Episode Title: 'Bill and Gary's Excellent Adventure'
Writer: Adam Levy
Director: Leslie Libman
Story:
Bill (Malik Yoba) chases a man through the streets of Manhattan and Hicks (Warren Christie) follows suit with Rachel (Azita Ghanizada) and Gary (Ryan Cartwright) following by car. Hicks and Nina catch the man and take some data from his computer tablet for Agent Sullivan. Meanwhile, a beat cop arrests Gary after he refuses to get out of the car.
Bill picks Gary up at the police station, where he learns about a drug cartel holding a girl named Lisa Collier for ransom, the same girl Gary saw on the street. Bill enlists Gary's help to crack the case, in hopes that he'll be reinstated as an FBI agent after assaulting Agent Persky.
Gary and Bill find Lisa's cellhpone in a sewer and bring it to the FBI. He promises Lisa's father that he and Gary will find her. Impressed with their progress, Collier demands the pair be allowed to work the case, despite Bill's suspension. Meanwhile, Rosen (David Strathairn) and Rachel begin looking into Bill and Gary's whereabouts.
Gary listens in to a phone conversation between the kidnappers and the FBI. Bill takes Gary closer to the signal so he can listen into the kidnappers follow-up call. Meanwhile, Hicks pays Nina a visit at home to apologize for butting in on her conversation with a cop who's looking at her for murder. he tells Hicks the cop is after her because she inadvertently "pushed" her abusive ex-boyfriend to kill himself. The two kiss moments later and later have sex.
Gary spots one of the kidnappers at a bar but he runs before Bill can apprehend him. Bill tells Agent Persky and Nelson (Alaina Huffman) that they're working the wrong angle but they refuses to listen, having Bill and Gary arrested instead. Rosen bails Gary and Bill out and reprimands them for their reckless actions. The pair convince Rosen to let them continue to work the case, as the FBI is on the wrong trail.
Reunited with the team, Bill and Gary pinpoint Lisa's last location. The team trails Persky and Nelson to the drop. Agent Nelson zaps the GPS and Persky but is stopped by Bill before she can meet her partner. He sends Nelson in to meet the kidnapper and the team breaks in to rescue Lisa. Bill tells Persky to take the credit for the case, deciding to stay with the Alpha team instead of re-entering the FBI.
Nina tells Hicks she spoke with the cop who was after her, clearing up the situation. Bill commends Gary's work on the case and makes good on his promise to let him drive the car.
Breakdown:
"Alphas" is serving up the Syfy nerd bait as of late, with guest stops from "Warehouse 13's" Lindsay Wagner and this week, "Stargate Universe's" Alaina Huffman. While she's easy on the eyes, there wasn't much to Huffman's Agent Nelson. Which is just fine, as Malik Yoba and Ryan Cartwright were the real stars of this hour of "Alphas."
While most of the team seems to excel at playing nice, in particular Hicks and Nina (ahem), Gary and Bill have been at odds for some time. Neither one is particularly mature or professional but the younger Alpha gets a pass on that. Still, both characters are fun to watch and these two actors easily carry the cast of otherwise vanilla characters. Thus going the "buddy cop" route with this pair made for a great episode.
Add to that the fact that the case of the week did not involve yet another "evil Alpha" and you can see where this show has the potential to break out of what felt like a very small, rather contrived mold.
It's clear "Alphas" isn't a show about super humans but rather humans, as exemplified in Bill's often impulsive, fight-or-flight reactions. For all of their special abilities, the Alphas struggle the most with their human flaws and quirks. Bill and Gary are the quirkiest of the bunch and thus the most intriguing to watch.
As far as subplots go, I suspect I'm not the only who'd like to see the Hicks/Nina romance get as little screen time as possible. I'd much rather see that time given to learning more about Rachel's family situation or Rosen's fatherly relationship with Gary.
Cheezy subplots are forgivable, (and to be expected) however and "Alphas" delivers a solid hour of light genre, fun week after week. I only hope we get to see more "excellent adventures" with Bill and Gary.
Crave Online Rating: 8 out of 10.
