kyle LEARN what we take for granted is just an amazing experience. And watching him learn what makes him special, makes him different, is quite a mystery that really gains speed as the season goes on. As he makes a friend, learns about lies, and so many other things, you see Kyle grow, gain strength. And he begins to want to figure out why he can do things other people cannot and where he came from. This is an adventure that keeps on going. How long can he keep his secrets from his "family" and his best friend Declan? Who is the man that is following him? This is why I love Kyle XY. And so much more happens in Season 2, and now as season 3 has finally started up.

The cast of this show is amazing, with Matt Dallas as Kyle, being the breakout star. Jean-Luc Bilodeau , April Matson, Chris Olivero + Kirsten Prout are also excellent as Josh, Lori, Declan and Amanda. Of course, the parents rock too, Bruce Thomas as Stephen. And Marguerite MacIntyre as Nicole. Perfect casting.

I was not a believer until I watched, and watched, seeing all 10 episodes of Season 1 in about 2 days. It was that good. So I highly recommend it, as you can tell from the post. And you don't even meet Jessi until Season 2. Heh-heh.