‘Almost Human’ returns for its second week and finds Kennex and Dorian racing against time to stop a hostage situation that’s not what it appears.

Similar to last week’s second episode, this week starts off on the light hearted front with John and Dorian spending some quality partner time together, solidifying the fact that their chemistry is the strongest asset on the show and one of the most fun relationships to be a part of on television this year. Of course, things ratchet up quickly when they are called into the scene of a murder. After confirming the perps are still in the building, the duo make their way up the steps, just missing the light bomb that rips a hole into the lobby floor. It’s game on for Kennex who, despite Maldonado’s insistence that he focus on evacuating the rest of the building staff, is ready to take down the baddies. At his behest, Maldonado initiates signal jam protocols, effectively shutting down any communication the criminals are able to do. They are nonplussed at this information (more on that later) and Dorian gets a headful of rings as all 911 calls unable to leave the building are routed to him. They get very lucky when Paige, an employee at the office, gets through to them. Hiding in a supply closet the bad guys ineptly forgot to search, she’s terrified for her sister Jenna, who’s out on the floor with the other hostages. Her fear-o-meter is ramped up quite a bit when she watches one of her co-workers gunned down then hurled out the window. On the outside, Detective Paul gets first crack at the unfortunate murder victim, turning him over to reveal a “No Cops…Stay Out” sign taped to his chest.

The leader of the black hats, Lucas Vincent, a documented member of the Holy Reclamation Army (HRA), relays his demands to Maldonado. Last on his list and more than a little dangerous is the fission igniter. When she balks at that particular request, he offers her a scant 43 minutes to fulfill his list. John and Dorian continue to make their way to the 25th floor. Paige is becoming more unhinged as time goes on and the gruff Kennex is tasked with calming her down. He tells her the tale of when he fell through the ice as a kid and his father rescued him. Despite still being in the water, he didn’t feel alone with his dad there. “You’re not alone,” he tells Paige and his words, measured and heartfelt calms her a bit more.

Channeling a bit of MacGyver to patch up Dorian

Though they may not be able to get a working fission igniter, Rudy tells the Captain he can create a replica. As he moves to do so, Stahl gives Maldonado the skinny on the HRA and possible motivations for their actions. A bit more than halfway to their destination, John and Dorian run into a bit of resistance. The ensuing battle leaves one assailant injured (though he escapes) one dead, and an injured Dorian. Just before he loses the ability to walk, Dorian recognizes that the assailants are wearing face makers. On top of that, they find a curious red button with the word “START” etched into it. Based on the frequency he gathers from the face maker tech, Dorian’s able to ascertain the number of black hats in the building. He tries walking Kennex through performing some good old fashion maintenance on his damaged head. John channels his inner MacGyver, using some nail clippers, a used Q-Tip and old gum to repair Dorian enough to walk. All the while he continues offering confidence to Paige, even sharing his middle name (Reginald in honor of his dad’s love for Elton John). It helps a bit though in the end, despite knowing he and Dorian are close, can’t bear to be without her sister and slips in amongst the somewhat inept criminals. She does plant her phone in with the others and it gives John and Dorian the info they need. The hostage situation is a diversion for a large scale palladium heist going on a few blocks away, with the small red buttons used by the two criminal teams as a means of communication. Coupled with Paige’s intel of bad guys waiting for them at the 25th floor entrance and Dorian hearing the ominous click of another light bomb primed, the DRN knows he has to do something drastic and uses the elevator shaft to access the ventilation system. He drops in on the gang, cutting down all but two who end up getting the upper hand on him. Kennex arrives behind the previous bad guy’s face maker and takes out the remaining two. Dorian’s able to disarm the bomb and John puts a call into Maldonado to shut off the jammers. Once their turned off, the armed robbers in the palladium building are trapped with nowhere to go.

Dorian gets some cosmetic triage done on his face and John and Paige meet for the first time.  As they put off full blown repairs for Dorian for some noodles, the android admits that, when the gun was pointed at his head, he realized he didn’t want to die. He tries to qualify it, being that it would be different for him but John reminds him “Dead is dead.” The serious moment is broken up by Dorian’s ‘Benny and the Jets’ Elton John sing-along. As it stands, he’s got a good voice for an android; there may be a future in the 2048 Karaoke Circuit.

More than Human

  • Three episodes in and a few things are clear with ‘Almost Human’. In addition to the peas and carrot chemistry between Urban and Ealy, the show continues to impress with his action sets and music. The former is represented by a serious gun battle on an office floor between cubicles while the latter is sprinkled throughout the show, culminating in the aforementioned ‘Benny and the Jets’. If ‘Almost Human’ continues with the trifecta of goodness and ups the ante in the show proper, the sky’s the limit.
  • Unfortunately there wasn’t much room in the show for Detective Stahl. Though visibly shaken when the lead baddie said he’d killed Kennex and Dorian, she was able to see the ruse for what it was; a way to gather info on the two men who, at the time, didn’t know the identities of. One can only hope next week’s outing puts her at the center of the action.