Believe "Pilot": A Slow Start

Believe is the latest addition to the JJ Abarms production collection as it premiered yesterday evening. The question is now, why tune in to check out the Pilot of Believe? Is it something worth watching and such? For me, the the idea of it was interesting. It wasn't the JJ Abarms name attached to it, nor any of the actors either. To be honest, I didn't know any of them except for Jamie Chang who I have seen in Once Upon A Time and Premium Rush. For me it was the idea of two people who were far different from each other put together on the run. Not only that but the idea of the bond that would become as they traveled to help people. A tale of a man learning to see the good in people and a girl becoming what she was meant to be. That is Tate and Bo, Believe's leading duo. As with all Pilots, Believe needed to explain the premise of the series to get viewers to tune in next week.

I found that the Pilot was almost exactly what the trailer was, but just spread across 40ish minutes. It started off with Bo and her foster parents being run off a run by one of the people who want to use Bo's power's for evil purposes. We'll just call her the assassin lady to keep it short. Anyways, her plan falls through when bypassers notice the crash and call it in. Elsewhere in a prison, Winter and his team break out a scruffy and wrongfully convicted, Tate from prison. After cleaning up, Tate is dropped off at the hospital to pick up Bo before the other guys grab her. Which is pretty much it.

There are some good qualities about the Pilot that could benefit Believe as a series overall. I do like Tate and Bo and how their characters are balanced with each other. In addition to the base of their characters allow for room to grow. We could see Tate become a better man and Bo become more mature and reaching her true potential. It is definitely an interesting partnership and that could grow close in episodes and perhaps seasons, to come. Let the bickering begin. Also helps thats Tate has got this puppy dog look to him. Like when he tries to be mean, he doesn't mean it or something like that. Now there is potential for Believe that I saw back in the trailer with the idea of Tate and Bo traveling around. This sets it aside from staying in one town too long and allowing more storylines to be told. It's kinda like Supernatural in a way of traveling across America and helping people. Except for all the monsters, and the coming apocalypse. Believe has both it's leads being chased for different reasons. The combat was nice too, and not clunky like some Pilots struggle with (I found that with Intelligence's Pilot). My final point is that little bomb that Winter dropped near the end of Pilot, and it makes me wonder how thats gonna play out.

The Pilot for Believe wasn't the strongest though and this worries me. That and the fact that it has had changed showrunners a couple of times. There was really no surprise in Pilot other than in the end as the trailer kinda really summed up what happened in the Pilot. You just miss all the sass you get by watching the full episode rather than the trailer. But really, you could just watch the trailer and skip to the next episode. I'm also finding that I'm not really caring for any other of the characters at this point. I mean theres that assassin chick who has some issues. There is that rich guy who used to work with Winter. Then there Winter, who has a history we know nothing about. Then theres Jaime Chung's character who will probably end up at some point in Tate's bed. Like that wasn't sexual tension. Then again, it could be another Agent May and Ward situation (if you watch Agents of Shield, you will know what I mean).

I have hopes for Believe and the potential for interesting plots and characters. I have seen stronger Pilots and Believe's could have been better and not showed almost everything in it's trailer. I look forward to seeing Tate and Bo on the road and how they deal with their cases of the week while dodging the cops and the bad guys. Hopefully we will learn more about Winter and his crew and their connection to Bo. Also hope that the changing of the showrunners is not a bad sign. Not sure if I'm going to review Believe on a weekly basis or not, but I'll see how I feel after I watch the second episode. Remember that Believe is now on Sundays.

Will you continue to watch Believe? What did you think of the Pilot?