What I’m Watching: Counterpart

Counterpart: Season 2, Episode 2 “Outside In” (B+)

While one of this show’s most fascinating elements is seeing both of its worlds play out at the same time, there’s also something that feels appropriately lonely and claustrophobic about just spending time in one world, especially if it’s the other side. Seeing Howard with a beard was jarring, though he’d theoretically be able to shave before he comes back into contact with Howard Prime. Learning that his Emily was the reason that he could never get promoted is deeply troubling, and it’s going to cause him to question who he is if he ever manages to get back to his world. He’s definitely changing while in prison, and his first instinct remains to be protective of those around him, telling Emily that she shouldn’t be there when she finally got in to visit him after coming to the prison each day to try. I don’t think that Emily is faking her recovery, though it is becoming clearer that she bears much more of a resemblance to Howard Prime than either to her other or his. Mira is being positioned as the head of Indigo, and she’s making targeted strikes against members of Management so that she can engineer a takeover. Her influence extends considerably farther than those on her side realize, and we haven’t even gotten into what’s happening back in our world. Emily got close to having a lead, but so many of Indigo’s followers and associates are well-trained and well-insulated that their identities are only revealed long after they’re either done, gone, or crossed.