Humans: Season 3/ Episode 8 [Season Finale] – Recap/ Review (with Spoilers)

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Many civil rights movements have one thing in common and in Humans’ season 3 finale, we experience what usually is the climax of many.

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Network
Channel 4
Director(s)	Richard Senior
Writer(s)	Daisy Coulam
Air Date	7/5/2018

A Change of Heart: Neha, Laura, Mia, Neil

Despite how much Neha has tried to not get involved, or simply push Laura in the right direction, she finally comes to the point of putting her neck on the line. Not only by being the one who got Mia out but trying to record Lord Dryden and others as they initiated Operation Basswood. However, before she could get away and hand Laura the recording she needs, her synth takes her phone and she is taken away. Luckily, before that happens, Mia is told what Basswood is and has enough time to run to save her family. Though not with enough time to escape.

Switching to Laura, to try to drum up human compassion, on BBC she reveals Basswood and thanks to Neil bringing his dossier, she has proof. What is legitimate proof! Though, at the time, it seems the people remain skeptical.

Commentary

It’s kind of weird that, in its third season, especially after a lackluster second one, Humans came roaring back. It revived your need to have interest and it all is thanks to taking on multiple, non-sci-fi topics and adapting. Again, nothing we haven’t seen a comic book do as well, but there is something different here. As Yoyo Opoku mentioned in our interview with her, while the baseline will always be the same it is about your unique spin. Which, for us, comes down to Neha in a way.

Yes, Neha. Laura and Mia have long been advocates and put their lives and families on the line. Neha, on the other hand, she often times stayed far enough to not be associated but close enough to see the end result. But, in her journey from being curious and thinking Laura was a bit peculiar to now, she had the most shocking growth. She was the one who brought about the twist for Neil was the one who had been worked on for most of the season. Yet, even if Neil was the one who gave Laura the proof she needed, Neha was the empowering force.

I mean, she empowered Laura to even go as far as she did and in the end, what Neha represents is that eventually, people will come off the sidelines. They’ll do more than discreetly help but actually get their hands dirty. All it takes is you inspiring them with your perseverance. Leading to the question, how bad will things be for Neha with her getting caught as she did? Will we ever see her again?

The End of Basswood: Mia, Sam, Max

As noted, Mia makes it to camp just in time to save the synths we know but not enough time for them to take what they need and escape. So, at first they hide but then they come out together. In that moment, we are reminded that all these people who hate synths want is someone to blame. Someone who they can hurt physically the way they were hurt mentally and emotionally. Not their bosses, though they are the ones who bought the synths, but the synths themselves. So, one begs Max to hurt him, give him a reason in not an aggressive way but a desperate plea. Which Max refuses to do.

However, then Sam, because his logic is just strange, decides to throw stuff and so begins a riot. One which, only because of Laura on the news, and Lord Dryden trying to avoid a calamity, eventually is broken up by police. However, before that happens, Mia ends up killed. As she tries to help the person who wanted Max to fight him, she is hit behind the head, on air by the way – a camera person snuck in, and she dies on live TV.

Commentary

I think there is a need to make a comparison. In the recent episode of The Handmaid’s Tale a character dies and I hunch about it. With Mia’s death, I found myself crying. Now, the reason for this I think goes beyond the fact we have been around Mia for 24 some odd episodes at this point. More so, I want to say it is because her death made a statement, it had a purpose, and also it had a build up to it. She wasn’t killed for the sake of shock or to make this season finale worth every media outlet’s attention. As noted in the overview, it was about putting a mirror to humanity and showing, questioning more so, why does someone have to die, so publicly, for you to recognize a group’s humanity?

And by making Mia’s this symbol, this character who had a life, dreams, pursued happiness, it made her death and all that came after something that didn’t just affect the characters but you as well. A task which gets harder and harder to pull off as shows care more about brutality and how violent someone died vs. why they did and what that loss means.

The Future of Synth and Mankind: Lord Dryden, Niska, V, Mattie, Leo, Max, Mia, Laura

For most of the episode Niska is spending time with V, not Odi, but V – the being who we spent time with all season 2 as Dr. Athena had V impersonate her daughter. However, now V is the synth who sleeps but what V really is, is some kind of evolution. One which could only be explained as a synth who is connected to the internet. Something that they impart onto Niska for the sole purpose of her proving herself.

How? Well, between love, hope, faith, and remorse, she has shown herself to truly be feeling and with that, V believes she deserves the immense power of having some realm of being able to predict the future. Of which, according to V, means the combination of humanity and synth by synth blood. Taking note of Leo, it seems the combination makes humanity stronger and with that said, it makes Mattie’s daughter a key to the future. A daughter she was all but ready to abort.

Yet, thanks to strangely good timing, by means not explained, Niska, as Mattie is ready to hand the evidence needed to blame her for Day Zero to Lord Dryden, in exchange for her mom’s freedom, is able to stop her. While also showing that Niska now has the power to look at a synth and control them. Well, the orange eyed ones anyway.

Leaving us with a few questions. The first being the fate of Neha, Laura, and Neil who are charged with treason. Following that, will Mia’s death be permanent? Also, with V erasing the consciousness code, what does that mean for the future of current synth life? Yes, Mattie can get pregnant but the rest of them can’t. So, at best, will they just be uploaded to the internet and placed in a new body?

So many questions lay ahead and damn if I’m not giddy about the answers.

Commentary

It was mentioned when Anatole was alive this need to question if he was able to influence other synths by touching foreheads. Making me kind of wonder if, at one time, V tested him but he failed. But, Anatole aside, one of the main things I’m wondering about is will there be a time jump and what will the fallout be from this season? Niska having Lord Dryden escorted out by an orange eyed synth surely isn’t going to look good if any human sees that. On top of that, will Mia’s death mean synths having equal rights now?

Not to forget, what happened at the other camps? We saw Mia’s on television and casualties low, but what about the others? How many conscious synthetics are left in the UK? Not to forget, will any government employee involved with Basswood get charged? Laura put out the accusation and showed what appeared to be proof but there is no guarantee that will bring the people to charge officials. Plus, there is still the need to question if there aren’t others of Anatole’s mindset out there. Should we really believe he is the only one who dreamed of Synth supremacy? If not the idea of fighting violence with violence?

Also, if synth blood mixed with humans creates a superior human, similar to Leo, why isn’t that already out there as some kind of common knowledge? Are you telling me with all the weirdos we have met, synth and human, no one tried to create a hybrid besides David Elster? Come on now.

Other Noteworthy Facts & Moments

• Mattie is having a girl and I bet she’ll be named Mia.

Question(s) Left Unanswered

1. Will Max ever stand some kind of trial, or be punished, for killing Anatole?

Miscellaneous Commentary

Stanley and Sam

Though Sam seems like the child from The Omen, who deserved to be the one Laura didn’t choose, I must admit there was something adorable about him and Stanley ending their parts with playing hide and seek. It was a bit of a reminder that, at his heart, Stanley is but a child. He may be the size of an adult but he is essentially a child. And even in terms of what Sam did, he did as a child would who wasn’t necessarily raised to be scared. Based off being around people like Leo, Max, Karen, even Laura, he stood up for those he loved and what he felt like was his home. Even if it meant losing his life.

Collected Quote(s) & .Gifs

Sometimes where you belong is not where you’re meant to be. – Max

Highlights

1. It made a character’s death matter and be emotional. To the point that, whether she is permanently dead or not, even if they revive Mia it won’t take away from what happened.
2. Niska’s journey, arguably, paid off and made something, beyond Sam and Mia’s time of normalcy, of season 2 matter. That is V and how they will drastically change things, or enabled Niska to.
3. The finale made it so you have to crave another season. It left so many good questions left unanswered, possibilities for the future of synths and mankind, much less, as much hope as it gave, it didn’t leave you without doubt.
4. Neha officially putting her neck on the line, rather than backing out as soon as there was serious trouble, needs to be applauded.

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