Brave New World Episode 4 pushes the series in the right direction

The fourth episode of Peacock’s Brave New World, “Swallow,” successfully raises the stakes of the series when it needs it most.

Peacock’s bold original series finds its footing in its fourth installment, leaving the savagery of the past behind and fully embracing the actual Brave New World we’ve been waiting to explore. We see a lot of it through John’s eyes, who it ends up could be an Alpha, and maybe even a very rare Alpha Exotic.

But John’s integration into New London society is hard on him, particularly since the death of his mother Linda is still raw. Bernard is put in charge of guiding John through the ordeal but loses track of him while gloating about driving an auto car in the Savage Lands.

Free from his caretaker, John explores an Epsilon-level cafeteria. The Epsilon involved with the fall in the pilot offers him his cube food and seems very curious to know more about the outsider. But before he can ask more questions, the Director arrives and gives orders for John to be escorted back where he came from. In the process, it’s confirmed that the Director is indeed John’s father. After the two scuffle, the Director falls to his death.

Meanwhile, Lenina is not adjusting well after the traumatic ordeal in the Savage Land. Bernard tells her to forget it ever happened, but now she can’t help but question everything, listening to John’s music player over and over. Later, she purposely doesn’t designate an embryo at her job, indicating she may be reconsidering whether a society that designates everyone’s role right from birth is the right one.

Elsewhere, Bernard is not believed when he tries to inform others about the connection between the Savage and the Director. Instead, his reasoning is brought into question, suggesting he is not fit for his duties. Whatever happens next, we don’t know, because everyone is distracted by hundreds of feeds start broadcasting John, who remember has just killed the Director. Something is very amiss in New London. Bernard tracks him down and offers him a pill which John the Savage swallows, numbing all the feelings away.

Now that John’s “fish out of water” arc is fully underway, Alden Ehrenreich is loosening up and showing us what he can do as an actor; this was his best episode yet. Now that he drank the Brave New World Kool-Aid, it will be interesting to see how he takes to the emotionless, isolated, pill-popping lifestyle.

The Director’s final moments felt like they were competing with Robocop for the worst CGI of a character falling to their death. The visual effects for the series are pretty on par with other big shows, but moments like that are a painful reminder to audiences that this is no Westworld.

Bernard and Lenina continue to be the highlights of the show. Bernard’s apparent rise to power and Lenina’s lack of faith in the system will undoubtedly provide some exiting conflict down the line.

Getting to this point in the series has been a tough pill to swallow, but it is showing signs of improvement. Episode 4 was a definite turning point for Brave New World, and now we can really see how it plans to stand out from the competition.

Episode Grade: Beta Plus

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