4400 Season 1, Episode 3 recap: That LaDonna Life

4400 season 1 had everything this week, from parties to press conferences, reality TV to romance. LaDonna got her turn to shine, as we delved into her past and learned she’s more than just a natural-born star, and Hayden celebrated his birthday with the help of the entire crew — especially Mildred. However, while some ships are sailing, others seem to be sinking (namely Keisha and her girlfriend).

Read on to learn what happened in 4400 season 1, episode 3: “That LaDonna Life.”

4400 season 1, episode 3 recap: Ready for her closeup

This week, we get to see more of LaDonna’s past and learn she has a background as a reality TV star with an overbearing mother who pushes her into the spotlight. Though she wants to go to college for computer science, her mom demands she focus on building her brand and causing drama on TV to keep her fame. The stress of the constant conflict, however, stresses LaDonna out, causing her to drink. When she disappears due to the green light, her mother tells everyone she went to rehab.

In the present day, with more media swarming around the hotel that’s curious about the 4400, LaDonna sees this as her time to shine. When the authorities need one of them to act as an ambassador for the 4400, she volunteers, planning to leverage it into making them return her phone. Though she’s a natural at working with the reporters, they go back on their word, not allowing her to have her phone.

Soraya tries to cheer her up by showing her the unaired pilot of her reality show, as she is a longtime fan. This triggers a memory for her: that she was falling off a balcony when the green light struck. Shaken by this revelation, she confides in Andre, who says it’s a good thing the light saved her — it would be a shame for the world to lose someone of her intellect.

4400 season 1, episode 3 recap: Do no harm

LaDonna isn’t the only person Andre helps this week. After inquiring why Noah is depressed, Noah reveals that he is transgender and hasn’t been getting the medicine he needs. After Noah explains what transgender means, Andre reacts with compassion and is determined to get him the medicine he requires.

Though he gets Jharrel to promise that Noah can get access to it, they make Noah leave to get the medication so the reporters don’t see what they’ve done to his face. Jharrel also gives Andre some of Manny’s old textbooks, and in it, he and LaDonna see what they think is some kind of old computer code that may help them with the mystery of what happened to them.

4400 season 1, episode 3 recap: Clear conscience

Speaking of Manny, Jharrel is still grappling with his absence and the clocks drawn on the walls. Though Manny isn’t officially part of the 4400, he thinks he’s there somehow. His former co-worker Carla encourages Jharrel to move on, saying Manny wouldn’t want him to go on a wild goose chase and lose another job.

This advice doesn’t help, as Jharrel only gets more and more frustrated with the situation, culminating in him going off-script at the press conference and talking about how the 4400 are being treated unfairly.

Keisha calls him out, saying his outburst didn’t do anything to help the 4400 and instead just cleared his own conscience. But she is grateful when they don’t fire Jharrel in a move not to appear retaliatory. This causes further tension between Keisha and her girlfriend, who argue about both Jharrel’s actions and how the LaDonna situation was handled. Keisha ends up sleeping at her own home instead of at her partner’s place.

4400 season 1, episode 3 recap: Happy birthday, Hayden!

It’s not all bad vibes. There’s some cause for celebration in the form of Hayden’s (91st!) birthday. Though he doesn’t usually like to mark the occasion, as there’s not much cause to celebrate when you’re locked up, the crew is adamant they’re going to make it a good one.

Isaiah asks Claudette to help plan it, and she gets offended, thinking he’s presumptuous for assuming she’d be the one to go to for this advice. However, the two do reach some sort of peace when Claudette sees the great party Isaiah has thrown together. Unlike Claudette’s husband, Isaiah keeps his promises and doesn’t just do things for glory.

It ends up being a great success, with LaDonna using her newfound powers to light a candle on a lobster for Hayden. He also gets kissed by Mildred before playing chess with her, and he decides maybe birthdays aren’t so bad after all.

4400 season 1, episode 3 recap: The messenger

Last week saw Mariah going to Shanice’s hotel room without informing Logan, and the results of that meeting turn out to be less than ideal. When Shanice hugs Mariah, she is bombarded by a memory of Mariah hugging Bridget and calling her mom, which upsets her. Mariah gets equally upset about the fact Shanice won’t give her a straight answer about the letter she wrote and ends up bolting away.

Mariah eventually lets it slip she went to visit Shanice in a conversation with her dad, saying the meeting was confusing for her because she didn’t know what to call Shanice — Bridget, after all, is the only mother she’s ever known. She demands that Logan show her the letter, and the two go to Shanice’s hotel room to talk about it. When having the letter read back to her by Mariah, Shanice breaks down, adamant she didn’t think anyone would ever read it.

Shanice isn’t the only member of the 4400 making contact with Mariah, either. Impressed with her cunningness at managing to get into the hotel, LaDonna sends Mariah a video with footage of the abuse going on from the guards. She tells Mariah to put it on blast for the world to see, and Mariah does just that.

What did you think of the episode? Comment your thoughts below!