So, I just finished watching, for the second time, the 5th episode of Alphas, entitled, "Never Let Me Go." In this episode, the team, first starting off with just Dr. Rosen and Rachel, begin investigating strange deaths in a rural Pennsylvania town. It seems that the deaths are caused by some form of cortisol withdrawal (on a super-sized scale) as a result of the separation of a "bonding Alpha" who has been establishing bonds with people only to separate herself and leaving them in withdrawal of her "love." It seems that the oxytocin emitted by the Alpha is making the victims "high on love." I wonder if it comes in pill form.....
As the usual Alpha way, we are shocked by a surprise twist as to who exactly is the Alpha emitting the oxytocin. It jumps from one person to the next, the coach, the bully, etc.. At one point my husband and I thought it may be the CDC liaison, guest starred by Lindsay Wagner......but in the end, :SPOILER ALERT: it turns out to be the mother of a car crash suicide victim; a teenaged boy who was bullied by his schoolmates and rejected by the football coach. She finds this new "power" after his death and realizes that when separated from these people after establishing a bond with with coach or the bully etc, they withdraw from her.....releasing excess amounts of cortisol which fry their amygdalas and cause them to go into complete organ failure. All she had to do was touch them lovingly....The problem arises when Rachel, played by mediocre actress, Azita Ghanizada, with her high sensitivity to her five senses, naturally creates a bond with the mother just from having a conversation with her. This leaves her in the Alpha's clutches, as the oxytocin sensation is intensified, and the withdrawal is more rapidly fatal.
The cast did a great job this week and Ryan Cartwright as Gary Bell was once again the comic relief show stealer as usual. His quirks and comments are written so brilliantly by Zak Penn that you have to pay close attention not to miss a quick one from him...."Your jacket is caught in the door, I can wear it for you if you want." His detachment from the intensity of the emotions of the show is a necessity in order to prevent it from becoming too emotionally draining.....but it would, I must admit, be interesting to see him involved in more emotional situations, where his own heart is affected, which we got a brief glimpse of in episode 4.
Once again, the "on edge" demeanor of Dr Rosen, played by actor David Strathairn, was somewhat muddled, unsteady, and anxious. It is uncomfortable for me to watch, as he always seems to be on the verge of crying, or screaming, or having some sort of fit. Last night, I was watching Psycho 2 at about 3am, and had a hard time pinpointing the familiarity of Anthony Perkins' Norman Bates, and how I had felt as if I had just tuned in to an actor that resembled his timid, on edge, shaky character, and voice, finally realizing that it was Strathairn's Dr Rosen....... saddened that the only possible threat, in my opinion, to the survival of this potential filled series, is this subject of poor casting.
This plot of the episode, was, once again, creative and poignant, and I give much credit to the writers for not letting us down in this area so far.
I repeat, so far..........
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