Watson Season 2 Episode Review: Shannon Says Bex Loves Micah

On Watson Season 2 Episode 9, “Shannon Says Bex Loves Micah,” the messy dynamics of high schoolers and social media lead unexpectedly into a medical emergency.

Micah is Laila’s son and on the spectrum. His slightly unhealthy attraction to his lab partner, Bex, becomes much unhealthier through the personification of Shannon, a chatbot who encourages him to engage in risky behavior to woo her.

After Micah gets hurt outside Bex’s home, the team questions her just in time for her to collapse. The change in her gait Micah notices is actually due to a head injury, and within just a few scenes, she’s being swept off for brain surgery.

While John continues to help Micah understand both his own role as his mother’s boyfriend and the boy’s online obsession, Bex makes progress only to collapse again. The new diagnosis is a syndrome that killed her twin in infancy but can now be treated.

As we spend time with John and Laila, another potential budding romance rises between Shinwell and Carlin, the doctor supervising his med student rotations. Her unpleasant ex-husband is also a doctor and their current biggest obstacle.

Finally, Ingrid’s therapist, Ivan Ferry makes another appearance. Adam cautiously asks if he’ll treat him for depression while Sasha wonders if Ingrid can be trusted as a friend. Dr. Ferry says yes to Adam but can’t ethically answer Sasha.

For an episode that takes a closer look at Watson’s love life, explores Laila’s role as a mother to an autistic son, and still manages to center a medical case around a friend to said son, the hour is surprisingly in-depth and balanced.

I certainly hope this is a sign of the growth between John and Laila and that the issues addressed will be expanded on in future episodes. Micah’s need for honesty—and Watson’s willingness to give it—help to answer some of our own questions.

There’s no one right way (though there are plenty of wrong ones) to portray an autistic youth, but both Micah’s susceptibility to Shannon and his intelligence, which may well help save Bex’s life, ring true to the experience of real teens.

Bex’s treatment does get a bit rushed, especially as it vies for time with the morality of what the show labels “AI psychosis”. That’s a matter worth unpacking in itself. The choice to have an actress actually play Shannon is admirably unnerving.

There’s not too much to say about the hour’s subplots just yet, though I’m sure that will change. Regardless of what happens between Shinwell and Carlin, I like him standing up for himself but also worry that it could backfire.

As for Dr. Ferry, he’s mostly used as a sounding board for now. It’s a relief to see Adam be more willing to accept support, but the therapist is also a reminder of Ingrid’s connection to Beck, and of what that man might be planning for the team.

It’s unclear whether the next episode is technically a mid-season finale, but as it comes before both a hiatus and a change in Watson’s air date, I don’t think we can escape the hour without at least one major development or cliffhanger.

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Watson airs Mondays at 10/9c on CBS.

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