Almost Human - Recap: Dorian Gets to Drive

Episode 10 of Season 1 of Almost Human, “Perception,” introduced us to the world of chromes, genetically enhanced folks of this dystopian society. A secret of Valerie’s (Minka Kelly) was revealed along the way, but the one doing most of the digging was Kennex (Karl Urban), who has decided to continue on with his illegal and dangerous methods of recovering the memories blown from his brain during the Insyndicate attack. When two of these young chromes turned up dead, an old case was reopened that led John and Dorian (Michael Ealy) to some more shocking discoveries. Finally, Captain Maldonado (Lili Taylor) got out of the office and into a bar! Here is the Recap and Review of Season 1 Episode 10 of Almost Human, “Perception”!

Episode 10 was crammed full of information and the show quickly bounced from scene to scene and from plot to plot. It honestly felt at one point like I was viewing two episodes back to back. I’ll try to divide up the recap accordingly.

First, the case of the murdered chromes. Two young girls died in a flash within moments of each other. One was practicing some sort of beautiful mental symphony in an empty theater. The other was simply exploring nature and the science coming alive around her. Imagine having the ability to literally see everything from the circumference of a tree trunk to the notes of a song. Personally, it looked like hell to me, but we were to presume that it was this cool kind of hyper-intelligence; however, their bliss was cut short, and they simply fell to the ground.

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Dorian and Kennex were as puzzled as the rest of us initially, but it was Valerie who turned out to be even more useful during Episode 10 than she normally is. Valerie is a chrome, though it isn’t typical for chromes to do the kind of work Valerie does. Her knowledge of their world proved important. These are children enhanced by their parents in an effort to create super successful human beings. The team quickly put together that these two deceased teenage girls knew each other well through their social networking accounts. They also managed to discover that both girls died with some sort of very new and unrecognizable drug in their system. Had they simply overdosed in the same instant? A new piece of the puzzle added a twist. Another girl had previously died with this mystery drug in her system months prior, though her death was deemed an accidental drowning and her dosage was way less.

With a little help from Rudy (Mackenzie Crook), the team managed to figure out that this new drug was catered to each girl’s specific DNA. Think of it as a drug that produces a high unique to one’s own brain. This kind of a drug, one with a chemical makeup so specific, would require a very rare kind of a chemical printing machine to make. With only three in existence, it was easy to use their online digital cloud records to trace back to the illegal dealer using samples of the victims’ DNA. Thus, with all of the gathered information, John, Dorian, and Valerie had three stops to make over the course of Episode 10.

John and Dorian visited the mother of Lila, the first victim of this seemingly planned overdose attack. Lila was no chrome, just a very gifted girl who earned her way into Mendel Academy along with those designed to go there. Her mother realized that something was amiss when her daughter’s drowning case was so poorly handled, even forcing her to hire a private investigator. The two girls who now joined her as overdose victims refused to step forward with any information, making it seem as though the girl was doing this drug all by herself. If your parents can afford to make you a chrome, chances are they have loads of cash. Money, needless to say, works wonders, and this woman’s efforts were snuffed out entirely.

Next, it was interesting to see Valerie questioning students at Mendel Academy. First, we got to witness her meeting with the only other non-chrome student in Lila’s class, though she admitted to not having been friends with the girl. Lila was desperate for approval and to be among the best, the chromes. Valerie, who is a chrome herself, seems to have this utter distaste for others like her. We’d witness that first hand when she interviewed Marshall, a chrome who was the epitome of pretentious around both Valerie and Kennex. This was an interesting twist to Valerie as a character from Almost Human, and I think it was a smart idea to add more depth. My one complaint with this series is that it’s focused too much time on these weekly cases and not enough on character development, but that’s all changing.

Lastly, Dorian and Kennex journeyed over to Julian’s house to check out the chemical printer. There, we met the recently expelled student who’d been using his deceased father’s work technology to make illegal drugs, and funny enough, he was high when the partners arrived. From the start, it was clear that this boy was loopy, but I also think it was clear that he was at least somewhat innocent in all of this. Had someone hacked his machine from afar? While this conversation sent up red flags, Valerie managed to dig up some unsettling text conversations between one of the recently deceased girls and her father. Therefore, John and Dorian had another stop to make. There, they managed to stir the truth out of the man by cluing him in to the fact that his daughter’s death was most likely a homicide, not a drug overdose. Rather than taking legal action to protect himself, her father admitting to paying people off to snuff out Lila’s mother’s fight to learn the truth about her own daughter’s death. He did so, of course, to protect his daughter’s reputation and future, though none of that mattered now.

Still, the question remained as to who’d hacked this chemical printer and ordered these two girls dead. Another conversation with Julian at the precinct revealed the clear truth. He was in love with Lila, flaws and all, and a tape left to him the night of her death proved that she felt that in return. Lila’s mother put a ton of pressure on her, and the girl never felt adequate among her peers. Julian never wanted her to take this new drug, though she did anyway, and inevitably crumbled under the weight of realizing that there is so much knowledge in the world that she will never be able to comprehend like a chrome can. We watched along with everybody, including Lila’s mother, as her daughter said her goodbye and walked into the ocean of her own volition. Thus, this was a suicide, and it was certainly one of the most poignant moments Almost Human has put up so far.

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Lila’s mother had hired the hacker to eliminate the girls who’d gotten off scot-free. Her rage was one that only one other character could relate to. Kennex, if you recall, has been desperate for answers regarding the Insyndicate attack that he feels personally responsible for. He fell in love with Anna, the woman who ended up betraying them all, and somehow she managed to use him to gain access to police files and records. Kennex spent the episode popping these very controversial pills, drugs with side effects like blackouts and tremors. At one point, he nearly killed Dorian in a car crash, but the toll on his own mind was worth the risk if it meant answers. Dorian got to drive for once, though! One of my favorite scenes this week was between Maldonado and Kennex at a local bar. First, it was great to see the Captain in some street clothes; however, what was most important here was that she made it very clear that she’d become aware of his problem but had enough respect for him as a friend to talk to him as such outside of the police headquarters. Later, a member from internal affairs re-questioned John due to all of his digging, reopening old wounds and swiftly rubbing salt in them. It seems John still has enemies within the force, though this scene was another great dramatic moment.

After revisiting the illegal recollectionist we met on the Pilot episode, John was led to one important clue. A Russian nesting doll left behind in his apartment was analyzed by a friend in the labs. There, they managed to piece together that someone had been mysteriously listening in on everything that has been going down in John’s apartment through special radio-laced paint on the doll, a "gift" planted by Anna.

What did you think of Almost Human, Season 1 Episode 10, “Perception”? Do you like how Almost Human is starting to hit its stride? Do you want to get to know these characters better? Any ideas on what Insyndicate is about?

Thanks for reading my Recap and Review of Almost Human, Season 1 Episode 10, “Perception”!