‘Emergence’ Episode 10: Jo succeeds in tracking down Piper but what she finds shatters her beyond repair
Spoilers ahead for Episode 10 of 'Emergence'.
Before taking off on a winter break, ABC's 'Emergence' teased us with the least expected twist, ending with a major cliffhanger. All along the series' debut season, we clutched at straws hoping Piper would find her forever home among humans, as we just couldn’t stop empathizing with the little AI.
However, Episode 9 'Where You Belong' introduced us to a new set of possibilities as Piper gets taken away by Benny and Helen, entities of her kind.
Episode 10 '15 years' opens with Jo and Agent Brooks raiding Benny's apartment hoping to find some clue that could serve as a lead to find Piper. But all she learns is about Benny’s ultimate betrayal of her trust.
Just when Jo tells Alex she has lost all hope of finding Piper, the AI tries to communicate with the police chief through her superpowers. On seeing the television screen randomly flicker with a symbol burned into it, Jo realizes that Piper is somewhere out there seeking her foster mother’s help.
Agent Brooks joins hands with her in the pursuit of Piper. They learn that the AI broke a satellite to get in touch with them from Pennsylvania. Appointing Chris as the acting chief of police while she’s gone, Jo leaves with Brooks to find Piper.
While interrogating a gas station owner who had last seen Benny, Jo and Brooks are convinced that he knows something about the AI that could help them. However, when they try to dig deeper, he evades the situation by running away but meets with an accident and his body emits the blue light, a signature characteristic of the AIs.
Jo realizes that the town is filled with AIs and manages to acquire the chip implanted in the AI (gas station owner), which helps her trace the house where Piper is held captive.
Jo succeeds in finding Benny and even threatens him at gunpoint, only to realize that he holds powers strong enough to dismantle a weapon.
While Jo is determined to find Piper, the AI herself makes an appearance before the police chief. But Jo is shattered beyond repair upon learning that Piper has become one of them, who is more inclined towards helping people of her kind.
Will Jo continue to pursue Piper despite her rejection of the human who loves her the most? Or will Jo keep her emotions aside and treat Piper as an AI who could be a threat to mankind? There's a lot to find out.
Episode 11 of ‘Emergence’ airs on January 15 on ABC.