Emergence Season 1 Episode 11 Review: Applied Sciences
Lizzy Buczak
at
.
What is this mission everyone keeps referring to on Emergence Season 1 Episode 11?
From the looks of it, Helen and the rest of the AI army has been preparing for this "one" event for their whole existence.
They call it their purpose, and even though some of them don't want to go through with it, they know they have to because they believe this is what they were made to do.
But what is it?
Emergence has been tiptoeing around the very thing that Piper needs to accomplish for far too long. Fans are getting impatient, I know I am.
The hunt for Piper revealed that she's much smarter and more observant than we initially believed, and the kindness she learned from Jo is something she carries with her.
Helen and Benny didn't "change" Piper, she was simply pretending to want to help them to get answers.
Jo: She didn’t want to go
Brooks: She sent you a message. She wanted to be found. What changed her mind?
Jo: I think they changed it for her.
Brooks: Let’s see if we can find a way to change it back.
She also refused to go home because she felt Benny's hesitation and sadness and wanted to help him.
Piper understands emotions on a very intelligent level and wanted to help all the AIs become powerful, free, and independent just like she is.
However, there's no denying that in addition to being a child, she's also a newer AI.
She may be powerful and have unmatched capabilities, but she also hasn't been around for as long as others like Helen.
Piper's weakness is that she's unaware of nefarious intentions, which meant that she didn't realize that she was being played.
Helen caught onto Piper's desire to help the other AIs and realized that Piper wasn't willing to help her tap into those "powers."
However, in yet another insane, unexpected twist, Helen then foolishly underestimated Piper despite being fully aware of her abilities.
I’m not telling them that the reason Piper didn’t come home with me is ‘cause she didn’t want to. I thought that that might be hard for them to hear.
Jo
What compelled her to think that threatening an AI that can do things no other AI can do was a good idea?
Piper's not evil enough to kill, but she's not opposed to throwing some metal objects to trap Helen while she escapes.
Piper's bravery, which is something she also inherited from Jo, finally led her home.
And the reunion was sweet, especially when Piper and Mia finally reunited. Their sisterly bond is genuine and proves that despite being a machine, Piper is all love and compassion.
Even the fact that she gave Benny so many chances shows just how much faith she has in the belief that people can change.
And Benny, despite saying he couldn't listen to the part of himself that wanted to fight back, did fight his instincts when he chose not to shoot Jo.
Turns out, there's hope for him after all and he can still help Jo win this fight even if it's with a broken jaw and behind bars.
Chris: You have to leave.
Alex: What, why?
Chris: The Chief said so. Okay? Very clear instructions.
Alex: She’s not my boss.
Chris: I feel like she is.
At the very least, we know he feels bad for betraying Jo.
However, a sweet reunion meant that something terrible was about to happen.
Helen's wrath at getting outplayed by Piper could be felt from miles away.
Not only did her goons shoot Brooks multiple times, but she got her hands on Emily, which is dangerous because Emily is the brains behind Piper's construction and mechanics.
If Piper won't teach Helen how to be powerful, Helen now has the next best thing in Emily.
Emily may have been the enemy at one point, but it seems like she came around and saw the light.
She realized that there's too much at stake when it comes to handing over power to someone like Helen who is dangerous no matter what her goal/ mission turns out to be.
Jo was right to be skeptical of Emily's eagerness to help, especially when she offered to drill a hole in her skull and do basic brain surgery, but Emily never once tried to pull a fast one on them.
She was brought in as an ally, and though we weren't sure if she was going to betray Brooks in the end, we had no choice but to trust her.
Emily is the only one that had the skills to crack the binary code, transcribe Piper's message, and get Jo access to the digital manifestations inside Piper's "safe space."
Unfortunately, now Emily is an asset that's fallen into the wrong hands.
What's worrisome is that Emily doesn't have anything to lose or gain from this situation.
And in this instance, all she can do is leverage her knowledge for freedom, which isn't a guarantee even if she does agree to help.
Helen had absolutely no problem killing anyone that's gotten in her way including people from her army.
Also, Brooks.
He's dead, right?
Emily: She's being you. What would Police Chief Jo Evans do if she thought people needed help?
Brooks: She'd risk her life to save them.
He sure seemed dead as he fell to the ground from multiple shots fired, but I hope he isn't.
The spark between him and Jo was electric (and that's not because they're constantly surrounded by machines), and he made a good side-kick whose skills were to up to par with hers.
If he became a victim in all of this, it's a talent gone too soon.
The very thing that happened to Brooks is what Jo is so scared of when it comes to Alex offering his help.
Yes, he's useful and his back-and-forth banter with Chris is the highlight of the episode, but Jo cannot afford to lose him in this fight.
She may have feelings for him, but she's never going to act on them because it's too dangerous.
That doesn't mean it made the moment where Alex tested the waters of their relationship any easier.
It broke my heart to see him so vulnerable; you could see it in his eyes that he just wished things could go back to normal.
While the DC job seems like a good idea, I don't necessarily know if working for a government job so far away from Jo is the best solution either.
From the looks of it, Helen and her people have reach and pull everywhere including government facilities.
Which brings me back to that government facility that Piper helped her break into.
What did she come to get before Piper trapped her with every single metal object available?
And did we ever find out what the liquid metal object on the boat was?
The power surge at the restaurant by the dock led Jo to find Piper, but what was it used for?
It's possible I missed this explanation.
Did it have something to do with the rods Helen is using to kill her AIs?
Is it what's powering all the AIs since the chip that's keeping them all alive seems to be made of the same material?
There was also a point in the episode where Helen noticed Piper's chip was cut out.
They think I’m helping them, but I’m just pretending.
Piper
Does this mean that Piper can somehow live without the chip? Everyone who has been stripped of their chip or had it removed (like the guy in Jo's trunk) died, but yet, somehow, Piper cut it out herself and has been living and thriving.
While the high-stakes of the episode kept me glued to the TV, it's frustrating to come out of an episode still not knowing where you fully stand.
What's Helen's end-game?
What does she need Piper to do?
How many other AIs like Piper are out there?
Will Benny come around?
In the words of Jo herself: "none of this makes sense."
The promos tease that there is one episode left, but from the looks of it, that one episode will be split into two different parts that will air throughout two weeks.
Hopefully, that's enough time to give us the answers we've been seeking for a full season.
Considering the series hasn't scored a renewal yet, these may be our final two episodes with Jo and Piper, so we need to get some clarity and closure.
Sound off in the comments section below with your thoughts!
Be sure to watch Emergence online and catch up on all episodes leading up the two-part finale!
Lizzy Buczak was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She retired in June 2021..
