This week, Dr. Rosen and the team come face to face with a disturbed Alpha under Parrish’s control.

Being a teenager can be hell sometimes. As evidenced by the sad tale being woven by Jason Miller, a teenage alpha last seen in the creepy hospital episode. He was a coma patient being experimented on by Stanton Parrish, using the photic sensor that increased the power of any Alpha’s abilities. Jason’s abilities have been heightened to the point where he can control anyone around him with just one touch. Slowly, he ropes half of his high school into his collective hivemind, all because he’s, well, a lonely kid. Dr. Rosen tries to intervene when, to his surprise, Stanton Parrish asks him for help, citing a huge conflict of interest, obviously. Jason’s powers are causing those around him, such as his mother, to develop brain tumors. Despite being one of Parrish’s most powerful Alphas, Parrish wants to help Jason, and recruits Rosen to try and break through his growing hive of mindless followers. Meanwhile, Nina is trying to fix some of the mental damage she may have done to the senator she’s been pushing, after having to rescue the bewildered woman from on-coming traffic.

A lot of the appeal of this episode came from it’s kind of ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’ meets ’28 Days Later’ vibe, as Jason is able to turn anyone into a robot to do his bidding, which ends up turning a group of nice young people into a ravenous, violent mass. But Jason’s not a bad kid, and one of the better moments in the episode comes from a scene where he makes his crush Lisa, start to remove her clothes before realizing the hollow world he’s created, as well as his steps toward non-consensual sexual advances. No one needs to hit him over the head and tells him he’s wrong, he does it himself, which is refreshing from the creepy loner stereotype. Of course, when Jason feels threatened by the team’s attempts to help, the Breakfast Club hoard comes chasing after them, trapping them at the office, like something out of ‘The Walking Dead’. Rosen quickly realizes that Parrish is a part of Jason’s hivemind, but rather as someone who can control it, if necessary. In order to help Jason and get Parrish out of Jason’s head, Rosen must become part of the hivemind and get Jason to let go of all of his “friends” and trust him. In the end, the kids are saved, but not before Parrish kills a couple of guards. Rosen gets a glimpse into Parrish’s past experiences, and finally realizes that his daughter Dani has been a double agent.

Some little things:

  • Kat wants to be a “probationary agent.” Gary’s worried that she’s trying to steal Bill, but hangs with her when she’s disappointed that her first mission is ‘stay by the van.’ Says Gary: ‘It’s supposed to be less dangerous but I got arrested once.’
  • Bill’s knee is all messed up, probably because of his involvement with Alphas Fight Club. Dr. Rosen takes notice and Bill pulls the ‘as long as I can do my work’ excuse.
  • They really need ballistic glass on all the floors.
  • Parrish has an Alpha that can mimic voices.
  • Rachel’s powers are permanently heightened, it seems, since she can now see things in wavelengths, like the psychic barriers surrounding Jason’s victims
  • The visual of Jason’s hivemind as the prom, with Parrish turning away all of his “friends” was actually very clever and pretty heart breaking
  • Jon is buying Rachel $100 scotch. Also, Rachel and Nina almost have a nice reconciliatory moment, but Nina has to take care of the damage with the senator. But if they’re on the way back to friends, that would be…nice.