Tom Swift takes a few steps back before showing shocking growth in “…And the Crashed Cotillion”

Five episodes into Tom Swift Season 1 and we have learned a few important things about this character. And one of those things is that Tom thinks he knows it all. At points throughout these early episodes, it has felt like Tom only cares about himself and shows the world that he is better than them.

And while things certainly started rocky in terms of character growth for Tom Swift, “…And the Crashed Cotillion” gave us some shocking growth when it comes to him showing that he really does care about the people in his life.

Not only did Tom find himself having to start at the bottom of his company, but he also got a crash course in what it means for the people who work for his family when he does something irresponsible. But that was the least of his issues in this episode, as he also disrespected his best friend, Zenzi, by basically ignoring her feelings and making it seem like her pain was less important than what he had planned. And of course, there was him running out on his mom (again), although he technically had a cover for that.

Tom Swift witnessed the consequences that come with the decisions made without thinking of others

Even with Tom seemingly taking so many steps backward in his character growth, by the end of the episode it was clear that he really does care about the people in his life. Not only did he step up when his brother Lino invites his biological mom to the society Cotillion without telling anyone, and she has what seems like a mental break on the dance floor, but he also offered true support to his mother after that disaster.

And once he did the things he needed to do to be there for his mother and his family as a whole, he also apologized to Zenzi for not being supportive when she needed him.

The thing is that Tom was able to do what he needed to do to get more data regarding his father’s spaceship escape. It just took him forgetting how to be a good guy for a while in his mission to get what he needed at all costs.

I understand that he is on a mission to save his father’s life and keep it quiet from the people who attempted to kill him, to begin with, but that doesn’t negate the fact that he needs the help of the people in his life. And if he continues to act like he can do it all without them, he is going to end up failing this mission.

Of course, the fact that he gets kidnapped in the final moments of the episode doesn’t help at all. And we definitely need to know who has him, why they have him, and how he is going to be rescued.

What did you think of this episode of Tom Swift? Were you surprised by the things that went down with Lino and his mother? What about the consequences of that Cotillion surprise? We want to know.