Showing posts with label episode 11. Show all posts
Showing posts with label episode 11. Show all posts

Saturday, February 22, 2014

'Almost Human' GifTweetCap: Is Dorian the 'Victim' of Transhumanism?

Most of the gifs from this recap can be found on this Tumblr post. "Disrupt" introduces a major new story arc for Almost Human. There are also some other fun things going on in this episode, so I sort of separated them so they would stand out.

The episode opens with Rudy violating Dorian... violating his AI computer brain, anyway. He roots around as Dorian "sleeps," leaving Dorian a bit freaked out.


PAUL LIE #1:

Throughout the episode, Kennex tells humorous lies (or jokes, depending on how you look at it) about the reason for Det. Paul's absence during the case. His first lie (to Rudy) is that Paul is out with an infected piercing, "down there."

After Kennex takes Dorian to work, we see that Rudy is working on the contents of Dorian's brain, which contains a sick child with a toy train, and a fatal error. Ohhh... can't wait to see where this is going!
Meanwhile, a couple is killed by their own computerized security system, and SAM (Matthew Kevin Anderson), their holo-butler. The wife (Karen Holness) is trapped by the pool cover, then the husband (Dalias Blake) is shot while trying to save her.
The couple had been receiving thousands of threatening emails just before their deaths, because a young kid named Aaron had been killed by the couple's security system at almost the exact same time a year ago. Dorian finds that SAM was hacked, but the hacker left no traces of who they are.

PAUL LIE #2:

Kennex's second lie (to a fellow cop, played by Daniel Mallinson) is that Paul is out with internal and external hemorrhoids, and that the department should chip in for a donut pillow.

Dorian and Kennex meet with Kay Stenson (Suleka Mathew), the CEO, and Peter Newsom (David Stuart), the lawyer for Synturion, the security company that made the killer system. Stenson seems to have entirely noble reasons for creating the system, as she had been assaulted by several men in her own home before such security systems existed. Kennex gets it, but clearly disagrees with how far she took the system... a kid jumping over a fence used to be met with a yell rather than "laser-guided gunfire."
"Disrupt" is one of the many groups who most vocally agree with Kennex's sentiment. They are an "anonymous" group of hackers (Get it? They make that connection to Anonymous themselves... I didn't add that in). There are also many parallels with the Zimmerman case, which many tweeps noted while live-tweeting.
Kennex has his Paul-lies dotting the episode, but Dorian scatters the episode with visions of his... er... childhood? Actually, Dorian sees the same visions that Rudy had been snooping in on at the beginning of the episode -- the same ones that seemed to be causing a "fatal error." Dorian finally tells Kennex what's going on.
The important thing here is that we finally get a car-ride discussion! No banter, but we do have plenty of banter elsewhere throughout the episode, so fans can still be satisfied after two episodes devoid of the much-loved Dorian-Kennex-car-ride hilarity. That seems to have become the show's trademark.
As they discuss Dorian's growing meltdown, a blackout hits the city. The only lights to come back on are large banners that declare, "Justice for Aaron."
The blackout is tracked to a hacker known as Crispin X. The gang originally believes that he's part of Disrupt, but Rudy sets them straight: he's a hacker for hire. Rudy knows how to get an invite to a party attended by the hacker, so Stahl asks what she needs to know in order to have hacker street cred: her hacker handle (Rudy's, back when he was a hacker) is Aphid, and she'll have to take Rudy's hacker tablet, which he has trouble parting with.
Rudy also warns Stahl that the hackers are very dangerous, and that she'll have to look the part by wearing lots of makeup and a wig. Kennex goes in as her backup, also looking the part. When they go in, Kennex realizes that there's no danger: it's just a bunch of "VR geeks," experiencing fake danger in a virtual reality party. The first guy they come across  (Zack Lavoie) tells them to check the back for Crispin X.
... and he tells them that after Kennex offers up Rudy's beloved tablet.
By the way, this is not the first time Karl Urban has worn guyliner. Except in Chronicles of Riddick, he was also dead:
Still searching for Crispin X, the next guy they find (Tyree Alleyne) enjoys the ridiculous sight of cops in makeup.
When they finally locate Crispin X, he is immediately drawn to Stahl's fake Aphid handle -- I'm sure it has nothing to do with her hotness. As he extends a hand to shake hers, his wrist is met with cuffs.
Crispin X's real name is Nico (Reece Thompson). As they question him, another body turns up dead. Newsom has been killed by the fire suppression module of his security system. The module sucks all the oxygen out of the room. Gah!

FUN TECH:

Nothing to do with the story, but awesome tech: neon fish!


PAUL LIE #3:

Kennex's third lie is the best one if all. He tells a female cop that Paul got an infection from a sex bot. Her reaction -- and his reaction to her reaction -- is priceless. I was laughing so hard, I scared my kitties.
Nico agrees to help the gang find the real killer in order to receive immunity. Nico helps them find the rest of the photo of Aaron being sent to victims, and it shows a girl named Emily Wilson (Laine MacNeil). She's a disturbed 18-year-old whom Aaron had been helping when he was killed. She has been lashing out at all those she sees as responsible, on the one-year anniversary of his death. Gee, I'd bet he'd be so proud.
Emily's next target is Stenson, and Nico quickly finds that Emily is in Synturion's headquarters, preparing to enact fire suppression, while also siccing the company's new android version of SAM on her -- a real android, rather than a hologram. Kennex gets some help from Nico by getting him to hack the building's system to create holographic copies of himself that can confuse SAM.
Dorian makes short work of a SAM that is protecting Emily.
John "kills" an android SAM that is strangling Stenson, with the help of two holo-friends.
Dorian is able to talk down Emily, and she finally gives up. With a couple of seconds remaining, Nico is able to disable the fire suppression system.

PAUL TRUTH:

When the cop whom Kennex told about fake hemorrhoids presents Maldonado with Bitcoins for Paul's brand new donut pillow, she gets rather snippy. She seems more upset that everyone believed Kennex's lies than about the lying itself. Then she tells the cop what really happened. Paul took his mom to Mexico for his birthday! --I think I like the sex-bot-infection story better.
Aaron's mom had always thought that her son was a loner, but he had helped hundreds of people online, all over the globe. In reality, he had many friends. Emily just happened to be the most disturbed among them, and he died when she was still vulnerable.
Later, Rudy has a private conversation with Kennex in which he tells him something rather ominous: Dorian's fake childhood memories were covertly implanted in his bot-brain. Rudy erased the images and closed the insertion point, but they will have to watch him closely to make he doesn't "flip out," the way the other DRNs did.
They also can't tell anyone, or risk Dorian being decommissioned immediately. DUN DUN DUNNNNNNN!!! Could this be an attempt at "transhumanism," as in, a real person living forever in the body of a robot? That's my theory, but I can't wait to find out!
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

'Grimm' GifTweetCap: Monroe Meets the Fuchsbau-Parent

Grimm "goes there" with "The Good Soldier," an episode about rape in the military. It's a bit of a downer for a show that is normally entertaining for its combination of humor and farcical horror. Still, the creature-of-the-week this episode fits the bill perfectly, and the story has some depth that makes it special in the Grimm universe.

The episode opens with Frankie Gonzales (Emily Rios), who seems to be a crazy woman, cutting into her own arms. She then walks into a bar, and begins harassing a man named Ron Hurd (played by "Fringie" -- as in, from Fringe -- Kirk Acevedo, YAY!), wanting him to admit an injustice he committed against her.
Ron refuses, but she returns later, at his home. He throws her off his property as she screams that she'll never go away. When he looks back, she's gone. Back in the house, he can hear someone creeping around. It's just your average giant lion-scorpion creature, waiting to send a giant stinger into Ron's heart.
Nick (David Giuntoli) and Hank (Russell Hornsby) look into it, and find a bloody napkin in the dumpster at the bar. Frankie had shown it to Ron after wiping her bloodied arm with it, but it appears to form some sort of code or message.
Nick and Hank begin looking into Jim McCabe (Gonzalo Menendez) and Troy Dodge (Todd Robinson), two other men who were connected with Ron through military service in Iraq. A fourth buddy has already been killed the week before, and the remaining men are in close communication. Frankie seems to have it out for all of them. Eventually, it is revealed that the men gang-raped her while they were serving in Iraq.
Troy decides to write up a confession, but his wife Betsy (Amy Newman) will have none of that. She tears it up and asks him to burn it, but she is killed before he has a chance to light the fire. Before he can call for help, he's a goner too.
Hank and Nick speak via video chat with the colonel (Dennis Adkins) in charge of Frankie and the men in Iraq. He feels guilty for being part of the cover-up of the rape, which happened on 11/11/10. That date also matches the shape of the cuts on her arm. Further research shows that the killer beast is a Manticore, and they believe Frankie to be the killer.
McCabe, the last (and most arrogant) of the rapists, goes about his business, but Frankie won't let him get off that easily. She slaps her arm, with the 11/11/10 markings, against his car window. Just as he is about to pull out a gun, Nick and Hank show up to arrest her.
Nick realizes that Frankie is not the culprit when she transforms into a Steinadler (hawk-like Wesen) while in custody. When he says he was expecting a Manticore, Gonzales brings up the colonel. They have her call him to meet, but he confesses right away.
The colonel soon meets with McCabe at the bar, where he knows the cops will be showing up. It turns out that McCabe killed Troy and Betsy specifically because Troy was going to confess. The colonel only killed the first two men, as his way of making amends for the cover-up. Guess what that means? They are both Manticores! Time for an epic Manticore battle...
The colonel purposely puts himself in a position to be stabbed to death just as the cops walk in. That means that, even though they can't put McCabe away for the rape, he will be going to prison for murder. The colonel was sick and only had three months to live anyway, so he gave his life getting justice for Frankie.
Meanwhile, Rosalee (Bree Turner) had not visited her mother Gloria (Bryar Freed-Golden) for seven years, but receives a letter to visit for the anniversary of her father's death. Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell) convinces her to go, and suggests he go with her to meet her mother and sister DeEtta (Laura Faye Smith) for the first time. Rosalee is extremely reluctant, but she finally agrees. After sitting in the car for a long time after a very long drive, Monroe finally convinces her to walk up to the door... which she does in a highly determined fashion, as if in battle.
When she reaches the door, she hesitates. Monroe gives her some support.
When the door opens, it's clear why Rosalee didn't want to go home: DeEtta gives some awesome bitchface. Gloria seems fine, however: she gives some lovely sweetface.
During dinner, DeEtta insults Monroe with a comment about Blutbaden not being detail-oriented enough to work on clocks, then antagonizes Rosalee for not showing up to their father's funeral. DeEtta tells Rosalee that she should at least apologize, but this sets Rosalee off, and she finally explains that she missed the funeral because she was in jail. She has been more sorry than they could ever imagine, but she didn't know how to fix it.
Each episode contains the episode number in some way, and this one is somewhat special for me, personally. When Rosalee storms out of the house, the number is clearly visible: 311, which is also the name of a band I used to obsess over in college.

Monroe gives Rosalee some moral support, explaining that this is just one of those things that happens in families. He then wonders what she stole, and is a bit overly excited to learn that it was a watch.
Later, DeEtta threatens to kill Monroe if he ever breaks Rosalee's heart. Now that she knows the truth, she has become a good sister!
In the meantime, Adalind (Claire Coffee) looks as if she's ready to burst. But the kicking baby has a very pleasing side-effect: telekinetic ability!
If a Hexenbiest baby kick was cool, then a contraction must be awesome! Ummm... maybe not. Her abilities get a bit out of hand when a contraction leads to a bit of mayhem. Just think what will happen when the Biest-baby finally pops out!
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Monday, December 30, 2013

'Person of Interest' GifTweetCap: Finch and Reese Are SO DONE!

"Person of Interest" continues with the episode "Lethe," minus Det. Carter. Fans won't forget her for a long time, and the characters are not forgetting about her either. Everything has changed. It is almost as if we are watching a new series.

The two characters most visibly affected by Carter's death are Reese and Finch. Reese reacts by drinking and ignoring people in need. Finch reacts by no longer answering pay phones calling out via the Machine with new numbers.
Root has not shirked her responsibilities to the Machine, however, continuing to receive numbers despite being locked up in a part of the library with supposedly no form of digital communication with the outside world.
The number revealed by Root belongs to Arthur Claypool (Saul Rubinek, from Warehouse 13, yay!), a terminally ill patient at a hospital with a brain tumor. One side effect of the tumor is trying to convince his doctors that he's not crazy by rambling on about things that sound crazy.
Shaw, undercover as a doctor, realizes that Claypool isn't so crazy after all when she notices that the Secret Service is protecting him. He is clearly important to the government, and his broken brain must contain some dangerous secrets! Evidence that Claypool is holding important information is confirmed when one of the secret service agents is poisoned by his Chinese food while questioning Shaw (who had been caught snooping on Claypool).
After the agent's death, Shaw immediately gets to work trying to convince Claypool and his wife Diane to come with her to safety. Claypool is unconvinced that either Shaw or Diane (whom he doesn't even recognize) are trying to help him. Then Finch walks in, and Claypool's face lights up. Shaw and Diane are both surprised to find that the two men are old friends.
As the group escapes the hospital, they realize who is after them: Vigilance, the group that has been trying to protect people's privacy by dropping lots of bodies of those who don't agree with them. Shaw lays down some cover fire from the window of the escape vehicle.
It turns out that Claypool was working on his very own Machine called Samaritan. The Samaritan project was discontinued, and Claypool's machine destroyed, when someone else "got there first" (Finch does not mention that he was the one who got there first).
It all goes sideways when Claypool suddenly remembers that his wife is dead. The woman posing as Diane is an impostor! She calls in her goons, revealing that she is part of "Control," Shaw's old organization that used to pull numbers from the Machine separately. Not only that, Fake Mrs. Claypool is the boss lady, and threatens to kill the either Finch or Claypool! The first man to hand over the location of the technology behind their respective machines gets to live. And then the episode ends, leaving us hangin' by a thread!
Meanwhile, Fusco tries to convince Reese to rejoin the team. He begins by sitting down for a drink, minus the alcohol. The tough-guys-don't-drink look Fusco gives Reese after putting in his order is priceless.
Reese refuses to stop drowning his sorrows in booze, so Fusco offers to straighten him out the only way Reese will listen to reason: by attempting to kick his ass. But this is Reese we're talking about: he doesn't need to be sober to win a fight.
The two men get out their aggression as best the can before getting caught by the cops. Oops!
Throughout the episode, we also get glimpses of Finch as a kid. As a young boy in 1969, he was already under the impression that machines would be built better if the builders did not intend you to open them up and take them apart.
As a slightly older boy in 1971, we learn why Finch built the Machine: because his father had a degenerative disease, and Finch wanted to figure out a way to store all of his dad's memories in a machine so he would never again forget anything.
By the time Finch was a teen in 1979, he was hacking payphones to make free calls to Paris in order to impress his friends, and his dad was wandering off and forgetting where he was.
Posted by at 1 comment:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)