Emergence Review: Killshot Pt. 2 (Season 1 Episode 13)

Emergence Season 1 Episode 13, “Killshot Pt. 2,” closes out the season with heartbreak, goodbyes, and new beginnings. 

There are two big things to say about this season finale. The first is that, for what it is, this is an exceptionally solid end to this chapter (and maybe story overall, depending on how renewals go). The second is that, gun to our head, we probably couldn’t adequately explain what happened during this episode without throwing in a shrug at some point. 

“Killshot Pt. 2” gives us so much plot that it feels equal parts bewildering and exhausting while also doing so in a rather effective way. The big thing here, though, is that it feels like a lot for a finale to do, and it asks the audience to accept many things practically right after another. 

We’ve mentioned in the past that Emergence is very smart with how it doles out its plot. It’s good with giving its audience important bits of information, but also it recognizes the value of slowing and dealing with the emotional fallout of those twists. It isn’t always with its foot on the gas pedal, which puts it in direct conflict with this episode. 

This season finale is all acceleration with very few moments of introspection or truly reckoning with what has come before and what is happening now. Its laser-focused on getting to that next part of the episode that it loses a lot of the important character interactions that has made this show work so well. 

Benny, who has otherwise been a prominent, central figure throughout this season, is killed and there’s hardly any fanfare to it. The episode moves past it so quickly because it has to rush to this final climax of the episode and the season. It just doesn’t have time to deal with that, and it’s a shame given the emphasis that Emergence previously has given things like that. 

Beyond that, it’s a very interesting episode from a plot level on how it decides to wrap everything with Helen up. Granted, having her be able to shapeshift is a twist that comes virtually out of nowhere with little to no setup, but the decision to put Piper’s code into her body is a bit brilliant, if somewhat disturbing. 

Setting aside the fact that a little white girl basically took over the body of a woman of color — which we are not getting into here because we simply do not have time to open that particular moral and ethical can of worms — it is a very unsettling notion that, as long as you have Piper’s code, she is essentially immortal.

The transfer into Helen seems to still inhabit everything that Piper is to a fundamental level and she hasn’t lost anything. Ultimately, if they had other bodies like Helen at their disposal, Piper could just keep switching bodies forever if something happened to her. 

It’s an insane and smart move, as long as there are longstanding consequences to this, which it looks there will be. It can’t simply be a seamless transfer where Piper gets new powers and there are no ramifications. There needs to be a cost. 

Whether or not we ever get to see that is another story altogether, though. 

What did you think of this episode of Emergence? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Critic Rating:

User Rating:

 

Emergence airs Tuesdays at 10/9c on ABC.

 Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!

20 TV Characters Who Really Need a Hug