Another week, another episode, and Alphas still hasn’t made me want to stop watching. Each week the show has been able to combine just the right amount of procedural, character development, and mythology to keep me entertained. With the third episode, “Anger Management”, they’re now gloriously stepping it up a notch.

This week, the team investigates something causing groups of people to go into a violent rage, making for some very intense and graphic tv for Syfy, and bringing in some much needed edge to the show. Things just got real.

Alphas (s01e03): Anger Management

Wow, this episode was quite a shocker. Before watching this show, I’d seen enough bits and pieces of Eureka and Warehouse 13 to think most shows on SyFy tended to stay on the lighthearted-action side of the spectrum. And for the most part, Alphas had balanced the serious with equal parts fun up until now.

This episode benefited from an increased sense of urgency and tension. With the pacing, the editing, the music, and the camera angles, I spent a lot of the time on edge and trying to figure out what was going to happen next.

Still, I was rather surprised to see this much violence and a supporting character being beat to death with a chair. It was a little hard to watch. I really wasn’t expecting poor Agent Wilson to die so soon, but I suppose it makes sense given the actor’s commitments for multiple other shows.

Gary: Give me the gun I’ll shoot it.
Bill: Gary, I’m not giving you my gun.
Gary: Yeah, give me your-no, you’re right. Give me a grenade.

I continue to love all the little moments between our team of characters. They’re all very different people with different backgrounds, yet they’ve banded together because of their powers. Sometimes they might bicker, like Gary testing Bill’s patience when complaining about the hum outside. Other times they help each other out, like Hicks actually stopping the humming for Gary. I’m interested in seeing how the friendship between Nina and Rachel develops now that they’ll be living together. They not only help others but also themselves.

Sometimes elements can be a little cheesy, but the show has really set itself up nicely with standalone episodes that also serve to unravel the ultimate mystery and mythology. Now that Agent Wilson has died and been replaced with Agent Cley it seems events will be getting even more grave. Rosen’s Binghamton box is only going to get more and more full.