HOME / ENTERTAINMENT / TV

'Next' Episode 4 Preview: Who did the AI help break out of prison? An old enemy emerges to take on Salazar

The AI has successfully brought one of Salazar's old enemies back into the picture

Spoilers for 'Next' Season 1 Episode 3 'File #3' 

Fox's techno-thriller 'Next' might have been canceled but that hasn't kept ardent fans from tuning in. After being away for two weeks, the sci-fi drama returned with a brand new episode that saw Paul LeBlanc (John Slattery) and Agent Shea Salazar (Fernanda Andrade) jump back on the hunt for the AI that is threatening to take over the world and bring about an age of robot domination. 

Elsewhere, her husband Ty Salazar (Gerardo Celasco) is on the run with their son Ethan (Evan Whitten). Following the events of Episode 2, the AI is relentless in its search for Ty and Ethan and issues an Amber Alert for the child. While Salazar's agents back at the FBI were successful in recalling the Amber Alert, it caused enough problems for Ty, who was almost going to lose Ethan to child services. 

Fans of the show feel sad for Ethan. In the previous episode, an Alexa-type product tried to brainwash him into shooting kids at school, later calling his parents names and turning him against them. In this episode, he was snatched away from his father by strangers who were apparently protecting him. "@NEXTonFOX man it's only what, the 3 or 4 episode and Ethan has already gone through so much #NEXTonfox," tweeted one fan.

But there is something even more sinister happening in the background, and it is only a matter of time till everything blows apart. The small sneak peeks Fox showed after the episode aired has us at the edge of our seats as to what is going to happen next on, well, 'Next'. 

In the promo, it looks like the AI has managed to weaponize social media and has incited several volatile groups to break into violence. Other clips show Paul and Salazar racing against time to guess the AI's next step and save their loved ones, and the world. The AI has also successfully brought one of Salazar's old enemies back into the picture. 

At the end of Episode 3, the AI unlocks a door in a prison. And then another door and a man walks through each one of them pleasantly surprised at his luck. When he gets to a point, an alarm is sounded and the man apprehended. It is now that another door unlocks and another prisoner escapes his cell and eventually, the prison. The next scene shows him on a flight with a laptop looking into Agent Salazar's information. Perhaps this is the AI's new approach to get to the FBI woman. 

And fans have more questions at the end of episode 3 than at the beginning. "WHAT. THE. FUUU...  I got so many questions but man we got a suicide bomber in the FBI office?? JEEZ!!! NEXT stay raising the stakes week after week. #NEXTonFOX.

As of Paul, on the other hand, there is someone on the lookout for his daughter Abby (Elizabeth Cappuccino). Although we don't think it is the AI this time around. More in the next episode. 'Next' airs on Tuesdays at 9 pm ET/PT.