neXt Review: File #2 (Season 1 Episode 2)
neXt Season 1 Episode 2, “File #2,” works better as a part-two of the pilot than necessarily a continuation of the series.
It’s always an odd experience watching a show at the beginning of its run because there’s always this sense of wondering what the show is or what it looks like. What exactly is the show’s function and purpose and how will that be reflected on a weekly basis?
That comes through pretty strongly with “File #2” where it feels slightly like the show hasn’t decided exactly what it’s trying to be just yet. It’s, in one part, a hunt for a super AI but it still feels partly messy. That’s mostly by design but there’s still a lacking of the method to the madness.
It particularly hampers the first half of the episode, where it is reconciling everything that happened in the premiere and trying to rearrange it for the show overall. That means that we have to do a lot of the previous episode over again trying to convince characters of the existence of neXt.
It’s when we get over that hump that the episode starts to feel like its own thing and not simply a rehash of what we’ve already seen.
The second half of the episode is when things really start clicking into gear here and becomes more of what the show has been advertised as: an AI hunt. That’s the part that is the most actively engaging about this show. It’s also the most directly episodic element of neXt but that’s exactly what it needs to be.
A good move on the episode’s part — and one that carries over from the first episode — is centering this really firmly around Salazar’s son and his difficulties with the bullies at his school. It turns this sci-fi concept with a superintelligence and grounds it in something so distinctly human.
Bullying is something that everyone instantly gets and the emotion therein is very palpable that good drama can be drawn from. It does so without feeling irresponsible or cheap but instead gives it the weight it deserves. The same can be said about his internal struggle in bringing a gun to school and the manipulation and terror he feels around being pushed in that direction.
It’s an excellent arc not just for Ethan but also as a jumping-off point for the series. It illustrates simply yet effectively the blunt ways that neXt has learned to needle others. It’s so deftly observed and interacted with people that it can zero in on your insecurities and doubts in ways that feel true.
The other intriguing aspect of the episode is how it is letting Paul simply unravel in front of us. The show is allowing us to see this man who is not on his best foot but is still very effective in his own off-putting sort of way. It’s a testament to how on his game he is usually if this is how he is with a debilitating disease.
It’s also not shying away from how crippling this is for him. It’s an ugly disease he has and it has an actual toll on him. It’s all having a great effect on him and the way it is influencing him without making him seem insane or delusional is a respectful and honest move.
What did you think of this episode of neXt? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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neXt airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on FOX.
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Drew Koenig
Drew has an ongoing, borderline unhealthy obsession with pop culture, but with television in particular. When he's not aggressively trying to get out of a perpetual state of catching up, he can be found passionately defending the ending of Lost. More of his online work can be found at The Lost Cause and he also co-hosts The Lost Cause Pod.