Will To Power
William is now the captain of the Salvare, and he’s determined to find out what happened. He’s been told that Gabriel was actually killed in a fight on board the ship, and his body has never been found. William is also determined to find out who did this, and why.
In the present, Niko confronts Iara and claims she’s responsible for getting rid of the tether. She vows on her life she’s not responsible but Niko is not so sure. In order to properly incriminate her though, Niko needs evidence. She puts Richard and Dillon on this task, determined to figure out the truth.
The duo begin checking through the console logs and start meticulously poring over her processing data. It causes Iara immense pain, even for an AI, and she writhes in pain in the air. During a momentary respite, she admits to breaking the tether and disappears from view. ..
Niko is skeptical of Iara’s confession, given that it was made under duress. The attention turns to the other AI - William. ..
While the gang searches through William’s history, Niko speaks to Iara, who tries to gain the Captain’s trust. After all, Iara highlights a good point - she could have left at any time but decided not to. ..
When Niko returns to see Richard, she finds out there’s a deep-rooted bit of programming stuck in William’s coding. And as they take a look, William transforms into Gabriel.
Gabriel has discovered that William is the one who caused the break in the tether and is responsible for what’s happened with Iara. He doesn’t stop there though, he also hacks into Iara’s memories and exploits her vulnerabilities. Gabriel wants to know who William really is and what his true intentions are.
The group of survivors find a habitable planet nearby and decide to head down to take a look. With half the gang out of commission, Gabriel hacks into the oxygen supply and locks onto a new trajectory directly for the Achaia home world. As they jump, Cas and the others are left on the planet alone. ..
Now, further flashbacks have confirmed that actually Gabriel is the one who’s emotionally unstable and William was the one who took over. Iara comes to the rescue, saving William and making sure Gabriel is forever tortured and kept at bay. However, the two AIs continue to wrestle for control. There’s only one solution – a hard reset. ..
The Episode Review
In the fourth chapter of Another Life, William is not the one responsible for cutting the tether. Gabriel is. Only, how have we not uncovered this guy before this chapter?
Anyway, the detour to a habitable planet feels a bit left-field and an unnecessary diversion too, while the main drive of the story – the AI situation in the wake of the Achaian threat – has a good amount of screen-time to flesh it out. The show is still not without its issues but this chapter is at least an improvement over what we’ve seen so far.
The Achaian threat is still looming and our heroes are not out of the woods just yet. With the group fractured, the future of the Salvare still unknown, and the ending leaving things wide open for the rest of the season, it’s clear that there is much more to come in Season 2. ..
