Gaslight

Gaslight
Season 2, Episode 5
Air Date	August 20, 2012
Episode Guide
"When Push Comes to Shove"	"Alphaville"

"Gaslight" is the fifth episode of the second season Alphas. It airs on Syfy on August 20, 2012.

Synopsis

The team works to find the source of mysterious hallucinations at a hospital while Dr. Rosen delves deeper into Parish's conspiracies and Gary copes with Anna's death.

Summary

In a New York hospital, a man, Adam Gordon, goes to the morgue and confirms that a dead girl is his sister, Maggie. The attendant takes him to do the paperwork. As they walk away, the lights flicker and Adam hears Maggie calling to him. The attendant doesn't hear anything but he runs to his sister as she gestures to him. The attendant restrain him and Adam climbs up the wall and goes around them. When he drops to the floor, they grab him and drag him away... and Adam sees that Maggie is dead and has been all along.

Lee Rosen is in his office in the evening when Nina comes in for the first time since she lost control. He tells her that he thought it would be best for to get acclimated without the others around and needs her help, but suggests they take a different approach to her recovery. Nina says that she's ready to go to work, but Rosen explains that he's frightened of Stanton Parish because he's willing to kill anyone who gets in his way. Gary Bell has connected Stanton's considerable fortune to a charity, the Llamrei Foundation. There are some donations to New York Senator Burton and Rosen hopes that Nina can ask Burton what she knows about Stanton. Nina agrees to help and Rosen gives her the senator's schedule.

The next day, Hicks is talking to his son Tyler Hicks in Nevada by webcam and giving him pitching tips. Hicks' ex-wife comes on and tells him that her new boyfriend is taking them to San Francisco so she is cancelling Tyler's visit to Hicks. Bill Harken hears the tail end of the conversation and says that he's sick, and Hicks admits that he was drunk and misses Tyler's first Little League tryout. He figures that his ex-wife is still ticked off at him and rightly so, and then notices that Bill is bruised. Bill finally admits that he's going to the fight club but that he has it under control.

Rachel helps Gary dress for the tombstone unveiling of Anna Levy. Gary isn't convinced that seeing the memorial will help. Nina comes in and tells Gary that he looks great. Rachel insists that Nina isn't a part of their team and Nina tries to apologize, but Rachel tells her that she isn't interested in hearing it.

Rosen gets a report from an analyst about Adam, a former patient, and he tells Hicks and Bill that he had been fine for a long time until something triggered his condition. As they leave, Kat comes in with bedding and Rosen explains that he's conducting a sleep study that night and invites her to make herself comfortable in his office.

Nina goes to the hotel where Burton is attending a fundraiser and approaches her in the women's restroom. They make small talk and then Nina uses her ability to make Burton tell her what she did for the Llamrei Foundation. Burton tells Nina that she can't tell her because the information is gone and Nina lets her go.

Rosen meets with Adam at the hospital, and Adam says that Maggie was alive and that he'd do anything for her. He found out six months ago that Maggie was using and cut her off, but she got worse. Rosen points out that Adam's emotions have always been at his fingertips and suggests that he go to a clinic for further treatment. Adam agrees and Rosen tells him that Bill and Hicks will take him to the clinic. Rosen briefs them and then leaves for some pressing business.

An orderly is bringing Adam down in the elevator when it jolts as the light flickers. Adam hears Maggie crying for help and attacks the orderly. When the elevator reaches the ground floor, Hicks and Bill find the injured orderly and see Adam climbing up the elevator shaft.

At the memorial unveiling, the rabbi speaks about how Anna is still with them and would want them to live together. Gary doesn't understand the idea of Anna's spirit being there and objects, and Rachel tries to calm him down. Rachel's phone ring and she quickly leaves with Gary.

That night, Hicks and Bill coordinate the search of the hospital as Gary and Rachel arrive. Rachel hears someone calling for help while Hicks has Gary tap into the security feeds. Hicks, Bill; and Rachel follow the voice to the closed wing of the hospital. Bill has confirmed that the staff has experienced odd equipment malfunctions and strange images. They split up and Hicks goes off in one direction.

Gary is checking the cameras when Anna comes over and talks to him. He points out that she's dead and doesn't talk, but Anna says that she's different now. Gary spots a passing janitor and asks if he sees Anna, and the man doesn't see anyone. Anna points out that he sees signals all the time and then fades out and fades back into sight.

Nina tells Rosen what Burton told her and Rosen figures that the information is there but out of reach. He suggests that Nina can try retrieving it by using her pull instead of push. When Nina warns that she has never been able to do that, Rosen reminds her that her power has grown but says that he won't ask her to do it unless she's comfortable with the idea. Nina agrees and says that Burton is leaving on a red-eye flight. However, Rosen wants her to test her ability to pull memories and takes her to see Kat. They hook her up and Kat takes Nina's hand, saying that he felt right. Nina uses her ability to have her focus on her sixteenth birthday and Kat starts to remember. She recalls a woman but Nina calls a break when Kat starts feeling stressed and scratches her hand, drawing blood. Satisfied that Nina can do it, Rosen takes her to the airport to find Burton before she leaves.

Gary follows the apparition of Anna into a stairwell and notices that she's getting stronger as she moves up higher in the building, just like a signal. However, Gary is sure that she's not a signal. Anna touches him and thanks him for putting on a tie for her, and they continue upward.

Rachel and Bill follow Adam's voice to an operating room. Bill suddenly vanishes as the lights flicker and Adam drops down on her from the ceiling. Bill and Hicks arrive a few minutes later, following the scream, but there's no sign of her and she doesn't answer her phone. When Hicks points out that Bill was supposed to stay with her, Bill says that Hicks was with Rachel. Hicks calls in security to do a sweep of the floor while Bill calls Rosen.

At the airport, Rosen tells Bill that he'll be there as soon as he can. Nina spots Burton and they go over while Rosen asks about Kat scratching her hand. As they get to the lounge, Nina explains that Kat spent a lot of time in hospitals and someone held her hand to reassure her. Rosen asks her if she's sure she wants to help and Nina assures him that she is and goes to confront Burton.

As they walk through the halls, Gary explains about how he stays in the office. Bill calls him and Gary tells him that he's talking to Anna and hangs up. Anna tells Gary to help his fellow Alphas and he pings Rachel's cell phone.

Nina draws on Burton's memories and gets a partial description. As the senator's aides knock at the door, Burton says that the man approached her about trial tests and recalls the month of August. The aides come in and Burton goes with them, and Rosen assures Nina that they'll figure out what August means.

Bill continues searching for Rachel and the lights flicker again as a figure moves through the halls. Meanwhile, Hicks hears the sounds of baseball practice in the stairwell and a baseball bounces down. Tyler calls to his father, begging for help, and Hicks runs up in time to see two orderlies taking Tyler away.

Adam handcuffs Rachel to a chair and sees her as Maggie, saying that he will use the machine to drain the blood and drugs from her and get her clean. Rachel manages to grab a scalpel and uses it to pick the lock with her enhanced hearing and then runs. She gets in an elevator and heads for the floor with the hydrotherapy pool, unaware that she's seeing Bill as Adam. When Bill fails to catch her, he runs down the stairs after her

Adam goes back to the room and hears Maggie calling to him, saying that she's drowning.

Bill catches up to the elevator and finds the scalpel but no sign of Rachel. The words "I'm drowning" are written on the wall.

Adam approaches the room's sink and sees Maggie in the water. When he bends over to help her, she pulls him under.

Bill continues to search for Rachel and keeps glimpsing a figure coming up behind him. When he picks up a mirror, he catches a brief glimpse of his own face. The figure becomes Gary, who says that he pinged Rachel's phone because Anna asked him to. Bill reminds him that Anna is dead and wonders if Gary is seeing things, but Gary insists that Anna is alive and go to find her. Meanwhile, Hicks chases after the orderlies who have Tyler but they take him to the morgue, lock the door behind him, and put Tyler in a morgue drawer.

As he continues to search, Bill finds Rachel's cell phone. He looks down the hall and sees Gary in the sink.

Gary and Anna are walking down the hall and he notices a tray of surgical instruments that are vibrating on their own. He takes out the phone that Skylar gave him and determines that an infrasound signal is generating the vibrations.

Rosen arrives in the elevator and finds Bill, who tells him that Adam is dead and Rachel wrote "I'm drowning" on the wall. As Gary arrives, Bill warns that they're dealing with something they don't understand. Gary tells them that they're dealing with infrasound and Rosen realizes that it affect the human brain, and an Alpha's brain even more. Bill figures it is affecting Rachel and Gary says that he can see Anna. He's recorded the signal and Rosen has him modify it to be audible and they hear the words, "Help me, I'm drowning." Bill sets out to find Rachel before she drowns, and Rosen warns him that the closer he gets to the source of the sound, the more powerful it will be.

Rachel goes to the hydrotherapy pool and hears someone calling to her. She sees Nina at the bottom of the poll and dives in to rescue her.

Gary and Rosen continue searching and Gary says that Anna is becoming more solid as they get closer to the signal. Rosen realizes that each of them is desperate to help someone based on the subliminal cry for help in the infrasound. He's sure that a person is calling for help, not a machine.

The orderlies have captured Hicks and prepare to cut him open.

Bill gets to the pool and confronts... himself. He amps up and fights his doppelganger, who is equally strong.

Rachel swims down and grabs Nina, who grabs her and pulls her down.

Gary checks the records and confirms that there were three near-drowning victims. One of them, a sixteen-year-old Jason Miller, is in a vegetative state and his parents are there to okay the harvesting of Jason's organs. Rosen realizes there is a way to save Jason and stop the infrasound and leaves. Anna asks Gary what's wrong and he explains that he's realized that he's seeing Anna because of the infrasound and he knows she's not real. However, he admits that he likes seeing her and goes off to find Jason. They find him in the ICU and confirms that the infrasound is coming from him. Gary locks the door just as Rosen arrives and explains that the others are in danger. However, Gary refuses to let Rosen in to wake Jason up because then he'll lose Anna again. Rosen warns that he's not thinking clearly and Gary agrees, but he still wants to save Anna the way he couldn't the first time. After a moment, Rosen tells Gary to ask Anna what she wants him to do and she tells him that Jason is an Alpha and Gary can save his life. She tells him that Alphas need to be there for each other.

Bill is beaten by his imaginary counterpart, while Rachel drowns and Hicks goes under the knife.

Gary hesitates and then unlocks the door. Rosen administers a drug to wake Jason up.

Hicks snaps out of his hallucination and realizes that he's been cutting himself.

Bill snaps out of his coma just as his counterpart would have crushed him.

The hallucination of Anna kisses Gary on the cheek and then disappears.

Bill dives into the pool and pulls Rachel out just in time.

Later, Rosen talks to Jason and asks if he remembers any sensations of drowning. Jason doesn't remember anything and asks for some chips. Rosen notices that a nurse is using a photic stimulator on another patient and confirms that it was used on Jason to test brain activity. The name of the company that manufactures the stimulator is August Medical.

Hicks goes to see Tyler despite the fact he doesn't have permission and his ex-wife reluctantly lets him in. When Tyler wonders why he's there, Hicks hugs him.

Nina approaches Rachel at the office and asks how she's doing, but Rachel brushes her off. However, after a moment, Rachel thanks her for asking.

Kat is memorizing art lessons and draws the woman that she saw in her memories. She touches the sketches hand and remembers the woman taking her hand.

Rosen is in his office studying the photic stimulator when Gary comes in. He's confirmed that there are 2,700 of them in use across the country and Rosen admits that they don't know if it is tied to Stanton. He then asks Gary for Skylar's phone in the hopes that she can figure out the device. Gary mentions Anna, referring to her in the present tense, and Rosen says that it's okay if he thinks that. However, Gary says that he knows she's dead but he's come up with another way to honor her. Back in his office, Gary tweets a "Anna_Lives" message saying that the revolution is coming and sends it out on the Internet.

Trivia

• "Llamrei" is the name of a mare King Arthur owned, taken from the Welsh folk tale "Culwhch and Olwen."
• Gary's tweet is from an active twitter account: @Anna_Lives