Emergence Season 1 Episode 4 Review: No Outlet
Lizzy Buczak
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Emergence wasted no time asking the follow-up questions to "who is Piper."
Much like the fandom, Jo wanted to know who was living in her house on Emergence Season 1 Episode 4.
Specifically, what she was, where she came from, and what was she capable of.
Since Benny tracked down Emily, Jo figured she'd squeeze out as much intel out of her as possible.
The gist of Emily's information was that there is absolutely no human aspect to Piper. She's 100% AI, code, synthetic, or whatever else you want to call it.
But that doesn't necessarily explain the bio side of things -- the bleeding, the blood being drawn, even something as simple as drinking water.
I mean look at you, you don't even know enough to be afraid yet.
Emily
Even Emily couldn't answer that one.
Kindred and Augur Industries may be dangerous, but there's nothing more dangerous than a woman and mom who wants to know the truth.
Jo's hunt for answers was thrilling and aptly mirrored our quest for the truth.
She didn't stop after getting a sliver of the information nor was she scared away by all the danger signs.
After poking at Emily, she openly asked Kindred.
He gave her the runaround and compared Piper to a chimpanzee who exhibited human behavior until it one day turned on the family.
The bottom line is that he echoed the same thing Benny and Emily did: code is dangerous and unpredictable.
For a bit, Jo also seemed concerned, especially after Piper blew up the Child Service's lady's phone.
Her worries were amplified when she and Benny found Piper's "old" deserted and eerily picture-perfect neighborhood.
Every house on the block looked the same as though Piper was living in a simulation.
Inside the destroyed house, Jo and Benny also saw a video showcasing exactly what went down during Piper's meltdown.
Jo: Emily, listen, I need to know who is sleeping in my house. What was she made for?
Emily: I don't know. I just worked on a tiny piece of her code.
Jo: Her code? She has been examined by a doctor. She has had blood drawn. She loves Rice Krispy treats. How is that code?
Emily: That's the bio side. I don't know how it all works.
Jo: I mean, is she real?
Emily: What is real?
Benny: Is she a human body with a synthetic AI?
Emily: No. Synthetic everything.
Benny: Incredible.
Jo: Does she know what she is?
Emily: No. That would create a fatal exception error. Telling an AI it's an AI effectively destroys the program.
What exactly does all of this mean?
For starters, it's clear that Kindred will say or do whatever is necessary to get back what belonged to him.
He also wants the drive that Benny's friend April helped him crack because it's physical evidence of their experimentation and proves that the AI outsmarted them with a mind of its own.
Remember when people warned us about the dangers of robots one day taking over the world?
Yeah, this is kind of like that.
No one was able to control Piper, and they weren't swift enough to hit 'reset.'
Which begs the question -- how many times was Piper 'reset' and what other destructive behaviors did she express?
Are those visions she's been having part of her memories from her previous life cycles?
Is that what happened after she crashed the plane?
Keeping Piper around may be dangerous, but Jo may be the only person that can get through to Piper since the robotic girl wants to be part of the family.
If she's as dangerous as they say, it's best that she's with someone who cares about her but also understands the severity of the situation.
Having Jo become Piper's legal guardian is a good thing.
Piper seemingly trusts Jo, for now, and likes her.
But we don't know enough about Piper to understand if this behavior, this connection to another human, is normal.
Maybe this is how she always started each trial and then her anger progressed?
Jo's optimistic view of Piper is heartwarming; despite knowing the truth, she sees a young girl looking for a family.
It speaks to Jo's strong, maternal character, yet it also gives way to her naivety.
As much as she wants to believe in the best, she cannot ignore all the warning signs.
Richard Kindred: You found something dangerous, and you think you understand it.
Jo: So help me understand. How much of her is programming, and how much is real?
Richard Kindred: Real? Well, that's the trillion-dollar question, isn't it?
Yes, Augur and Kindred have an agenda, but I don't think they're lying about Piper's capabilities.
And Benny has a point in saying that Piper may come off humanlike, but she's no human.
In fact, there may be something backing up his comment that she's "manipulative."
The moment Piper sensed that Jo was gearing up to have a "serious" talk, she halted the car and stepped out to help a turtle.
It seems kindhearted, good-natured, sweet, all of that, but it could be Piper's way of convincing Jo that she isn't a threat.
And it worked.
Jo: Do you want to know who you are?
Piper: Sometimes I think I don't.
Deciding to take the camera out of her room was a premature move.
One act of kindness doesn't negate the very fact that she's a robot with specific programming.
What happens when she's hacked?
It's assuring to know that, at the very least, Jo knows that if things go sideways, she's to inform Piper that she's AI, which would supposedly cause a fatal exception.
Seriously, shouldn't there be a shutdown button or power down button or something?
The contingency plan only works if Piper truly doesn't know what she is, however.
You have answers, Jo, you just don't want to believe them. One way or another, you have to let her go.
Benny
Considering the way she smiled when Jo took the camera out of her room and the way she creepily asked if Jo's scared of her, she likely knows a lot more than she's letting on.
Jo and Benny are both in over their heads, but at least Benny is being realistic about it.
Having someone track him and April down wasn't surprising.
Kindred's team doesn't like loose ends.
And while the cliffhanger was a solid attempt at throwing the fans off, it's unlikely that Benny will die.
He's too valuable to the storyline and to Jo -- she can't talk about any of this stuff with her ex-husband or father. Benny's the only one who understands what's really going on.
Other Emerging Thoughts
- Who called Emily? There's something very shady about her and they shouldn't just trust her. What if she's AI, too? There's nothing specifically saying that they only tested on children. And there's no exact way to tell if someone is a human or android.
- Jo's poker face is terrible. Piper knew immediately that something was wrong seeing how fidgety Jo was.
- If Jo never allowed Benny to write that article about Piper, Child Services would have never been involved. It's still unclear why she thought that was a sound idea.
- The episode kept glitching for me, which I thought was pretty ironic considering the nature of the episode.
What do you think of Emergence thus far?
Are they giving you enough answers?
Do you trust Piper? Is Jo being naive?
You can watch Emergence online and comment your thoughts below!
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Lizzy Buczak was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She retired in June 2021..
