It’s almost like I just did one of these yesterday… weird. Well, after a promising pilot episode, Almost Human is back already for a second round. Does it bring an interesting plot this time around? Does it further the meaningful (and totally gay) looks between Karl Urban and Michael Ealy? Well… yes to both.
So let’s get cracking!
Note: There are probably definitely some slight spoilers in here. I mean, I don’t like divulging details in these things, but I am talking explicitly about the show and what I thought so they’re bound to slip through. You are warned.
Okay, But Was That Really Necessary?
While I will admit that this episode’s story was leaps and bounds ahead of the pilot in terms of interest and stakes, I gotta be honest and say opening an episode with a woman in lingerie to get people interested still weirds me out. Obviously, it’s inevitable when the episode deals with android sex workers, but opening with that had me slightly uncomfortable from the off. Not that don’t like women in lingerie, I just wish we could stop using it as a prop in media, you feel me? At least the rest of the episode makes up for it.
Future Tech That Looks Useful
“Dangerous advancements forever alter the criminal landscape. Police are not prepared.” The opening narration to the episode was kind of goofy, I thought, but is a nice way to get people on the same page starting the episode, I suppose. That line stuck out to me, though, as I was watching the episode because it actually paid off throughout the episode. We saw DNA Bombs used to contaminate crime scenes and make forensics practically useless, Flash Masks used to render CCTV footage useless without facial recognition and a license plate scrambler. That’s all stuff that makes sense, with a little science fantasy thrown in, for criminals to use to cover their tracks and actually a nice touch watching the police try to navigate around it. Not a bad job.
Robots With Feelings
As I said last time around, the relationship between Ealy and Urban is clearly the heart of the show and here it goes even further. The two of them bicker like an old married couple throughout the show and not only does never feel boring or tired, it’s always funny. Well, to me at least, but these are my thoughts so. The partnership is already on really solid footing because of the chemistry between the two and that just lifts up the show around it it.
There’s also a look here into how Dorian, as a robot who simulates human emotions, deals with cases directly related to androids. This leads to a actually quite touching scene where Urban explains why we say that someone is in a better place when they die. And, as all good TV shows should, the episode uses that scene as foreshadowing to how the episode ends for both characters. A really nice touch that is giving depth to an interesting character and giving a lot of material to Ealy to work with as he is pretty phenomenal here.
Gee, This Show Is Pretty Dark
We’re two episodes in and already we’ve had a plot about a raid on the police station to steal evidence and a plot about organ harvesting for realistic androids. That’s… pretty heavy stuff for a show I thought was going to be Happy Android Fun Time. This is a complaint, mind you, I am all for the show taking realistic looks at how crime operates in this future thanks to the technology available. This is a good foot forward in how well constructed the episodes can be especially given how plot-light the pilot was. If it can keep this up, we’re looking at great show.
But Really With The Dubstep?
You know, this isn’t to say I’m not a fan of dubstep or electronic music, but the use of music in the climax of the episode really did bring me out of the whole affair. Instead of being really pumped about seeing the police finally get to where the bad guys are, I was just sitting there kind of confused as to why they’d choose that music for that moment. Mostly because it wasn’t even all that good. It only lasted for a small scene and wasn’t all that bad, it was just a very odd choice.
