ALPHAS: Summer Glau Guests as the Smartest Woman Alive

Syfy’s newest original series, Alphas, welcomes fan favorite Summer Glau when she guest stars in tonight’s episode. The series follows five people with the unique power to stretch the capabilities of the human mind giving them superhuman physical and mental abilities. Operating within the Defense Criminal Investigation Service of the U.S. Department of Defense, the team investigates cases that point to others with Alpha abilities. In essence, they’re a sort of police force for super-humans.

When an Alpha previously deemed nonthreatening blows up her workshop, the team is called in to investigate. The Alpha, Skyler played by Summer Glau, is an inventor of items most of us couldn’t even dream of, let alone create. She reminds me a little of River Tam, but without all the psychosis. Summer has perfected the role of extremely intelligent yet vulnerable women who are desired for their brains. Not a bad archetype to own.

Skyler’s latest invention is something the government wants, badly, but she doesn’t want to give it to them for fear that it will be used for destructive purposes. When government operatives track her down at her lab, she escapes and blows up her research to protect it. On the run, she reconnects with Dr. Rosen’s team as they try to find out what’s going on and protect her from the men chasing her. It’s a complicated case with a couple of surprising twists, asking questions like just how involved the government needs to be in the lives of citizens, even if they have gifts like the Alphas do.

Subplots involving Gary’s worried mother (he revealed his classified work to her last week), Bill’s concern over passing his Alpha genes to his offspring, and the budding romance between Nina & Cameron are neatly tied into the A-story, giving us a little more insight into these five remarkable people.

Alphas airs tonight at 10/9c on Syfy.