'Almost Human' recap: Home Is Where the Horror Is

HOUSE HUNTERS Can Dorian and Kennex defeat a killer home security system?

Fox

Welcome back, Humaniacs!

This week we have a killer "smart home," a band of pesky hackers, and Minka Kelly in a purple wig! Also, who's messing with Dorian's head? Let's find out!

Hey, remember how Rudy and Dorian were bunking together? Well, turns out Rudy is running tests on Dorian's processing core while our favorite DRN-droid is recharging. Dorian is understandably not so thrilled with Rudy poking around in his noggin, which Kennex compares to waking up to find that someone has given him a nice clean shave. "So if I shave you while you're unconscious, that would make you happy?," Dorian asks. (It's been a while since the writers threw a bone to Dorian/Kennex slash fiction authors.) What Rudy doesn't reveal is what he's seen inside Dorian's head -- a memory of the young bot playing with a toy train.

We cut to the home of Michael Bennett, who has a super fancy Synturion home security system. He greets his home security hologram, SAM, who looks like a slicker version of one of the MX androids. Michael and his wife Linda have been receiving death threats because a year ago their home security system malfunctioned and caused the death of a young trespasser named Aaron Kasdan. But thanks to their fancy smart home, they're the perfect picture of 2048 upper class bliss. Linda goes for a swim while SAM prepares Michael's (presumably daily) scotch. (Seriously, I have to get one of these smart home thingies.) SAM watches Linda while she swims and asks how the temperature of the water is. A little creepy, but nothing homicidal yet. Suddenly, a news report about Aaron's death appears on the TV. The cover on the pool closes, trapping Linda. When Michael tries to save his drowning wife, the home weapons system identifies him as hostile and shoots him.

The team arrives at the scene, and Dorian discovers that the home security system malfunctioned at the exact same time that it killed young Aaron Kasdan one year prior. Maldonado is too no-nonsense for coincidences and thinks that they have a homicide on their hands. Turns out someone hacked into the security system, but left no trace. Also, the Bennetts had been receiving a ton of death threats, so lots of suspects.

At Synturion, Kennex and Dorian meet another SAM, only this time he's an actual security android and not a hologram. Right before they meet with Peter Newsome, Synturion's counsel, and CEO Kay Stenson, Dorian gets a flash of the memory Rudy uncovered earlier. Mrs. Stenson got into home security because she was assaulted and wanted to help people feel safe. One group, called Anonymous, er, I mean, "Disrupt," has been particularly vocal in their attacks on Synturion. Kennex says maybe so many people are angry at Synturion because they remember the days when a kid jumping a fence would've been met with an angry shout and not a hail of gunfire. (If you're noticing some nods to the George Zimmerman case, well, you're not alone.)

NEXT: Don't Disrupt This Groove...

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'Almost Human' recap: Home Is Where the Horror Is