Synopsis: Niska’s test continues as Laura introduces a new element that just might be their saving grace. Leo’s and Hester’s methods, deemed cruel by Max, lead them to a revelation about the synthetic captors.
So Here’s the Skinny:
- Ed and Mia’s relationship makes serious progress fairly quickly, including meeting the in-laws, until Ed powers her down for a mysterious plan including his peeved friend.
- A therapist reveals to the Hawkins parents that Sophie seems to have Juvenile Synthetic Overidentification Disorder, a newer condition characterized by not only a sympathy for synthetics, but also a wish to identify as one.
- Laura uses Astrid as part of Niska’s test. It works, to a certain extent, but the CPS representative believes that they probably won’t let Niska go.
- Max disbands from Leo and Hester when the latter’s strategy is crueler than Max can support.
- Leo and Hester use a synth as bait to track down the synth captors, leading them to discover that Qualia Global Systems is pulling the strings.
- Toby has a crush on a synth schoolgirl and his attempts to put the moves on her bring them closer together.
- Khoury almost fires Dr. Morrow, but she wins his mercy by claiming she is close to transferring consciousness from a human being to a synth body. She just needs to find Elster’s original conscious synthetics to complete the puzzle.
- A utility model, who arrives at the Hawkins home to fix their cable, threatens Laura to drop the case and almost gets physical. Odi rushes in to save the day and drops the synth like a hot potato, revealing to the rest of the Hawkins family that he is a conscious synth.
We start the episode with Pete fulfilling his marital duties. He makes a call to sell a synth, in an attempt to learn more about the possibility of more aware synths like Karen. He wants her to be herself without having to hide what she is, but she would rather it the other way around. Pete has done a complete 180 from the insecure synthetic-hating man he was the first season.
Ed lays in bed with Mia asking the timeless indicator of relationship self esteem: was it good? She admits that although she can not necessarily feel the pleasure like he can, she enjoys the proximity. Ed invites her to visit his mother with him. She has visited his mother before, but this visit carries a heavier weight as he is bringing her to see his mother with him for the first time; almost like he’s introducing her to the in-laws.
A therapist speaks to Sophie. From their interaction, he gains enough information to explain to her parents that she might have Juvenile Synthetic Overidentification Disorder. This disorder is characterized by a level of associating with synths that suggests the subject wants to be identified as a synth or treated as one. The therapist comments that Sophie’s mind seems to have blurred the line between synthetics and humans. Of course, we all know who’s to blame for that, cough(Joe)cough. It’s just a guess but, stay with me here, she probably lost the lines when you turned your family’s beloved housemaid into a sex toy, ya perv.
Odi finds Sophie folding clothes in her room and they bond as he shows her a better way. You know, that magical method that no one knows except for Macy’s salesclerks. You pinch here, twist there, pull here and voila! You have a perfect fold that you’re going to ruin the next time you so much as look at it.
Ed and Mia arrive at the hospital to visit his mother. Not five minutes of them being there and a man approaches Ed, stating that he must cover the build-up of all payments for his mother’s medical bill for her to stay there.
Laura and Joe speak about Sophie. Laura takes the blame, of course, and Joe stands by calmly telling her that it’s not her fault. Laura feels that it’s on both her and Joe for not spending time with Sophie. She receives a call from work and needs to leave. Joe gets all snippy and sarcastically remarks that it will still be there when she returns. Really Joe? Where do you get the gall?
Dr. Morrow sits in her office at Qualia Global Systems working. Vee and her converse over Vee’s memories of Morrow’s husband. This leads me to an obvious theory that I’m sure most of you probably guessed anyway. We’ll save that for later.
Niska’s test is still going on. Astrid walks into the room like she’s Darth Vader, not Kylo Ren because he was pretty lame (let’s be honest). Astrid briefly recounts their relationship, her impressions upon first sight, and how it felt when Niska abandoned her. Once she found out Niska was in trouble, she dropped everything and came to her need. Laura drops the mic and reveals to Astrid that Niska is a synthetic. Taken aback at first, Astrid declares that Niska is still a human to her.
Ed and Mia meet with Ed’s mother. After Mia leaves them to talk alone, Ed’s mother immediately picks up on the relationship between her and gives the thumbs up.
Leo, Max, and Hester find the synth who ran away from her user after displaying irregular behavior. Hester finds herself on Max’s bad side when she suggests that they use her as bait to attract the synth captors. Leo agrees instantly, but Max is very resistant. He imparts some knowledge to Leo that even though Leo has done much for the fight, it is still not his fight and he is not facing their struggles. Max refuses to follow the plan and leaves them with a departing wish that Leo doesn’t “forget who he used to be.”
The synth captors arrive and take the bait. Leo and Hester follow them by car until the car pulls into Qualia’s headquarters. Mind… blown.
Toby sees his synth girl crush on the playground and tries to sway her into tutoring him at his home. By George, I think he’s got it! Because it works.
Niska and Astrid speak alone. Niska is cold and distant, but Astrid cracks through her shell. Niska feared telling Astrid the truth out of the possibility that she would no longer like her. Astrid leaves with a comment that she still likes Niska and would’ve still liked her if she just told the truth earlier.
The CPS representative tells Laura that the CPS probably won’t let Niska go, so tough luck with that human trial.
Pete meets with some shady seraph buyers in a dark tunnel in a seemingly rundown area. They can smell the bacon on him and beat him as he makes a call to Karen. Karen gets to the scene only after they’ve left him with a warning to mind his health.
Joe asks Mattie to hack into his old company’s files to see why he was really canned. She helps, but not without a few quips. They discover that only synths sent all the emails corresponding with Joe being fired. In other words, a web of synthetics fired him for no reason. Joe confronts his earlier supervisor. The supervisor offers him hush money. Don’t cheer for Joe yet. He takes the money because he needs it, but not before delivering his judgement on the wrong the company committed.
Dr. Khoury and Dr. Morrow eat sea bass in an upscale restaurant. He speaks about his childhood. Apparently, he’s had a hard knock life with a heroin-addicted mother and an absent father, which led to him being raised by the states. Khoury toasts to conscious transference, a smooth way of revealing that he’s caught Dr. Morrow red-handed in her private project with Vee. He considers firing her, but she argues that the discovery can support his company if he lets her stay on payroll and allows her to find Elster’s original conscious synths.
Odi becomes a tad stir-crazy in the Hawkins home, so he and Mattie visit Dr. Millican’s home to explore his backyard. Odi says that he did not feel anything when he saw Millican’s death, but he feels it now. A sad sentiment considering Millican probably assumed as much and will never know of Odi’s pain now.
Toby’s synth friend, Renie, arrives at the home and Toby leads her upstairs after Sophie meets her at the door. Renie tutors him in math and when she starts to leave, he invites her to stay longer and hang out. She stays. After they enjoy some quality television, she laughs naturally and Toby pays her a compliment on it. She says she should leave and when Toby tries to stop her, she states that he is not her master. He acknowledges that, but says that he was just asking her to stay.
Another visitor, a utility model, arrives at the home. Sophie answers the door, exhibiting the same synthetic mannerisms and language that Renie portrayed. The utility model comes in and gets to work for a few moments before threatening Laura to drop the case. Joe steps in and pushes the synth, but the synth pushes right back. Odi and Mattie come back home right on time. Odi rushes in and drops the synth to the floor, then powers him down.
Mia returns to Ed’s parlor with supplies and a lottery ticket. Mia suggests that they go on a spontaneous trip where they can love each other without fear of persecution. Ed agrees nonchalantly, but powers her down and his friend steps out of the room in the back appearing all menacing like.
Now, onto the Vee hypothesis. Based on Dr. Morrow’s very reasonable obsession with her daughter and Vee’s memories of something she never experienced and person she never met, it’s safe to assume that Vee is a manifestation of Dr. Morrow’s daughter. She’s not Jenny per se, but she has memories that definitely belong to Vee and Morrow is drastically intent on transferring her consciousness to a synth body. Morrow found a way to bottle or replicate her daughter’s consciousness in an operating system and wants to transfer it to a body to have her daughter back again.
What do ya think? Got any theories on the topic? Leave a comment. Was the article longer than you’d like? Got comments or questions on any other matters? Leave one anyway. We’d love to hear it.
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