S01.E06: Episode 6

[CoderLady]

I didn't get the timeline of when Leo's real mother became unreliable, but I'm thinking the synths were created well before she died to take the burden of childcare off her. Mia was around when the accident occurred because Leo's last pre-synth memory was of Mia trying to save him.

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

 

One Of The Biggest Battles On Humans Is Being Waged Inside A Single Synth / Anita and Mia come into their/her own.

[Quilt Fairy]

Not happy to have missed the Pete/wife/Simon scene either. And was there another snipped scene that explained why Vera was so complaisant while Niska and George discussed...everything? I kept waiting for her to bust through a door but there she was, sitting in the parlor!

Vera was turned off.

 

When this episode aired in the UK, did Niska specifically tell George that Elster had sex with her? Because all we saw in the US was Niska telling George that she had "other duties" or some such phrase, and George immediately takes that to mean sexual duties,  which I know I would not infer from what was said. Did AMC chop a few seconds out of that scene that made Niska's meaning clearer?

[thuganomics85]

So, Fred escapes the bad guys like a boss, only for the episode to end with Max sacrificing himself for Leo.  The Synths never can get a full victory.  His sacrifice does come off like something I can see him recovering from, but the scene was really well done, and fits perfectly with the Max character.

 

At long last, Mia is back for good.  And I honestly didn't not see the twist that she and Leo weren't dating, but she was a mother/sister character to him instead, when he was growing up.  Well done, show.  Both times Mia came back with that gasp were well done, and the reunion with Leo was great too.  The way Gemma Chan flips between both characters on a dime, and can go from emotional back to robotic, is fantastic.

 

Laura's finally opening up about Tom to Mattie was great, and it does explain a lot about her character and why she was obnoxious back in the early episodes.  This show really did a good job with both of these characters, and making him more likable.  Same with Toby even.  I can even understand Joe on some levels.  That said, dude's dead to me for betraying the Synths and still treating his affair with Anita like it's no big thing.  Fine, she isn't human.  But quite acting like you were just looking at porn or doing it with a blow-up doll, because you know that was different, Joe.

 

All of George and Niska's scenes were awesome.  William Hurt and Emily Berrington really play off each other well.  And Odie is back!  Yay, Odie!

 

Kate is getting close to the Synths (or at least Niska), and doesn't seem like she's going to be an ally, despite being a Synth.  She does tell/show Pete after sleeping with him, and he's freaking out.  Pissed to hear that AMC cut out all of his stuff with his wife and their Synth.  I think it's really hurt the character, because it sounds like a lot of those scenes gave him more layers and whatnot, but in this version, he just comes off like a jerk.

 

Great episode.  Can't wait to see where this goes next, after all the big changes in this one.

[Tara Ariano]

When this episode aired in the UK, did Niska specifically tell George that Elster had sex with her? Because all we saw in the US was Niska telling George that she had "other duties" or some such phrase, and George immediately takes that to mean sexual duties,  which I know I would not infer from what was said. Did AMC chop a few seconds out of that scene that made Niska's meaning clearer?

 

He asks how old she is and she says she's nine. He laughs and says, "You're just a child," and she says, "He didn't always treat me like one." He says he's sorry, and she says, "Leo and the others don't know. I kept it from them." So it's pretty clear.

[FloatingHeadDoctor]

Good episode, I'm glad they gave us so many answers and didn't hold onto them until the season finale.

Like the other US viewers, I didn't see the scenes with Pete and Jill. I had assumed in previous eps they were trying to show that it was all in Pete's head by stating that insurance provided synth do not respond to the temp user as their primary user. Guess i was wrong. Though you'd think the insurance company would get an alert for illegal modding if they can tell when a unit has been powered down too long.

I didn't see Mia being Leo's surrogate mother. Didn't he call her baby last episode? Also, is Leo's wound a permanent hole in his side so they can access his wiring? There's gotta be a better way to do that then just letting him pass out from blood loss every which where.

And we'll miss you Maxxie. Come back soon, all your siblings are too violent and distrustful, they need a calmer head around.

[LeGrandElephant]

Can someone from the UK give a detailed summary of what you've seen of Jill and her synth (Simon?), because apparently us Americans have missed all of it! I got the gist from these comments but I'd really appreciate more info. I hope someone somewhere is keeping a list of what scenes got cut. Is there a good place to complain to AMC? Cutting major scenes is ridiculous, and gives me very negative feelings about an otherwise great show.

I'm sort of confused about Mia being Leo's mother figure rather than lover. Like others have said, the timeline doesn't really add up. It also makes me retroactively even more confused about why Leo seems to want to protect Mia so much more than he wants to protect Niska, his sister. He left her trapped in a brothel against her will to go try to rescue Mia. Shouldn't he feel at least as protective of his sister as his mother? I get what they were going for but I think I liked Leo and Mia's plot better when I thought it was romantic. Maybe the problem is that now the show has absolutely no romantic plots. Actually maybe that's ok. I don't know what I want to say, but some things about the backstory of this synth family just seem really off.

If I heard Leo correctly, his father killed himself when no one else was around. Off screen death... Wonder if he will pop up again actually alive, or having put his memories in a synth body.

[sluggish neko]

Finally stuff happens! They should have brought Mia back sooner-- before I got completely sick of the Hawkins family. One look at the teenage son's permanent derp face or that idiot asshole Joe and I tune out. There are still problems with plot contrivance that annoy me. Max had all that time while Leo was expositioning away to the Hawkins and he couldn't find the time to charge himself before they left? Really?

 

I don't mind missing a few scenes related to Pete's synth-complicated life. It's like All My Circuits but not as good cuz Calculon isn't in it.I'd totally watch a sitcom about Dr. Millican and his troublesome synths.

 

Fred is my new favorite BAMF.

[LeGrandElephant]

I thought it was a bad idea to have Joe leave the room for the big emotional reveal - then of course he wouldn't know why his family likes these people or why not to turn them in to the police. 

 

Timeline is very confusing - Leo relates to Mia like she was his mother from a very young age, and his memories seem that way too, but he doesn't look young enough to have been a little kid 14 years ago. Wonder if they will explain that or they just messed up. Leo also always looks like a mess, always panting and passing out. Did we ever see him get injured or is he just badly designed as a cyborg? Does he need to both eat and charge with electricity, or is electricity just useful as an extra aid when he's having problems? 

[Sakura12]

Can someone from the UK give a detailed summary of what you've seen of Jill and her synth (Simon?), because apparently us Americans have missed all of it! I got the gist from these comments but I'd really appreciate more info. I hope someone somewhere is keeping a list of what scenes got cut. Is there a good place to complain to AMC? Cutting major scenes is ridiculous, and gives me very negative feelings about an otherwise great show.

I watch the British airings, so I just checked my AMC recording. They took out that entire storyline. The first scene is Jill (is that her name?) and Simon in bed after sex, she asks him if he could be more spontaneous and he asks what would she like him to do. The second scene is her calling Pete saying that she had Simon modded and he's gone haywire. Pete runs off to help her and sees a shirtless Simon attempting to have sex with Jill, who locked herself in the kitchen. He tries to power him down but Simon ducks his attempt and says "If you power me down now I'll be unable to penetrate your wife", then Pete hits him with a crow bar that he was holding for some reason, Simon again tries to go to Jill and Pete starts beating him until he stops moving. He tells his wife that it's save to come out and she immediately runs and starts apologizing to the Synth. Then she tells Pete to leave.

Edited August 5, 2015 by Sakura12

[Mabinogia]

Why would they cut that? It sounds like a kind of important story, a counter to the passive way Anita handled being used for adult purposes. Kind of the show of how it could go very, very wrong. Not to mention the modding aspect, that modding a Synth can go wrong. I hate that they cut down the episodes. I'm going to have to go find the originals now as I'd like to see the show the way it was supposed to be seen.

[editorgrrl]

Why would they cut that? I'd like to see the show the way it was supposed to be seen.

Two reasons: Humans is 46 minutes in the UK (on Channel 4), but 42 minutes in the US (on AMC). We have more commercials. And US TV (even cable) is puritanical. Four minutes had to go, so of course they cut the synthetic penis.

Even PBS edits Masterpiece: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/about-masterpiece/frequently-asked-questions/

[Scarlett45]

I think that Leo doesn't look like his chronicological age because when his Dad placed his consciousness in synth tech he designed a synth in his mid 20s. Leo's consciousness may only be 17-20yrs old. (Which fits if he drowned as a 13yrs old boy, 4 years ago. I wasn't under the impression that Leo's synth body was to age normally, he will probably look the same age for a long time.

[LeGrandElephant]

I watch the British airings, so I just checked my AMC recording. They took out that entire storyline.

Thanks for the summary. I can't believe they cut that. Why can't they cut some lingering glances and the previews of the next episode? Even the credits, lots of shows cut those down. There are other ways to make time than cutting major scenes. At the very least they should put those scenes on the web; it would drive traffic to their website and they could show an ad first.

I think that Leo doesn't look like his chronicological age because when his Dad placed his consciousness in synth tech he designed a synth in his mid 20s. Leo's consciousness may only be 17-20yrs old. (Which fits if he drowned as a 13yrs old boy, 4 years ago. I wasn't under the impression that Leo's synth body was to age normally, he will probably look the same age for a long time.

Leo doesn't have a synth body - he bleeds red and so on. It seems like his father added synth parts to Leo's original body, not built a new one from scratch.

[Mabinogia]

Two reasons: Humans is 46 minutes in the UK (on Channel 4), but 42 minutes in the US (on AMC). We have more commercials. And US TV (even cable) is puritanical. Four minutes had to go, so of course they cut the synthetic penis.

 

I get the logistics of it, that something has to be cut, and did they really show a synth penis? Because they had no trouble implying the Joe/Anita sex, or the teenagers about to "rape" a synth, so why not show this, unless it really was graphic. Then I get it. Otherwise it just seems like an interesting storyline, a synth being used for something via mod and it going horribly wrong.

[Sakura12]

No Synth penis, just shirtless Simon attempting to keep having sex with Pete's wife. There was nothing graphic. 

 

Those scenes explain why Pete had sex with Karen, he found out his wife was in love with her synth and would rather be with a machine then him. 

[Scarlett45]

LeGrandElephant- thanks! I thought Leo's consciousness was uploaded into a synth body. I appreciate the clarification.

[Clanstarling]

Timeline is very confusing - Leo relates to Mia like she was his mother from a very young age, and his memories seem that way too, but he doesn't look young enough to have been a little kid 14 years ago.

I agree that the timeline is confusing - and he may not look young enough - but boy he acts it. He's more a sulky little boy than a man.

 

Two reasons: Humans is 46 minutes in the UK (on Channel 4), but 42 minutes in the US (on AMC). We have more commercials. And US TV (even cable) is puritanical. Four minutes had to go, so of course they cut the synthetic penis.

Even PBS edits Masterpiece: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/about-masterpiece/frequently-asked-questions/

US TV in general, perhaps, but AMC is the home of the Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, Halt & Catch Fire and Mad Men - which don't quite fill the puritanical bill.

[TonyMicheaux]

I think that Leo doesn't look like his chronicological age because when his Dad placed his consciousness in synth tech he designed a synth in his mid 20s. Leo's consciousness may only be 17-20yrs old. (Which fits if he drowned as a 13yrs old boy, 4 years ago. I wasn't under the impression that Leo's synth body was to age normally, he will probably look the same age for a long time.

you mean 14 years ago lol not 4 years ago  i  was scratching my head at that four years ago comment

[fauntleroy]

I think that Leo doesn't look like his chronicological age because when his Dad placed his consciousness in synth tech he designed a synth in his mid 20s. Leo's consciousness may only be 17-20yrs old. (Which fits if he drowned as a 13yrs old boy, 4 years ago. I wasn't under the impression that Leo's synth body was to age normally, he will probably look the same age for a long time.

 

you mean 14 years ago lol not 4 years ago  i  was scratching my head at that four years ago comment

 

I'm still scratching my head about this whole thing!

 

(Hey, did a nested quote, I feel momentarily smart.)

Edited August 7, 2015 by fauntleroy

[marcee]

Re: Karen. In Leo's memory-made-movie, there's a scene after we meet all of his "family" around when David freaks out, that we see a shot of David head on and there's obviously a woman standing directly behind him. I have to assume that's Karen. I would wager (being unspoiled and unpreviewed) that he made her last to handle things "after he's gone"...knowing he was going to kill himself, he left her behind (his best creation, able to infiltrate the police and actually live life as a human) to clean up his "mess". Based on Millican's recollection of David, he didn't really care about his creations - only the science. So once Leo was grown and able to take care of himself, he probably wanted to make sure there was someone left to tie up loose ends.

[Scarlett45]

you mean 14 years ago lol not 4 years ago i was scratching my head at that four years ago comment

No I meant four (4) years ago. I misunderstood- I thought Leo's consciousness was only 17-18 or so but he had been uploaded into an older looking synth body. I didn't realize that he was still human with synth "upgrades"- for a better term. Sorry for the confusion.

[whirledweary]

I don't see why Joe having sex with Anita was wrong. From the "over-18" app and the uncut version of this episode, we know that all synths, male or female, are built to function as sex toys. If Laura has such a strong morale judgement about having sex with synths, then she should have talked with Joe about this, or insisted they get a male synth or a less attractive (and probably less expensive) synth, like George's new synth. At this point in the story, no one knows synths have feelings and can feel violated by sex or bodily harm.  They make real-looking dolls for sex nowadays, eg Sinthetics.com  Having sex with a doll, no matter how realistic it looks (or behaves) is not hurting or violating anyone.  I cannot imagine being jealous of someone having sex with a synth.  If Joe knew that Anita could feel and was a conscious being, then that's completely different.

 

I'm fascinated by how the synths have personalities that are a reflection of how they've been treated.  I hope Max can be revived. It's interesting that he is trying to connect with God and persuade the other synths to forgive humans.

[Clanstarling]

I don't see why Joe having sex with Anita was wrong. From the "over-18" app and the uncut version of this episode, we know that all synths, male or female, are built to function as sex toys. If Laura has such a strong morale judgement about having sex with synths, then she should have talked with Joe about this, or insisted they get a male synth or a less attractive (and probably less expensive) synth, like George's new synth. At this point in the story, no one knows synths have feelings and can feel violated by sex or bodily harm.  They make real-looking dolls for sex nowadays, eg Sinthetics.com  Having sex with a doll, no matter how realistic it looks (or behaves) is not hurting or violating anyone.  I cannot imagine being jealous of someone having sex with a synth.  If Joe knew that Anita could feel and was a conscious being, then that's completely different.

 

I'm fascinated by how the synths have personalities that are a reflection of how they've been treated.  I hope Max can be revived. It's interesting that he is trying to connect with God and persuade the other synths to forgive humans.

I don't imagine most wives in our reality think they need to have a conversation with their husbands to say "don't fuck blow up dolls, sheep, and vacuum cleaner hoses."  So I'm not sure how this is seen as Laura's fault. If I recall correctly, she was adamantly against the purchase of Anita in the first place, without even considering the Adult Option.  Having sex with synthetics is indeed hurting a spouse (wives or husbands) - if they are not explicitly aware and approving.

 

If Joe was single, in the context of that world, sure, he would have done nothing wrong. But he is not only married, he did it to spite his wife - who he falsely imagined was being unfaithful(now there was a conversation that should have been initiated - but by Joe). He didn't think he'd get caught, but he knew it was wrong - in the context of their marriage.

Edited August 8, 2015 by clanstarling

[Tara Ariano]

I don't imagine most wives in our reality think they need to have a conversation with their husbands to say "don't fuck blow up dolls, sheep, and vacuum cleaner hoses."  So I'm not sure how this is seen as Laura's fault.

 

THANK YOU.

[izabella]

I don't see why Joe having sex with Anita was wrong. From the "over-18" app and the uncut version of this episode, we know that all synths, male or female, are built to function as sex toys. If Laura has such a strong morale judgement about having sex with synths, then she should have talked with Joe about this, or insisted they get a male synth or a less attractive (and probably less expensive) synth, like George's new synth. At this point in the story, no one knows synths have feelings and can feel violated by sex or bodily harm.  They make real-looking dolls for sex nowadays, eg Sinthetics.com  Having sex with a doll, no matter how realistic it looks (or behaves) is not hurting or violating anyone.  I cannot imagine being jealous of someone having sex with a synth.  If Joe knew that Anita could feel and was a conscious being, then that's completely different.

 

From my perspective, I thought Joe became super curious what it would be like to have sex with Anita's adult option turned on, and he couldn't help but try it out once that thought firmly planted itself in his mind after examining her body for damage.  I would imagine most men would be at least a little curious and that thought would cross their minds.

 

Joe should have just told Laura right after it happened, but they weren't exactly in a healthy relationship, certainly not one where they are open with each other and playful about sex and human nature.  In a different relationship, that Laura might respond with, "Of course you tried out the adult option!  I'm surprised it took you this long.  How was it?" 

 

Joe was wrong because he knew that he and Laura were not on the same page about Anita, including her sex program.   All synths may include the sex program but she was not brought into their home to be a sexbot.  She was to be a housekeeper/nanny, period.  That's why he did it in secret, and tried to keep it a secret.  He knew this would not be ok in his marriage.

Edited August 9, 2015 by izabella

[Tara Ariano]

Also, it doesn't matter whether we individually would bone a synth if we could. Joe's wife doesn't think it's acceptable. The rest of us aren't part of their marriage.

[whirledweary]

If my spouse wanted to have sex with the vacuum cleaner, I'd think it was weird, but not cheating. I’m sure there are all kinds of sex fetishes that don't hurt anyone. I agree with clanstarling and izabella that if it felt wrong to Joe and he was doing it to spite Laura, then it's on him to make it right.

 

It’s totally believable to me that our society would make synths as sexy as possible, and that manufacturers would see a way to make more money by offering certain “enhancements”.  But then wouldn’t we also have Jerry Springer-like talk shows exploiting synth sex from all sides?  And wouldn’t dating couples talk about their opinions about sex with synths when they are getting to know each other?  Shouldn’t people disclose their sexual preferences, turn-offs, and hang ups when they are dating to make sure they are with the right person?

 

Maybe Laura told Joe that she didn’t want him to have sex with any synth that also cares for their children. Then it makes sense that she’d be upset.  Otherwise, to me it still seems on the same level as watching porn or sniffing underwear (like on Orange is the New Black).

 

I love that this show is manipulating us to question human behavior and our morale judgments about right and wrong.

[shrewd.buddha]

I do believe that Joe f*cked up, but considering the circumstances : his wife has been distant both emotionally and physically. She is keeping secrets. The android nanny is making her look bad as a mother, cook, game player, etc, etc. .

Yes, their marriage appears to be in the toilet, to the point that their own son feels the need to lie about who used the 'adult mode' , because he knows how rocky things are. ..

BUT... in the real world, as well as the Humans world, nothing good is going to come of a situation where one half of a couple has the attitude of "I am not interested in sex, therefore you are not allowed to have sex until I permit you. " This is true for both females and males. It's an unspoken ultimatum that guarantees an unhappy outcome.

Bottom line : Laura and Joe appear to have a lot of issues. If a fifteen second humping session with an Android can devastate a twenty year marriage, then it was pretty much over already. Just my opinion. ..

Edited August 9, 2015 by shrewd.buddha

[Armchair Critic]

a fifteen second humping session

If he's that quick that may be why his wife is not interested in sex with him any more. hahaaa

[Clanstarling]

I do believe that Joe f*cked up, but considering the circumstances : his wife has been distant both emotionally and physically. She is keeping secrets. The android nanny is making her look bad as a mother, cook, game player, etc, etc. .

Yes, their marriage appears to be in the toilet, to the point that their own son feels the need to lie about who used the 'adult mode' , because he knows how rocky things are. ..

BUT... in the real world, as well as the Humans world, nothing good is going to come of a situation where one half of a couple has the attitude of "I am not interested in sex, therefore you are not allowed to have sex until I permit you. " This is true for both females and males. It's an unspoken ultimatum that guarantees an unhappy outcome.

Bottom line : Laura and Joe appear to have a lot of issues. If a fifteen second humping session with an Android can devastate a twenty year marriage, then it was pretty much over already. Just my opinion. ..

I will certainly agree that Laura and Joe appear to have a lot of issues. Spinning the sentiment in the bolded paragraph a slightly different way, apparently it is okay for a spouse (man or woman) to feel entitled to sex whatever the emotional condition the other half is in. S/he's supposed to be up for it, whenever the other spouse wants, apparently, and the consequences are that if s/he isn't, then the spouse entitled to an out clause?  Huh. I didn't know it worked that way. As for an unspoken ultimatum, is it  "if you won't have sex with me, I'll find another outlet?" Because that's the way it reads to me.

 

I think one of the key differences in the opinions here have been those who see the androids (and blow up dolls) as no different than any other masturbatory device. To me, once the "device" has a face, mouth, and other simulated human body parts, then it crosses a boundry. 

Edited August 9, 2015 by clanstarling

[shrewd.buddha]

Just to be clear, the 'unspoken ultimatum' I was trying to imply was that sometimes, with some couples, there is the unspoken agreement/rule that  any form of sexual gratification must be with the other person, or approved by the other person. When one party becomes unwilling (or unable) to participate, and no one wants to talk about it openly, things tend to go downhill..
I think Ms. Chaterley had that problem years ago..

 

..And marriages , or long term relationships, are very complicated : because of children, finances, sex, careers, etc. It just doesn't seem logical that one rash sex act would be the undoing of everything they had -- unless one or the other was looking for one  good reason to abandon ship.. (Things would be completely different if Joe had actually raped someone, robbed a bank, was discovered to be an undercover Russian sleeper spy -- or happened to be Ben Affleck.) 

 

I do think Joe did wrong -- but not by Anita, who, as far as anyone knew, was merely a nanny/sexbot. I have more issues with the notion of there actually being a nanny/sexbot available for purchase (I've ranted about that before).

Edited August 9, 2015 by shrewd.buddha

[John Potts]

I agree that it varies from couple to couple, but I'd like to think that it's the sort of thing that couple ought to discuss (at least in general terms) what's OK - if you're not there, is it OK if I Watch porn/use a vibrator/use a rubber doll? It's pretty clear that Joe knew Laura would not be OK with him screwing Anita (or using her as a masturbatory aid, if you want to think of it that way), or he wouldn't have kept it a secret.

[Clanstarling]

Just to be clear, the 'unspoken ultimatum' I was trying to imply was that sometimes, with some couples, there is the unspoken agreement/rule that  any form of sexual gratification must be with the other person, or approved by the other person. When one party becomes unwilling (or unable) to participate, and no one wants to talk about it openly, things tend to go downhill..

I think Ms. Chaterley had that problem years ago..

 

..And marriages , or long term relationships, are very complicated : because of children, finances, sex, careers, etc. It just doesn't seem logical that one rash sex act would be the undoing of everything they had -- unless one or the other was looking for one  good reason to abandon ship.. (Things would be completely different if Joe had actually raped someone, robbed a bank, was discovered to be an undercover Russian sleeper spy -- or happened to be Ben Affleck.) 

 

I do think Joe did wrong -- but not by Anita, who, as far as anyone knew, was merely a nanny/sexbot. I have more issues with the notion of there actually being a nanny/sexbot available for purchase (I've ranted about that before).

Oh, okay. Now I understand. We are in total agreement then. :)

[viajero]

They are only now showing this here where I live, but at least it seems we are getting the complete original British version.  This is the second science fiction series I've watched this year that started slow, but completely grabbed me by the time it hit mid-season.  As was the case with Sense8, it seems to be getting better and better with each episode.  A lot of it has to do with how they've fleshed out the characters and begun tying together the seemingly disparate sub-plots.  I certainly would never have predicted after the first episode that my favorite characters would end up being Mattie, Miska and George. 

 

In the movie AI (Stephen Spielberg), the android actors were given special makeup to make them look sort of plastic and too symmetrically perfect (sexbots as well as little boybots). 

HUMANS, while being interesting and well written, seems as if they really want the audience to anthropomorphize the androids by just using the actors with little or no prosthetic makeup to hide wrinkles, moles, freckles. etc. 

I think this is the kind of storytelling cheating I was talking about. Because, of course we are going to empathize with Anita/Mia as a victim because she looks exactly like a real woman - minus the blank expression and calculated head tilts. 

 

So, when I see Anita, Niska, Odie, etc , what I'm thinking is : The show doesn't have a budget to afford expensive special effects and prosthetics. But if it did they would probably not make the synths look so 'real' -- and then I wouldn't anthropomorphize as much. 

I know that if I lived in this world and could afford an android housekeeper, I would specifically request a sexless, non gender specific , faceless model -- because the last thing I would want is to feel so bad for the robot vacuuming the house that I would feel obliged to help out.. 

 

Whether they have the budget or not, I think its intentional that many of the human characters (and we the audience) anthropomorphize as much as seems to be happening.  Many of the key story lines simply wouldn't work if the dollies were more obviously machines.  Otherwise it would hardly be believable that at least some of the human owners fall into treating their androids as something more than highly automated talking vacuum cleaners

 

I get that having Anita do that GASP! whenever Mia comes to the surface makes it obvious to the audience that something is happening, but synths don't breath, and the idea that she suddenly needs air is stupid. They're really hitting us over the head with it when something more subtle would be more appropriate.

 

While they may not have lungs, they may need to breath in at least some air to be able to be able to speak.  I guess it depends on how they produce sound.

[candall]

On ‎8‎/‎2‎/‎2015 at 9:31 PM, CarpeDiem54 said:

This apparently is the scene in this episode that AMC cut out. This really pisses me off. All of the deleted scenes with Pete's wife and her synth really change the perception we have of Pete, and consequently, his relationship with Karen.

I'm binge-watching the 5/25/16 marathon on Sundance, reading the recaps and comments as I go along.

Before I saw the comment above, I spot-checked this episode on fast-forward THREE TIMES looking for the scene with Pete's wife and her synth.  Pfft.  I didn't think Sundance Channel adhered to the stupid American maxim that violent gore is fine, sex less so.

Anyway, the Pete's wife plotpoint is significant not only for purposes of the Pete/Karen relationship but as a juxtaposition to Joe and Anita, so thanks for clueing me in, PTV people.

[RadiantAerynSun]

On 5/26/2016 at 8:47 AM, candall said:

Before I saw the comment above, I spot-checked this episode on fast-forward THREE TIMES looking for the scene with Pete's wife and her synth.  Pfft.  I didn't think Sundance Channel adhered to the stupid American maxim that violent gore is fine, sex less so.

LOL that was just me too watching this episode on Amazon. I was like wait what? I sometimes get distracted by my phone but i scrolled through the whole episode and this scene does not exist in amazon's cut. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Fred finally gets to speak! Heh, as soon as he smashed his hand through that door, I knew I really liked him.

Awww, poor sweet Max. He loves his family so much. Loved him praying and promising to try to believe in God if his family is safe.

Man, Niska always seems to get the short end of the stick. First David was fucking her and then she got stuck working in a brothel.

Yay for the return of Odi!

I felt bad for Laura when Mattie started badgering her about who Tom was. Like Laura said, you don't get to know everything!

Loved that we finally got to meet Mia and find out some of her back story. And I loved the family reunion! But damn it, Max, WHYYYYYYYY?

I really wonder why Joe was so eager to get rid of Anita. Was it just guilt?

I'm curious as to why Karen thought she should tell Pete that she's a synth. I mean, she's seen the way he acts, so why did she think this news would go over well with him?