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People are dying horribly, mysteriously, and without apparent cause in a small town in Pennsylvania, and after ruling out small-town life as the deadly factor, Rosen and Rachel figure someone's literally scaring them to death. And the tyrannical high school football coach seems like a prime suspect. But then Gary fingers a high-school bully, only to see him about to become the victim. It's at this point that Rosen realizes that the toxic levels of stress hormones in the victims are also consistent with withdrawal, and that the victims are addicted to a person. Yeah, I know. As it happens, one death that preceded all these mysterious ones was not that mysterious -- a kid drove his car into a telephone pole. Originally thought an accident, Cameron figures out it was suicide. That plus a narrative of consistent bullying of the dead kid and the other victims' part in enabling it lead the team to the dead kid's mother. Turns out that she's an Alpha with the power to make people physically dependent on her love, so much so that taking it away kills them. As dumb as that is, it's bad news for Rachel, who in her emotionally fragile state falls under the killer's thrall. Fortunately the team's support and the power of positive thinking make her all better. And the killer Alpha's going to Binghamton, and a guest appearance by Lindsay Wagner as a CDC doctor comes to pretty much nothing at all.
Want more? The full recap starts right below!A young woman is pursued screaming across an empty high school football stadium by a letter-jacketed jock, but it's okay, they're just playing. What a Whedonesque reversal. Then they're macking in the abandoned bleachers. He hears a noise, but they blow it off until a hulking man with a half-melted face bursts out and grabs the girl. Boyfriend sends him sprawling with a well-placed kick, which is when they recognize the ruined face as none other than...Mr. Howard! Whoever that is.
Speaking of sprawling, Rachel is bringing a date back to Nina's massive loft, where she's currently staying while on the outs with her asshole parents. Dude is impressed not only with the place, but her ability to analyze the recipe of everything they ate at dinner just by taste. More macking commences, but this time it goes even worse, as Rachel seems to literally overheat, glowing orange like a Best Actress Oscar nominee before breaking the clinch and sending him home in a panic. I think if you were going to make out with somebody who has super-senses you'd want to do some extra flossing first.
morning at work, Rachel's refusing to talk to Nina about last night. Rosen joins everyone in the break room to deliver their new official ID badges, thanks to Agent Sullivan. The initials on the badges read DCIS, short for Defense Criminal Investigative Services, which, none of them knows what that means. Either that, or they're in denial about being another spinoff of NCIS, like that wouldn't be a step up.
In Rachel's office, Rosen's the one to start trying to nose into Rachel's personal life. He gets shut down as well, but he still invites her along on a road trip to Fenton, Pennsylvania. He then apparently spends the whole drive to the Main Street USA-looking town briefing Rachel on the rash of deaths in the town due to "rapid-onset organ failure," and the CDC has struck out. Once they arrive and step out onto the sidewalk, Rachel senses yellow auras around the townspeople. It looks like they've been heavily pollinated, but she says it's the smell of fear. Easily the best Naked Gun sequel.
Back from the ads, Rosen and Rachel are wandering the streets so Rachel can listen in to the locals exchanging wild theories about the cause of the mysterious deaths. Just then they run into a Dr. Calder from the CDC, played by original Bionic Woman Lindsay Wagner for reasons that are not going to be explained. She says they were just leaving, but she hung out to talk to the "DCIS." She explains that the fear centers of the victims' brains, the amygdales, were heavily damaged. So people are getting scared to death? Wonder if that beats being bored to death. I only feel in danger of one of those right now, and I'll let you guess which one.
Rachel and Rosen's stop is the police station, where the local high school football coach is just finishing yelling at the sheriff. After he leaves, the two Rs introduce themselves to the sheriff, and even an upside-down DCIS badge is enough to get them into the bullpen. The sheriff shares a little info about the victims: a realtor who's the father of a local football star; a bank manager; and the aforementioned Mr. Howard, the school guidance counselor. The sheriff also offhandedly mentions another recent, accidental death that's totally unrelated -- another kid named Chris who crashed into a telephone pole. But Rosen, who knows nothing in a one-hour show is unrelated, wants the kid exhumed. The sheriff doesn't seem to dig the idea. Aaand, now I'm fired.
So straight over to home of the vehicular fatality's mother, Jessica. Rosen mentions being a father while Rachel realizes that it was just the kid and his mom. Must've been her super-senses and all the family photos of just the two of them. Apparently the dead kid's dad died of cancer when the kid was twelve, and Chris and the mom had a near-Gilmore Girls-level relationship ever since. As for whether there had been any recent changes in Chris's life, apparently he'd tried out for the football team but was too small to be anything but equipment manager, a gig that the coach made a living hell. But then from what we've seen of the coach, he does that to everyone. Rachel's getting weepy as Jessica goes on about how the whole team showed up at the funeral, and even gets a supportive hug from her. Which, luckily, is what it takes to get the mom to agree to the exhumation.
On the way out, Rosen remarks on Rachel's recent emotional fragility, which is probably a result of her own mom cutting her off, like that's not a good thing. But Rachel wants to concentrate on finding the cause of Chris's death, and wants to start with the coach. Or rather, the sheriff, who hates the coach. Not that that sets him apart.
They arrive back at the police station at night, to find it seemingly abandoned. Rachel senses decay and one heartbeat coming from the back, and follows Rosen back toward the holding cells, which don't seem to be holding much of anyone. Calling the sheriff's name, they keep walking until Rosen steps in a puddle of blood, and the sheriff jumps out all melty-like and grabs Rachel. Rosen's no high school football jock, so he's not able to pull the large victim away until after he's vomited all down Rachel's front, in a pure gross-out moment that will have no payoff whatsoever. Rosen asks the sheriff who did this, but the sheriff's last words are just vague regrets. Which in this case are even less useful than vague regrets usually are.
Rachel's apparently leaving another message for her mom while the rest of the team convenes in a local diner for hearty small-town fare and less hearty banter, although Nina steals my line about the victims getting bored to death. Rosen gets things back on track by talking about the sheriff's unnaturally elevated levels of cortisol. "Makes sense, "Cameron says knowledgeably, but he's just fucking around until Rosen explains that cortisol is basically a stress hormone that, in high doses, can eat away at organs. And faces, apparently. Gary flashes his DCIS badge rudely at the solicitous server, who figures the presence of these "Feds" means something nefarious is up. After she leaves, Bill whips out the dossier on the football coach, who had a connection to four of the five victims. Rosen's at a loss for what to do , not being a murder investigator. "I'm sure you don't think I just came here for the vacation, right?" Bill says. Well, if it would help him mellow out, who would argue?
The team repairs to the high school. Cameron and Gary wander the busy halls while Gary magically intercepts Facebook posts and e-mails, including some mean ones from the coach to a Dave Burton. Then Gary flashes his badge at some girls who were watching him Minority Report his hands in midair and yells at them to keep their eyes to themselves. That badge is undoing all of Rosen's work on Gary's social skills so fast.
Bill and Nina are interviewing the coach, who's getting pretty hotheaded about feeling accused until Nina Pushes him to chill out. "I'd like to see these fancy badges do that," Nina gloats to Bill, like this isn't the first time she's gotten to use her superpower since July.
Bill catches with Rosen in the still-teeming halls (apparently this school has no classes, which undercuts the death-by-stress theory) and updates him on where they are, which is pretty much nowhere, while Gary wanders the halls scanning social media on Dave Burton, the recipient of some of the coach's meaner e-mail. And who should he come upon but Dave Burton himself, pushing around a smaller kid! Totally different football player than the one in the opening scene, by the way. Gary interrupts, making the connection aloud that the killer and Dave (who's got a pale face and red circles under his eyes) both scare people. Dave calls Gary a retard, which Gary rather expertly corrects to "autistic," then says Dave shouldn't use that word, and then uses it on Dave. Three-nil, advantage: Gary. Gary also shares some rather snotty posts about Dave that he picked up from the aether, which doesn't make Dave -- or the other thugs who've joined him to menace Gary -- come over too friendly-like. Okay, Gary? Now is the time to flash the badge.
Fortunately, Cameron arrives just in time to use his hyperkinetic abilities to deflect the punch Dave was about to paste Gary with. Then he goes parkour on his and the other kids' asses, dodging their swings and leaving them flat on the floor, as well as a faculty member and the coach when they come running up. Dave makes a break for it, but when Gary tells Cameron to stop him, Cameron borrows a school book and slides it down the hall, tripping the kid up. Rosen and Bill arrive just in time to see Dave gasping for breath on the floor, clearly in the early stages of whatever killed the others. So, looks like he's not the Alpha after all, but the victim. They drag him out to the van to take him to the hospital, but it looks like Cameron, Bill, and Rachel are staying behind. Gary's main concerns are that he wants to wear Dave's jacket, and also, "I have bruises in my hair." I'm starting to see why the other Alphas are always so grouchy, getting upstaged by the autistic kid all the time.
The half of the team hanging at the school comes up empty looking into Dave's last few hours, but the full report from Chris's exhumation are in: his brain has a normal-sized amygdale, meaning his cause of death really was completely different from the others'. I would point out that those brain X-rays show a suspiciously intact cranium, though. Bill drafts Cameron to come with him somewhere while Rachel decides to go talk to the mom some more. Just 'cause, I guess.
At the hospital, Gary's wearing Dave's letter jacket after all when Rosen shows up and reports to him and Nina that Dave is like all the other victims, and even "flushing" his system doesn't get rid of the cortisol; in fact, he's still producing high levels of it. Nina speculates he's being Pushed, and Rosen's able to turn out Gary's jokey speculation that Nina's the killer long enough to realize that the cortisol is a symptom of not fear, but withdrawal. But from what? "I think he's addicted to a person," Rosen says. Wow, even Cameron couldn't make a leap like that.
Dr. Calder from the CDC is back, and she stands over the sick kid while Rosen and Nina watch. They're amazed as he seems to calm down when Calder takes his hand -- and then gets worse again when she lets go. So it's Dr. Calder? It must be, because why else get Lindsay Wagner? As she holds both Dave's hands, Rosen explains about oxytocin, the "love hormone," which is what the contact is causing his brain to produce and counteract some of the toxic effects of the cortisol. He calls for some more of the hormone, and while Calder takes off to get something, Rosen explains that their Alpha must be a serial killer who forms a bond with the victims then severs it. Right on cue, Dave flatlines, because this is all just too stupid to live through.
Over at the bereaved mom's house, Rachel tells her that they're still working on it. When David Burton's name comes up, the mom starts going on about how her late son was bullied, cyber- and otherwise. Now they have a little time to kill, so Rachel decides to hang out for a snack all friendly-like. Which makes it official: Rachel is the last person to realize Jessica's the Alpha.
Bill and Cameron check out the accident site, which doesn't seem to have any of the normal signs of an accident. Which, after Cameron replays the crash in his head, he declares it wasn't.
Back at the hospital, Dave appears to be stabilized. Dr. Calder is curious about how Rosen and his team figured it out, but he's not sharing, so she takes her leave. Thanks for playing, Lindsay Wagner! I'm still not watching you on Warehouse 13! Dave wakes up and wants Rosen to "tell her I'm sorry." That's all he gets to say before he's out again. Just then, Bill and Cameron call from the accident site, explaining that Chris's death was a suicide, caused by the bullying and covered up by the sheriff. So it looks like they have an Alpha, and they belatedly realize that Rachel's at her house. They could save a lot of effort solving these mysteries by just letting the most vulnerable members of the team wander around until they're alone with someone, and that's who it is.
Case in point, Rachel is currently opening up to Jessica about her super-senses, and what a burden they can be, especially where her unsupportive parents are concerned. She thinks even Rosen only cares about her Alpha abilities. "The only thing I'm good for is being a walking crime lab," she whines, like that's not really handy. Just then her cell phone rings with a call from Bill. She's about to get it when Jessica puts a supportive hand on her shoulder and says it can wait. "I'm here for you" she says, pulling her into a hug. Rachel glows orange all through it, and even after it, but this time she feels great. She's totally popped a Boehner.Bill and Cameron show up at the house and walk right through the unlocked front door ("Small town," Cameron explains) into the apparently empty house. And calling Rachel's cell just lights it up where she left it on the coffee table.
Meanwhile, Jessica's driving Rachel through the woods while Rachel continues glowing and oversharing about her Alpha team and the persistently non-Alpha Dr. Rosen. Without any urgency whatsoever, Rachel idly asks where they're going. Jessica says they'll make one stop, "And then I'll need your help to get away." Which doesn't seem to set off any alarm bells in Rachel's glowing brain at all.
Rosen's driving while on the phone to Nina and Gary, the latter of whom is jammed by signal overload thanks to some Doppler radar interference. Rosen yammers to Nina about Rachel's current vulnerable state, which is enough time for Gary to wait out the Doppler jamming and track Jessica's cell phone. Now they just need to contact Bill and Cameron and dispatch them to intercept.
Rachel is still glowing and holding Jessica's hand as she asks Jessica why she killed those people. Jessica explains how she was able to transmit her love for her son to other people, which obviously didn't protect him, and tells the story of how she killed Dave Burton's dad for doing nothing about the bullying, just by comforting him and then cutting him off. Rachel tries to offer Rosen's help, but Jessica pulls her hand away, causing Rachel immediate pain. "If you help me, you'll feel better," Jessica promises.
Gary's guiding Bill and Cameron through a narrow wooded lane, hoping to lead them to cut off Jessica at the intersection, but Bill goes off the road and breaks his axle, leaving them stranded out in the sticks. Bill declares, "I don't know about you, but I'm gonna run." He goes super-strength, which apparently includes super-speed. Handy, that.
Jessica realizes Rachel can see something she can't, and Rachel admits that Bill's coming. Jessica stops the car and pulls Rachel out, and begins killing her by breaking up with her like an angry three-year-old. "I don't love you. I want you to die," she says, pushing Rachel down and leaving her writhing on the ground while she drives away. By the time Bill gets there, Rachel's already suffering visible symptoms. As we know, all Alpha abilities have a downside, and obviously the downside of Rachel's super-senses is super-sensitivity.
Jessica's stop is the football coach's house. He's very relieved to see her, saying he always feels better after they talk. But she tells him that he murdered her son, "And now I want you to spend your few hours dying alone."
Cameron and Rosen arrive in Rosen's car with a shot of oxytocin for her. Unfortunately, the injection doesn't seem to be working, and she's still suffering mightily, her vision filled with red. Rosen tells her she's like a daughter to him, and that they all love her. Finally her red vision clears and she's all better, just like that. I would have thought these three would be pretty weak methadone.
It's getting dark as the coach pleads with Jessica, unwisely blaming her dead son for not being tough enough. Wrong thing to say. He asks her what he can do, and she invites him to burn in hell. Then she pushes him down so he can get started on that right away.
The Alpha team arrives in the front yard just as she's leaving, and Bill and Cameron hold her at gunpoint while Rosen heads into the house, calling on his cell phone for an ambulance. It's Rachel who actually talks Jessica down so Bill can handcuff her. This show really needs to figure out that the final confrontations are supposed to be dramatic and not just a rote formality.
The day, Rosen and Rachel get into his car while he wraps it up: He told the authorities that Jessica poisoned her victims, and admits that she's being sent to Binghamton. Rosen's worried about more cases like this coming down the pike, she thanks him, he tells her she's awesome, the end. Thanks for everything, Lindsay Wagner.
M. Giant is a Minneapolis-based writer with a wife, a son, and a number of cats that seems to have settled at around two. Learn waaaay too much about him at Velcrometer, follow him on Twitter , or just e-mail him at m.giant[at]gmail.com.