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Jarod - Our Pretender
 There are Pretenders among us. Geniuses with the ability to become anyone they want to be.
In 1963, a corporation known as the Centre isolated a young Pretender named Jarod and exploited his genius for their research.
Then one day, their Pretender ran away...
This is Jarod, played by the spunky Michael T. Weiss. Jarod is a Pretender. A genius with the ability to become anyone he wants to be, to be able to grace any walk of life. Plus he has the ability to master any profession without formal training. In other words, he could turn up to a car garage, say that he is a mechanic even though he has never fixed a car, and in a few days he could probably rebuild a whole ferrari for you!
As a child, Jarod was stolen from his family in the middle of the night by operatives of The Centre. Predisposed with the "gift", Jarod was seen as a valuable investment and their main source of income. He was 'raised' by Sydney, a psychologist and the only father figure in Jarod's life.
Jarod did simulations, creating situations and solving problems, things normal people couldn't do. He thought and was he was doing them to help people, but it turns out The Centre sold Jarod's work to unscrupulous people for ridiculous amounts of money.
Jarod was a prisoner. He was raised in cell-like conditions, made to do simulations and "think-up" situations and solve problems everyday for this Centre. It's quite sad really. Every Christmas Jarod, instead of sharing the festive cheer with his family, has to instead map out possible scenarios for a hit on the President and contend with wheatgerm and tomato juice. Socialising, discovery and the things a normal child was free to explore was never a part of Jarod's childhood, if you could even call it that. Sydney always told him that he was unlike most children he had a "gift" and that he had to focus on maximising his gift by completing these think-ups and simulations.
Over the years, he continued to do simulations under Sydney's guidance. However Jarod's growing sense of humanity hampered his progress. He began questioning the morality of his simulations and the consequences. Three weeks in October 1995, Sydney was deliberately sent to a pointless conference in Europe while Jarod became a human guinea pig under the evil Mr. Raines and the mysterious Mr Lyle. Placed in a freezer at below-zero temperatures for extended periods of until his heart stopped, Jarod was clinically dead for a few minutes, then revived.
The final straw came in 1996, when a Centre operative Damon was brought in to help get a simulation finished. Damon and Jarod worked on a series of simulations. Jarod had been refusing to finish a the last, which required him to recreate the Ibola virus in order to develop a vaccine, concerned that if this information got into the wrong hands, a lot of people would die. Damon gradually gained Jarod's trust, telling him that he was a Pretender once, that the Centre released him, and that if Jarod finished the last simulation he would be freed of the Centre too.
He became friendly with Kenny, a janitor who possessed a child-like innocence. He was very protective of Kenny and Damon knew that. So when Jarod wouldn't complete this last sim Damon shot Kenny. Jarod handed the completed simulation to Damon when his trust was broken and his hope of leaving the Centre forever; Damon saying "the Centre owns you Jarod".
Jarod, realising he will never be freed from the Centre, escaped three weeks later. This proved a turning point for the Centre as they lost a valuable investment and their prime source of income. He is on the run at present, actively searching for his parents and the truth about his family, along with reclaiming his life.
Jarod travels the country to search for any clues as to the whereabouts of his mom and dad, along with helping out people who have faced emotional, legal or moral injustices. With his ability to master any profession without preparation, he uses his ability to help those are defenseless; he "defends the weak and abused", trying to make up for all the things he thought up to hurt people. He can also relate to them because he himself has felt the pain and what they are going through. Along the way Jarod discovers the little joys of freedom. Pez, icecream and Twinkies just some of the little treats Jarod missed out when he was a child. During some of his pretends he has little 'fixation' periods on these delights. It's cute somewhat.
The Centre team look for Jarod, Miss Parker, Sydney, and computer technician Broots each day following up clues left by him. They have been after him since his escape, and they have their own truths to find out about which concerns Jarod and the Centre.
In 1997, Jarod discovered through Harriet Tashman that his parents Margaret and Charles, were looking for him and that he had a brother and sister, Kyle and Emily. He had got a brief look at his mom and Emily in Boston, but was stopped by a sweeper team from the Centre who tried to kill them. Two years later he found Charles, his father. Charles and Jarod were together for a few days, trying to rescue a clone of Jarod used by stolen eggs of Jarod's parents given when they tried to have children at NuGenisis adoption and family planning clinic. The Centre had cloned Jarod's DNA to produce an offspring with Jarod's exact genetic makeup. Jarod lost contact with his father in a bungled exchange with the Centre - Jarod's father for Miss Parker's father.
Jarod was allegedly caught by the Centre in a dramatic chase down an airstrip on a motobike, when his wheel was shot at and lost control. The closing scene saw Mr Raines, Mr Lyle and Brigitte surrounding him saying, "Welcome home Jarod."
That, at present is where Jarod is now. Since I am an Australian, and haven't seen the fourth season (even though I have an idea of what happens) I won't go on. It would spoil the fun.
That was my lame attempt at explaining our loved Pretender, Jarod. Please keep in mind that I am a 16-year old who isn't exactly top of the class in English. So my structure and vocabulary aren't that hot.
Sup G! As the people may have noticed, this place has been looking very boring and bland. I'm hoping to very slowly update here and there. Where has she gone? Hmm.. well I have been tucked away in the Alps of Australia, far out in the back of the west.
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