If, for some reason, you're looking for a sequel to Jumper, you won't find it in Impulse. Sure, the new YouTube Red series is executive produced by Doug Liman, who directed the 2008 sci-fi action film, and based on the fictional world created by author Steven Gould, but the connections largely end there. Rather, it's a young-adult drama that's one-part Fargo and two-parts 13 Reasons Why, with just a dash of superpowers. And that recipe somehow works, mostly.

All but ignoring Gould's 2013 novel of the same name, Impulse instead follows 16-year-old Henrietta "Henry" Coles (played by Maddie Hasson), who's dragged by her restless mother Cleo (Missi Pyle) from city to city and boyfriend to boyfriend, never putting down roots. But Reston, a small town in Upstate New York, feels different, at least to Cleo, who's settled into a comfortable routine, interrupted only by Henry's rebellious streak -- broken curfews, graffiti, classroom outbursts -- and unexplained seizures that make the teen feel like even more of an outsider.

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When a confrontation with a teacher triggers one of those seizures at school, it becomes clear -- at least to autistic student Townes Linderman, played by Daniel Maslany, who notices objects subtly moving in the classroom -- they're not a symptom of a medical condition but a manifestation of a superpower. However, it's the sexual assault by basketball star Clay Boone (Tanner Stine), the youngest son of a powerful local car dealer, that's the turning point, both for Henry and for Impulse.

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Maddie Hasson as Henry and Daniel Maslany as Townes in Impulse

Consensual kissing in Clay's truck swiftly crosses a line when he ignores Henry's objections to going further. Her panic prompts another seizure, and in the blink of an eye, Henry is suddenly back in her attic bedroom, now littered by metal of Clay's truck, while the star athlete is left unconscious and paralyzed from the waist down in the crumpled remains of his vehicle.

It's easy to see the metaphor in the newfound teleportation ability of a girl who yearns for escape -- from a humdrum town, from danger -- but, surprisingly enough, Impulse isn't overly concerned with superpowers. In fact, the series goes entire episodes without depicting or even mentioning Henry's extraordinary, mysterious power, focusing instead on her struggle to come to terms with trauma. That's when Impulse is at its best.

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Desperate to hide her role in Clay's "accident," as not even she understands it, Henry becomes caught between a tense drug-trafficking conspiracy involving Clay's father Bill Boone (David James Elliott of JAG) and a Mennonite crime family from Canada, and the suspicions of the only good cop in Reston (Enuka Okuma). Then there's the matter of Clay, with little memory of what transpired, who's celebrated by the school and community upon his release from the hospital.

Lurking at the edge of the snowy landscape of Impulse is a scattered subplot involving the deadly global pursuit of people with teleporting abilities, which initially seems only a reminder of the show's Jumper roots. However, it intersects with the main storyline in the final episodes, setting up a second season, and delivering unexpected cameos by the likes of Keegan-Michael Key, Danny Pudi and Zack Pearlman along the way.

There's a lot that could have gone wrong with Impulse, not only in its blending of genres but also in its use of sexual assault as the story's inciting incident (it's so integral to the season-long plot that episodes open with a warning and close with contact information for the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network). But the series largely succeeds, primarily because of the strong performances of Maddie Hasson as Henry, Sarah Desjardins as Jenna, her would-be stepsister who's coming to terms with sex and her own sexuality, and Daniel Maslany (brother of Orphan Black star Tatiana Maslany) as Townes, who's eager to play sidekick to Henry's superhero even as her tries to navigate friendships and love.

The three young actors do much of the heavy lifting of the series, forming its emotional heart while helping to bridge disparate genres and storylines. Although Jenna and and Townes are obviously there to support the protagonist and the plot -- Jenna as a reluctant confidant with a car, and Townes as a researcher who can explain teleportation -- they're lifted above those relatively limited roles with very personal storylines that complement Henry's.

As intriguing as Henry's teleporting ability is, both in terms of metaphor and its effect on her and others, it's not nearly as compelling as the characters and their situations, making us hope that a potential second season doesn't stray too far from Reston, New York, and into the world of Jumper.


Available now on YouTube Red, Impulse stars Maddie Hasson, Missi Pyle, Sarah Desjardin, Enuka Okuma, David James Elliott, Daniel Maslany, Tanner Stine and Craig Arnold.