Class of ’09 (Hulu Miniseries) Episode 5: ‘Class of ’09’ has been exploring the effect of A.I. intrusion in FBI operations. Until now, the writing has persistently balanced out its objections with virtues that an unbiased A.I. system can provide.
The FX show attempts to put forth political truths about the prejudiced American legal system. Its previous episode focused on the roots of the Poet’s distrust in the unjust method that existed in the past. Tupirik found a way to get inside the FBI building while simultaneously carrying out his operation – to crash down the J Edgar Hoover building.
The fifth episode shows how Taye and Vivienne met for the first time and how their drive for justice brought them closer. It also explores how Taye started to get hypervigilant about the legal system after the FBI HQ attack.
*Spoilers Ahead*
Class of ’09 (Hulu Miniseries) Episode 5 Recap:
Episode 5: The Problem Is People
The episode begins in the past, i.e., 2009. Drew (Brooke Smith) and Gabriel (Jon Jon Briones) declare that the entire batch has passed the firearms test in their entrance exams. The trainees are shown the names of FBI agents who died on their duty. Drew says how these ex-agents stayed true to the values of fidelity, bravery, and integrity.
How do Poet and Lennix survive the FBI HQ attack?
In the present, i.e., 2023, J Edgar Hoover building crashes down because of Mark Tupirik’s (Mark Pellegrino) calculated operation. Lennix (Brian J. Smith), who was trying to rescue Poet (Kate Mara), remains stuck under the debris with her. The unfortunate incident makes her scared that he will lose his life. She tries to keep him awake until help arrives.
Two years later, we see Tayo Michaels (Brian Tyree Henry) in the US Senate Hearing, being asked about the tragic incident. He is an executive assistant director at the time, and the tragedy is considered to be his gigantic failure. He says that although they had the facts about the event, they failed to understand them. Furthermore, he claims that they need to rebuild their entire approach to stop such things from happening in the future.
Later, Tayo explains his new plan to his senior, Mr. Fitzpatrick, which involves a deeper kind of learning devoid of biases. A white attorney sitting next to Tayo assumes that Hour (Sepideh Moafi) put him on this mission. Besides, Mr. Fitzpatrick believes Taye’s new revolutionary approach is far-fetched. He does not think their institution is built on revolution. Tayo still defends his stance to the best of his ability.
How does Tayo try to convince Amos to use his system?
Tayo meets Amos Garcia (Raul Castillo), who has his own deep-learning intelligence system. Taye asks to put it to good use in criminal justice reform. Initially, Amos does not consider it a wise investment since the mindless, selfish pursuit (like that of Mars travel by Elon Musk-like egotistic personalities) can be more lucrative. Taye tries to convince him otherwise – by noting how he and Amos have both been victims of racist prejudice. The existing system uses biases against them and is designed to make them fail. Taye wants to use Amos’s system to improve that situation.
Why were hostages in the synagogue poisoned?
Later, Tayo and Hour work together to rescue hostages from some masked terrorists in a synagogue. They manage to pin down both the assailants to save the innocent civilians. However, once the hostages get out of that place, they start collapsing one after the other. It dismays Taye, who was happy about the success of their system. He visits the place to learn that the hostages were dehydrated and were poisoned with arsenic. Taye figures the assailants wanted their terrorizing activities to be live-streamed and televised.
A still from Class of ’09 (Hulu Miniseries)Taye goes through the collected data about the synagogue killers. He tries to find a way to predict their next actions based on their past. Hour isn’t entirely sure how to approach this available data. However, Taye figures the assailants were gamers. They used to talk online about ways to kill their enemies by tricking them with gas. Hour believes it is risky to demonize gamers based on what they say in chats. It will be an entire database with no clear output. Taye firmly believes that they need to find a better way to use the available data.
How does Amos decide to tackle crime with his system?
Soon after, Amos arrives at Taye’s house with a gift. Amos agrees to help Taye and shares his belief that crime is binary. He decides to use his system to consider every citizen as a suspect in a crime rather than just the typical suspects. He thinks it is the way to consider everyone equal. While the data brings them much closer to determining a criminal, he says that an agent would have the final say.
How did Taye and Vivienne meet for the first time?
Back in the trainee days, the 2009 batch was taken to visit the National Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. Since a decision wasn’t finalized to take them to the MLK memorial, the counselors brought them to Martin Luther King’s childhood home. Dr. Vivienne McMann (Rosalind Eleazar), aka Taye’s future wife, was supposed to guide them on this tour. She was an esteemed civil rights attorney at the time.
Taye gets impressed by Vivienne’s unfearful conduct at MLK’s birth house and her way of speaking the truth. While Lennix and Poet contemplate their future together, Taye gets down from the bus to ask Vivienne out. It marked the beginning of their relationship.
In 2034, Poet inspects a female victim lying on a roadside. The police officers, who call her to the location, realize that she is the agent they rescued from the rubble (destructed FBI building). While they talk about it, Poet opens the lady’s bag to find a diary inside. She returns home and goes through the contents. It includes her daily entries where she wrote minute details from her life. While on a call with Lennix, Poet informs him about it. The officers’ words bring her back to the memories of the destruction.
Class of ’09 (Hulu Miniseries) Episode 5 Ending, Explained:
Why does Taye bring his batchmates to his office?
Lennix, Poet, Hour, and more agents from their Quantico batch get taken away to meet Taye. While they are not arrested, Taye wanted to warn them because of their skepticism toward his system. He wants them to stop their efforts to oppose it.
His batchmates question him about recent arrests. He reiterates how people are the ultimate problem – who were supposed to use the findings to make a sound judgment. Poet believes that Garcia wanted them to come together to fight against the system that is now, beyond control. She refuses to blindly follow Taye’s demands.
Senator Spenser (Rasool Jahan) questions Vivienne about Taye’s actions. At the time, she had separated from Taye. Since she does not want to betray his trust in her, she speaks nothing against him. Senator still poses a possibility of someone else being in charge instead of Taye.
How do Taye’s batchmates plan to make Taye reevaluate his method?
On the other hand, the batchmates gather to discuss how to stop Taye from pursuing his system. They decide to meet the senator since she is also critical of Taye’s method. They find it worrying that only he can oversee who gets arrested. So, they decide to investigate how the system reacts to being investigated.
They meet the senator at a church to share their plan. Then, they try to get a church minister arrested, who may never commit a crime but just fits the behavioral pattern that Taye’s system finds faulty. Taye sees it from the HQ but fails to stand down the drone. The ending hints at the beginning of Taye’s doubts about the system he claims to be just.
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Class of ’09 (Hulu Miniseries) Episode 5 Links: IMDb Wikipedia
Class of ’09 (Hulu Miniseries) Episode 5 Cast: Brian Tyree Henry, Kate Mara, Sepideh Moafi, Brian J. Smith, Isaiah Stratton
Where to watch Class of '09
