'Emergence' Episode 8: Jo has lot on her plate but what's the priority, helping Piper or finding Emily?
Since the beginning of 'Emergence', we have known Jo (Allison Tolman) to be someone who prioritizes truth and justice over most other things, even the law despite being a cop. It is with this priority that she decided to save Piper (Alexa Swinton) from the site of the plane crash, despite knowing nothing about her. She brought her home, fed her and took care of her, and even went on to foster her officially, even after learning that Piper is not a little girl at all.
Jo's convictions of keeping Piper safe have been challenged by people time and again, starting with Benny (Owain Yeoman ), her journalist friend and crime-fighting partner to Alan (Seth Barrish), the genetics engineer that created Piper. However, she stood by Piper, believing that she is so much more than just a machine that will eventually destroy humanity. The supposed threat that Piper poses became all the more apparent to Alan in the previously aired Season 1 Episode 7 after she re-wrote her own algorithm.
Alan seems to believe that she needs to be "killed" before human beings go extinct, and he says as much to Benny, but it remains to be seen if the latter will agree or not. Meanwhile, Jo has seemingly decided to reveal to Piper that she is an AI, which Emily (Maria Dizzia) had initially suggested would result in self-destruction. However, she seems to think there is a "careful" way of doing it without triggering self-destruction, and she plans to implement it, come Season 1 Episode 8, titled 'American Chestnut'.
The episode will also see Jo struggling to manage other challenges, specifically tracking Emily down. As we learned in the previous couple of episodes, Emily is the estranged daughter of Kindred (Terry O'Quinn) and she only pretended to need Jo's help because she wanted to employ her skills as a cop to get what she wanted. She even had Kindred killed after Piper chose to stay with Jo and her family over Emily, despite her erasing Jo from Piper's memories.
What will be Jo's priority — taking care of Piper and easing her into the truth or finding Emily quickly, especially since the FBI is on her tail? We will find out when Season 1 Episode 8 of 'Emergence', titled 'American Chestnut' premieres Tuesday, November 26 night on ABC.
