Tonight's Almost Human wasn't the best of the season, but it wasn't the worst. It was, for all intents and purposes, a solid episode of the freshman Fox program. 

And that's saying a lot for a series which has been plagued by uneven storytelling and a lack of cohesion of its story arcs.

There's been little mention of Insyndicate. We haven't gotten more information about the ambush that cost Kennex his human partner. Maldonado remains pretty wooden.

The one thing that Almost Human has had going for it through its first 13 episodes has been the relationship between Kennex and Dorian. Almost Human Season 1 Episode 13 saw John Kennex fully accept his android partner as a member of the police force.

It's difficult to think about the Almost Human season finale without thinking of the entire first season. Perhaps that's what finales are supposed to make us do. 

The subplot of tonight's episode, that of Dorian's performance evaluation, was more important in many ways than Kennex clearing his late father's name, though it was never in doubt that he'd receive anything other than a glowing review. But the fact that he worried was enough to cast doubt on the process. 

Dorian has been the most important part of this entire series so far.

The reason that tonight's serial killer hunt felt unimportant is because there's been no significant exploration of John's history. We know he had a girlfriend. We know he loves being a cop. We now know his father was a cop, and a good one, who was framed. 

There's very little about that which is worth caring about because none of it has been told in a manner that felt organic. John's history has been a hodgepodge of "oh, by the way, this happened" all season, and that's been kind of disappointing.

But Dorian? Dorian hasn't disappointed once. 

His synthetic soul is something fun to watch. He worries like a human. He "was made to feel." Watching him almost cry at the end because John said such glowing things about him was delightful and endearing. 

Seeing the ways that John has come around to his android partner have been special moments as well. They stand in opposition to the less relevant pieces of John's life (which should probably be the more relevant pieces).

It's hard to watch this show and not fall in love with Dorian, which is as much a tribute to Michael Ealy as it is to the way the character has been written. He's a better human than the actual humans which is a nice contrasting use of technology throughout the show. 

Here's Dorian, who in every way makes life better for those he encounters, surrounded by the technology threatening to overtake their world. 

It's an interesting and Fringe-ian look at the world of evolving technology and its ability to help and hurt humanity, which has been another common theme throughout the season. And a welcomed one, at that.

The thought which goes into the weekly cases and the tech behind them adds more heart to this series than to other police drama procedurals, and that's been a reason to tune in week to week.

There's definitely potential here. 

There have been some hiccups along the way, that's for sure, but Almost Human still feels like the kind of show I want to watch, if only to see Dorian and John's partnership develop.

Where do we go from here? I don't know, but part of me hopes we'll have the opportunity to find out.

What did you think of the Almost Human season 1 finale? Is Dorian the reason you tune in each week? Grade Almost Human season 1.

Miranda Wicker was a Staff Writer for TV Fanatic. She retired in 2017. Follow her on Twitter.