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Episode 1 “The Gorgon” Recap and Details
- Director(s): Brian Kirk
- Writer(s): Elizabeth Meriwether
- Public Release Date (Hulu): 7/27/2026
- Check out more of our “Furious” coverage.
- Images © of Hulu
It’s been a little more than a year since Alice Black left the NYPD and pursued becoming an FBI agent. It wasn’t an easy choice, giving up the badge, but an ex made it impossible to continue. But things aren’t much better at the FBI. Her boss, SSA Mason Adkins, is by no means friendly; she wants to work in the Sex Crimes division, but the head of that, Nora, is jaded, possibly a functioning alcoholic, and doesn’t necessarily want her either.
Which leaves Danny. He is perhaps Alice’s only friend, and unfortunately is a cop in her old stomping grounds, in Brooklyn North’s Homicide Squad. He’s taken a lot of mess due to the fallout between Alice and Marshall, but with a potential serial killer case, he needs help, and he knows Alice is one of the best.
However, the killer, a girl who goes by “Jinny,” after stealing someone’s ID, likely won’t be taken down easily. She has killed at least once before; women are severely underestimated for their potential to be serial killers, and listen to Nora, and you’d think Jinny is as cold-blooded as they come.
But whether she will strictly harm her targets, or anyone who gets in her way, is hard to say. But Alice, even without the support of Adkins, is like a dog with a bone regarding this case. So even if she gets minimal official support, that doesn’t mean she won’t solve who “Jinny” really is, and why she chose these specific targets.
New Characters in Episode 1
Alice Black (Emmy Rossum)
- Character Summary: Alice is a former cop, now a probationary special agent for the FBI, not making much in the way of friends. But her hope is to be assigned to the sex crimes unit soon and get to some real work.
Mason Adkins (Alex Morf)
- Character Summary: Mason Adkins is the Supervisory Special Agent who oversees the probationary agents. He’s Alice’s boss who isn’t fond of her trying to work with her old team and doesn’t take well to why she left them.
Nora Washington (Quincy Tyler Bernstine)
- Character Summary: The head of the sex crimes unit, Nora comes off as the type who got into the job for the right reasons, still has hope that some crimes will be punished, but is also jaded and realistic about conviction rates. Add in seeing the types of things which would cause most people to lose their minds, and this has led to her having a bit of a drinking habit.
Danny (Scoot McNairy)
- Character Summary: Danny is Alice’s former partner, when she was a cop, who might be one of the few people who miss her on the force. He’s recently divorced, pushed to get himself back out there, but because he is good at his job, he is pretty much married to it.
Jinny (Lola Petticrew)
- Character Summary: “Jinny,” whose real name isn’t known in episode 1, is a serial killer. It isn’t 100% clear why, but it seems she doesn’t kill at random but has specific targets in mind. From the two cases we see, it seems her weapon of choice is fentanyl or other mixes, which makes it look like someone overdosed rather than her truly having to get her hands dirty.
Review and Commentary
Highlights
Jinny [83/100]
There is just something about female serial killers. Yes, Nora heavily pushes a narrative of them being victims whose loss of innocence makes them the coldest, most dangerous kind. Which, in some ways, we see from Jinny, as she can look someone right in the eye as they are dying.
However, what is driving interest in Jinny is that her survival tactics, personality, and how she stalks her targets doesn’t push her to feel like a female version of your basic serial killer. Which isn’t to say her using her social intelligence and poisoning her victims is new or a revolutionary idea. But there is something that feels unique enough about Jinny, even though she makes you think of Killing Eve, as you watch her.
Mainly in her carrying Villanelle’s charm, confidence, ability to easily adapt, and sometimes making you forget what she is capable of. Leading to her not only challenging the bias of those on the show, but perhaps your own.
Alice and Danny’s Dynamic [82/100]
I think I can appreciate Alice and Danny as long as the relationship doesn’t become romantic. They have good banter in a friends, former co-workers, even brother and sister kind of way. So with him noting he just got divorced, I’m hoping that wasn’t meant to open a door but help set up the idea he isn’t perfect, but still is relatively a good guy. Hence his relationship with Alice being an exception to how she is generally treated by those of her old stomping ground.
Wondering How Alice and Jinny’s Dynamic Will Be [83.5/100]
By the end of the episode, Alice believes she has enough to begin finding out who Jinny really is and begin to track her down. So comes the question: what will their dynamic be like? Cat and mouse is usually the go-to when it comes to shows like this, with Jinny perhaps intentionally making mistakes, maybe planting evidence, to get Alice off her tail.
It all is up in the air after the first episode for while Jinny is careful, it isn’t clear how smart she may actually be in comparison to Alice. Never mind how she may switch gears once she realizes the cops are onto her.
On The Fence
Nora [79/100]
I want to give credit to the fact that Nora might be an alcoholic, but if part of my job was to watch people, of all ages, be assaulted for a good portion of my day, I’d probably need to drink to forget too. Never mind also being out on the field, interacting with people who actively are trying to recruit and traffic children, while the perpetrator is a child themselves? All of that would be a lot.
But I think what gets me about Nora is that, as much as you understand why she is the way she is, the messiness can somewhat feel like it is for the sake of making her more interesting than authentic. Like, I can fully imagine Nora being of the ilk of a Shonda Rhimes character. Good at her job, messy personal life, but still a go-to for many when they are in trouble. The familiarity both helps and hurts the character.
What may save her, though, is that Nora seems to have a dark sense of humor, and that may help her break out from the easy comparisons. For if she keeps pushing Alice’s buttons, shows coping mechanisms beyond drinking? She could become an asset.
Overall
Our Overall Rating [81/100]
Furious starts a little easy to compare, and certainly has that very familiar beginning many shows about law enforcement have. Primarily, the lead has to change jobs because of something that happened in the past. But familiarity doesn’t read generic here. It just presents Furious as a show that has to be given time to exhibit how it is unique, what it can give the zeitgeist, and that its actors and writers are ready to take you on a ride like you may not have seen before.
Which isn’t to say this is going to be a wood-burning oven type of show, where you may have to suffer half a season for its potential to be realized. I’m confident by episode three, maybe even two, you’ll be hooked. It’s just watching the foundation be built provides evidence as to why so many streaming shows feel the need to drop three episodes when a series premieres.
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