'Emergence' Episode 9: Will cute agent Ryan Brooks become Jo's love interest though FBI is at loggerheads with her?
Jo (Allison Tolman) has been singlehandedly dealing with her father's refusal to go back into cancer treatment, ex-husband's infuriation over her hiding things from him, her daughter being forced to live away from her, Emily's (Maria Dizzia) betrayal, Piper's (Alexa Swinton) powers and the FBI snooping around her case. She has had enough issues on 'Emergence' Season 1 and we sure hope the mid-season finale will allow her to have some fun, and by fun we mean a breezy romance on the side while justice, crime-solving and protecting Piper happens on the front.
So far into the series, we have not really seen any romantic moments, except maybe a moment or two where Joe reminisced about the past with her ex-husband Alex (Donald Faison). There have been no romantic vibes between her and Benny (Owain Yeoman) either, which is uncharacteristic for a show about a cop who has someone in a different field working closely with her to have no sexual tension. We may just have gotten heteronormatively ahead of ourselves when we wonder why Benny and Jo haven't shared a flirty banter yet, we are yet to find out.
Meanwhile, a new man has been introduced to the mix, the very cute FBI Agent Ryan Brooks (guest star Enver Gjokaj). We met him first at the bakery where Jo and Abby (Zabryna Guevara) were buying the cake for Mia's (Ashley Aufderheide) birthday party, where Abby had assumed that he was following them around because he was interested in Jo. The detective is clearly smitten, and we see her being uncharacteristically fumble-mouthed when she is around him. It also definitely seems like he admires her work and wants her approval in some ways.
We are definitely rooting for Jo and Ryan to become a couple, even though his team at the FBI is making her work more complicated than it needs to be. After all, they did take her witness Emily and put her in federal custody without giving Jo any heads up. Will Jo and Ryan get closer before the show goes on its winter break? We will find out when Season 1 Episode 9 of 'Emergence' airs on Tuesday, December 10.