Enlightened - Season 2 Episode 4 - Recap and Review - Follow Me
After spending some time with Levi during last week’s episode, Enlightened re-centered its focus on Amy’s (Laura Dern) personal “project” this week in “Follow Me”. Enlightened finally had Amy consider the power of a platform based on interconnection as opposed to self-righteousness. I mean, Amy has always been a walking paradox of a character; self-centered in her selflessness. That’s what makes her so interesting to watch. She has a solid vision of global awareness, yet she can’t get out of her own headspace. Her goal is to educate and inform, yet she talks at people rather than to them. Still, it seems as though Season 2 is focusing more and more on shattering the naivety and working Amy’s plan into a realm where it has actual potential to make a change. Twitter changes everything!
HBO "Enlightened"
The episode opened with an excited Helen (Diane Ladd) fawning over Jeff (Dermot Mulroney) as Amy’s prospective new boyfriend. Of course, Amy had only seen Jeff as an accomplice of change up until this point. At dinner, the two discussed their continuing plan of action to take down Abaddon, yet, it’s been becoming increasingly clearer as the episodes pass by that Jeff is way less interested in what Amy is investing her time in than she is. Their encounters are beginning to look a lot more like one-sided dates, as Jeff appears disenchanted with her findings. Amy, naïve as ever, is clueless to the complete range of ambitions that a man in power, albeit a renowned humanitarian journalist, may have. Unlike the cocky corporate jerks she’s used to working with, this is a guy who’s used to being praised for his moral compass, and that can lead to a whole new kind of douchery when the time comes. Either that, or he could end up being a legitimate love interest for Amy; introducing her to his world and helping her get her sea legs among the “aware” elite.
Jeff introduced Amy to the world of social networking. Previously, Amy had seen technology as a source of corruption and a reason to disengage. After listening to Jeff, though, she managed to see the benefits of a self-made and perpetuated platform. Even a twitter can make a difference when you feel like a nobody.
Tyler (Mike White) had been under the impression that their work would be covert and was reluctant to send up any red flags surrounding their recent hacking sprees. Amy had made it a point this episode to introduce herself to the very head of Abaddon, if only to just “look the enemy in the eye.” Dougie (Tim Sharpp) had been on to their whispering fests, as it was. Excuses like “discussing American Idol” weren’t going to cut it for much longer. He made plans to stay late and inspect their computers, still reeling from the fact that Omar had bit the dust as a result of someone’s hacking skills. After giving Tyler the chance to rat Amy out in exchange for amnesty (Tyler didn’t bite), Dougie had no choice but to fry the two of them together. They would have to think fast.
Amy’s joining of the twitterverse was just the start of it. Jeff invited her to the home of a well-known activist who achieved greatness blogging from her local Starbucks. At the party, Amy found herself surrounded by the great minds she aspires to be among. Still, it became clear that this world of selfless work and fulfilling fights had its own certain kind of exclusivity. In a way, she’d not only have to struggle to convince the “zombies” of Abaddon to change their ways, she’d need to convince these empowered and acclaimed humanitarians to include her. It is a bit hypocritical, but that is unfortunately how any social circle of human beings ends up working. Amy found herself chatting with the cater waiter from her favorite Chili’s.
As he walked her to the valet, Amy thanked Jeff for the opportunity to dip her toes in his world; however, just before she could get into her tow-up car, he planted one on her lips. She played it off as a kiss goodbye, but it became clear then that Helen wasn’t too far off with her assumptions.
In a leap of faith, Tyler and Amy had no choice but to attempt to pull Dougie into their scheme. Having discovered their involvement in Omar’s termination, Dougie found himself aghast when he realized his relationships with the corporate tools running the company were utter shams. Scores of emails cruelly mocking him were enough to convince Dougie to ally himself with Amy in an attempt to take down Abaddon. Nobody makes japes about Dougie’s hair and gets away with it, apparently. Plus, with Cogentiva on the brink of collapse, he had nothing to lose.
HBO "Enlightened"
Having Dougie’s level of hacking expertise and higher position of power on his side will do Amy and Tyler a lot of good. What would be better, if not a wee bit risky, would be lassoing in the entire Cogentiva team. I know the Season 2 posters depict Omar and Connie right there with the trio, marching in the fight against corporate douche bags everywhere. Who knows what may unfold next for the league of underappreciated and overworked computer geeks trapped in the confines of Abaddon’s basement.
Amy also found some time to check in with Krista (Sarah Burns) during the episode. Yeah, she basically just annoyed her some more and scared of Janice. Still, I think it’s important to note that Krista is still in the hospital and, more importantly, on the show. I have a feeling the company’s toxic products have something to do with her ailment.
Finally, we’re left with newly social networking Amy, bidding her potential army to “follow her” into war.
What did you all think of Enlightened Season2 Episode 4, “Follow Me”? Is an Amy Jelicoe twitter a good thing or a bad thing? What will come of the rest of Cogentiva’s staff? What will come of Amy and Jeff’s budding relationship?
Thanks for reading my Recap and Review of Enlightened Season2 Episode 4, “Follow Me”!
