Alphas 1x03 Review

Episode Title: Anger Management
Overall Season Rating: A-
Episode Rating: A-

Alphas is turning out to be a pretty heavy show. So far all three episodes have dealt with much more serious issues than I imagined. These are not fun adventures they go on, these are dangerous missions. Along with the powers, the show also deals with the psyche of the characters. We get deep exploration of the good guys, and the bad. Last week we had a man who had been traumatized by his treatment at the hospital where Rosen sends most of the Alphas he meets. This week, we meet a kid who has to deal with anger and violence following him where ever he goes. He too it seems had a very traumatic past.

I hope the show doesn't shy away from this aspect in later episodes. I think it's a strength, and sets it apart from the many shows about people with powers that have come and gone in recent years. These are not super heroes, or people altered by something crazy. This is a group of regular, and troubled people who have special abilities. I like that so far, none of the abilities are really out of this world. They all pretty much just have enhanced human skills. That makes it very real, and allows us to understand their struggle.

I want to apologize for there being no review last week.

Read on for the episode recap

The episode starts on a New York subway. A couple is arguing, and then a girl get up and tries to run off. A cop stops her, and suddenly the whole train goes insane. Everyone starts beating the crap out of everyone else. It hits the climax when the cop has his gun pointed at him, and fired, killing him. A pretty shocking way to start a show. I love how they set up immediately that this situation is very dangerous. Again, it allows us to understand their urgency, and why Homeland Security would be on their case about figuring it out.

As expected the Alpha team is called in to investigate. Gary continues to complain about a "hum" that he hears, and he blames a microwave tower across the street. I love that later Gary says that he complains, it's what he does. At least he knows it. Dr. Rosen tells Rachel that she should be more assertive around her parents, and we find out that Hicks is getting a divorce. The divorce certainly gives us more information about the character, but I wonder if they are setting up an issue with his kid for a future episode.  

At the subway station Nina has gotten the cops to tell her what happened. I guess this was because they were not being cooperative earlier. We know that Rosen prefers her not use her powers. Don Wilson shows up, and basically orders them to figure this out. There have been events like this in multiple locations, and several people have died. In the subway car Rachel finds a stuffed toy monkey that smells very bad to her. Turns out it's covered in pheromones. They believe that whoever is doing this is releasing massive amounts of them, and that causes the violent behavior. Hicks still isn't totally on board, but Nina tells him that they need him. They also find out that the monkey belongs to a girl named Tracy. Hicks suggests that might be a fake name. They know they have to find this girl.

They go home until they are called, and we see Rachel with her mom. Her mom is apparently trying to set her up with a man, but Rachel doesn't want to hear it. Gary finds her, and Alpha Team assembles. They arrive at the location, and Rachel tries to follow the smell. Everyone is fighting outside of a Hostel(are there really Hostels in New York?), and Tracy gets away. They do however catch up with the guy she was with. Turns out he is her brother, and he's immune to her Alpha power. They take him back to their offices, and Rosen starts talking to him. Although, Wilson wanted his men to interrogate him. We find out that his name is Matthew Hurley, and his sister's name is actually Alice. When they were younger, their father beat their mother to death. Rosen asks twice if Alice was the cause, and Matthew doesn't answer.

Since we find out that it is actually Matthew who is the Alpha, I think that the story about the parents is true. I think he is indeed the cause of this event, and it so traumatized him that he ran away. I wonder what happened to the real Alice Hurley. Maybe she died due to him as well. I wonder what his relationship is to Tracy. It seems like they are close friends, but she is definitely scared of him. Anyway, Rosen tells Matthew that they just want to help "Alice", and that she simply has a medical condition. Agent Wilson then shows up, and starts acting all aggressive. This is when Rosen realizes Matthew has been lying, and he's the one causing the riots.

It's a bit too late though because with one touch Matthew releases pheromones into the air causing the entire team to go insane. Everyone except Bill start beating the crap out of each other. Wilson tries to chase down Matthew, but he is beaten to death by one of his own agents.  This was very shocking, that really is a great example of the seriousness of this show. This is not a silly, fun filled adventure.

We find out that Bill wasn't affected because of his serotonin levels. Rosen gives Hicks a dose, and they head off to get Matthew. They confront him at the bus station where he was going to meet Tracy. To avoid capture Matthew starts another riot. Bill takes off after him, and Hicks attempts to stop the madness with a fire extinguisher. When that fails, he picks up Tracy and using his power, steps on people to reach the second floor to get her to protection. Now on a bus, Matthew starts yet another riot, but Bill gets him finally by knocking him out.

Matthew is sent to Binghamton, and Rosen is worried about how he will be treated. Those in charge there don't seem to care as much, and we can hear screams from inside the facility. Rachel is upset because while under the influence of the pheromones, she said some very nasty things to her mother on the phone. Nina offers her a place to stay. I liked that it wasn't just to help Rachel, but that she acknowledged they both could use the company. Rosen asks them all in for a meeting, and he tells them they will move on. It's really meant to calm them, and let them know that even though Wilson was killed they still have each other, and they still have a purpose. They caught Matthew, and it was in the end, only they who could have. At the end of the episode, Gary gets some peace as well as Hicks destroys the Microwave tower with a baseball. I had thought during the episode that the "hum" was going to be something important, but I guess it's not.