ABC is pulling the Friday reruns of Kyle in favor of introducing "Greek," for this week at least. Time to find friends who get ABC Family, folks.

If I had to summarize the stark differences between seasons one and two, it would be a character-driven storyline (in season one) vs. a plot-driven storyline (in season two). The differences in this case are very subtle. I think last season we watched characters struggle with issues, from which they learned things. This season the characters have magically already learned things, and we don't watch them go through life with any sense of discovery. Lori went from teenaged girl to maturing young woman without us watching it. Josh went from bratty teenage boy to maturing teenage boy, again without us watching it. There's so little interaction between Nicole and Kyle, which served as the backbone of last season.

Worse, Kyle isn't much of a mystery anymore, and for me, that was a big part of the magic of season one -- the mystery of Kyle XY. Without any mystery, Kyle Dallas and the episode directors better step up on the acting and character direction, because the character as-presented is one-dimensional and predictable.

I really loved this show last season and I am really trying to give it a chance but honestly I am running out of patience with it.

Matt Dallas seems to be a one note player. The innocent, obliviousness (and overly enunciated speaking for that matter) no longer rings true and the genuine sense of discovery that I liked about last season now seems fake and stunted. It is like I suspect there is a descent plot coming but my patience is running out. I can only relate it to reading "The Picture of Dorian Gray" when you get to the middle of the book and Oscar Wilde rants for a chapter on the appeal of tapestries. I know that there is something good coming up, but could we get to it already.

It is a sad commentary when I enjoy watching the Josh and Lori storylines infinitely more than the Kyle ones.

As for Declan, who eventually became my second favorite character at the end of season 1, I am annoyed at best. The dynamic between him and Kyle is more like a gay lover's spat than estranged friends. I find myself flashing back to Lord of the Rings: Two Towers and just wishing they'd make out already and just get it over with. I think Kyle needs to spill the beans or they need to kill Declan off, one of the two.

I have hopes that this season will get better, I'm not canceling my TIVO season pass just yet. Maybe XX will really get things going.

The thing that kind of turns me off of Declan is how much the secrets have messed with him. I really don't think the guy should have worried that badly and lost his relationship with Lori. I do believe he should be spying like he is, just not as emotional as he is.

I'm really enjoying Josh's relationship with Andy. We can see that they've become good friends in the short time that they've known each other, probably because they share similar interests. I like that, unlike how Lori and Declan were in the beginning, there's no tension or antagonism going on with them: Josh and Andy are buddies. It's a fresh take on the teenage relationship, and I think it adds a lot to the show. I've really liked seeing Josh grow since the beginning of the series, he's learned to be more responsible and mature, and it's very interesting to see that. I think he's actually my second favorite character, after Kyle of course.

mickbw: I did give Declan 4 episodes before somewhat giving up on him. If they want me to think he is useful again, they need to give him something more important to do. Indeed having him hook up (and help) Jessi would be useful for the series.

Tele-Toby: I hadn't thought about Madacorp buying Stephen's company. I wonder why I didn't since I'm usually always trying to find links between things in shows. It would be a cool and evil twist if that were the case.

Or, while we are speculating, how about the company was bought by whatever other company but that Stephen lands a job with Madacorp not knowing its ties with Kyle?

I am sure also that Stephen's company was bought by Madacorp.

I also think you are selling out Declan's character prematurely. A pretty obvious meet-up between Declan and Jessie is in his future.

Maybe I read more into the episode than I should have, but I think MadaCorp was behind the buy-out of Stephen's company. The long-term plan? With money about to be tight in the Trager household, Nicole would be amenable to taking on a new client (Jessi XX).

And they never did I.D. the company that bought out Stephan's, so it's a possibility.