Beacon 23 Season 1 Episode 4 Review: God in the Machine
Beacon 23 Season 1 Episode 4, “God in the Machine,” focuses on Sophie (quite the pivot from last week’s cliffhanger), one of the first Beacon Keepers, and her role in the overarching narrative. Does it all make sense? Do we finally get much-needed answers to our burning questions? Well, yes, and no.
This show’s approach thus far has been very, “Let’s throw everything at the wall and see what sticks.” Unfortunately, not much is sticking. Instead, each episode hones in on providing nebulous storytelling, introducing more questions without answering previous ones.
Admittedly, though, “God in the Machine” is the series’ strongest showing yet, partly due to the legendary Barbara Hershey and Eric Lange’s performances. Theater geeks will appreciate how this outing unravels like a play, especially regarding the staging and how confined the space is. “God in the Machine” feels more isolated and bottle-episode-like than ever.
Beacon 23 has always emphasized the isolation of these characters and made the beacon itself a leading player. However, this time, Sophie, Milan Aleph, and Bart take center stage. The beacon feels more like an afterthought. In a way, that’s to this episode’s advantage. It feels like we know the characters for once despite the understanding that we’ll never see Sophie again.
Of course, Hershey, Lange, and even Wade Bogert-O’Brien’s vocal work drives the plot forward. Their motives and choices keep the narrative moving. Plus, we learn who constructed the beacons, Bart’s origin story, how he transformed into an impulsive/malicious AI, and how long The Artifact (Solomon’s rocks) has been around (at least 180 years).
That alone places “God in the Machine” above its three predecessors. With these (albeit somewhat vague) answers, it feels like the story is moving in a favorable direction.
Hershey delivers compelling work here, grabbing you every time she’s onscreen. She injects Sophie with empathy and humanity, which might be too on-the-nose given the episode’s central conflict revolves around AI, but it’s effective. Lange makes Milan look like an abject jerk, at least at face value, until you realize his selfishness and lack of empathy stems from loneliness.
“God in the Machine” thrives from not clipping along at a breakneck pace, unlike the episodes before it. We don’t need incessant lightning-speed movement. This allows the story to breathe a bit as it takes its time.
That said, it’s hard not to wonder where this all leads, especially since we only have four episodes left in the season. Will this amount to anything in the end? Despite the necessary development, it doesn’t feel we’re close enough to get all the answers by Beacon 23‘s season finale.
The lesson of this outing is well-trodden territory, but it’s potent and relevant, given our collective relationship with AI. Machines can’t “feel,” nor should we “coddle” them as Sophie did Bart. The consequences could be deadly. “God in the Machine” doesn’t shy away from this, and it’s a message those in power need to hear.
Overall, Beacon 23‘s latest episode is an improvement from the previous installments. Whether the series can maintain that quality in the upcoming episodes remains to be seen. We might be in for a rocky (sorry) back half of the season.
Stray Observations:
- Hearing Barbara Hershey say “dick” in this episode is more of a joy than I thought possible.
- So … does Aleph plan to achieve Milan’s objective of making everyone AI or “transcendent beings”? I’m assuming he needed Sophie for her humanity to ensure things go off without a hitch. Otherwise, who would trust an AI to cheat death?
- Hey, I thought Sophie legitimately spruced up the place. It had life. Milan simply didn’t have an eye for aesthetics or artistic taste.
- If AI can see or process The Artifact (as per Sophie), does that mean Bart has no idea what Solomon’s rocks are? Perhaps he merely regards them as mineral deposits, not The Artifact itself.
- If I were Sophie, I wouldn’t be on board for killing Milan either, but I also wouldn’t be best pals with him, especially not if he poisoned me. Get his bum off the beacon!
What did you think of this episode of Beacon 23? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Beacon 23 streams new episodes every Sunday at 9/8c on MGM+.
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Melody McCune
Melody loves TV. Maybe too much. Besides being a Senior Writer for Tell-Tale TV, she's the Managing Editor for Geek Girl Authority, an Independent Contractor for Sideshow Collectibles, and a Senior Writer for Eulalie Magazine. Additionally, she has bylines in Culturess, Widget, and inkMend on Medium. To top it all off, she's a critic for Rotten Tomatoes and CherryPicks.