Pratik Handore
‘Class of ’09’ is a thriller series centering on Tayo Michaels, the FBI Director who relies on an Artificial Intelligence system that has taken over the day-to-day functioning of the FBI. The third episode diverges from its predecessors as it shies away from shedding more light on The Pasts of Tayo and Special Agent Ashley Poet. Instead, it focuses on The Present as Hour Nazari develops a powerful database that will eventually become the all-controlling AI used by Tayo in The Future. As the narrative unravels, we learn more about the motivations of Tayo, Hour. The challenges Poet faces while uncovering the conspiracy at the heart of the FBI form the ending of ‘Class of ’09’ episode 3! SPOILERS AHEAD!
Class of ’09 Episode 3 Recap
The third episode, titled ‘Thank You for Not Driving,’ opens in The Past as Poet and her classmates learn about the FBI’s history with cars and the bureau stressing its agents being competent drivers. Poet tries to master a difficult maneuver known as the J-Spin. After a few failed attempts, Poet succeeds in performing the J-Spin. In The Present, Tayo Michaels continues hunting down extremist separatist leader Mark Tupirik. Tayo tracks Mark to a remote ranch but reaches a dead end when the leader has fled the site. In The Future, Poet goes to meet Hour after receiving a flash drive from Amos Garcia moments before he was shot dead by the FBI.
Poet is surprised to learn that Hour is living a quiet family life in the countryside. Later, Poet and Hour discuss the comprehensive crime-fighting database Hour had created for the FBI. We learn that Garcia was the one who stole Hour’s system and used it for entirely different reasons. However, Hour is still bitter about Poet not helping her when she first realizes the dangers of the system she had created. Furthermore, Hour was in love with Poet, which complicated things for Poet. Hour reluctantly accepts to help Poet as she knows about the system better than anyone else. In The Present, we see Hour’s system – Better Life – as she explai’09its benefits to Poet.
Hour’s plan for Better Life is for the database she created to be a useful tool for the FBI as it computes real-time knowledge and intel gathered by all the FBI Agents into a singular library that any agent can access at any given point in time. However, the FBI is reluctant to adopt Better Life as a part of its operation, which displeases Poet. She voices her disappointment to Lennix, who does not support Hour’s system. However, Poet quickly realizes that Lennix is planning to shut down Hour’s experiment and uses her to manage Hour’s emotions to stop her from using the database against the FBI.
Hour gives a presentation to the FBI highlighting the benefits of Better Life. However, Lennix shuts down the program, and Hour is forced to break the news to her developers. Meanwhile, Tayo struggles to find Mark Tupirik, who is evading capture by carefully concealing his whereabouts. Furthermore, his men threaten Tayo by attacking his wife, Viv. However, Viv survives the attack, but it makes Tayo desperate to catch the separatist leader, who is no less than a terrorist in Tayo’s eyes. Tayo succeeds in catching a suspect with ties to Tupirik. The suspect refuses to speak up and reveal any information that will help the FBI stop Tupirik’s impending attack on the agency.
At a party, Hour reveals she knew the FBI had sent Poet to spy on her. Poet asks Hour about her plans after her project was shut down. Hour contemplates quitting the FBI, but her conversation with Poet is shut down by a call from Tayo, who hasn’t spoken to her in years. Tayo wants to know everything about Better Life, hoping it will help him locate Tupirik. Hour agrees to help Tayo despite using Better Life in an active investigation being unauthorized by the FBI. As a result, Poet is tasked with convincing Hour to avert the use of Better Life. However, Hour is determined to showcase the capability of her database, which successfully locates Tupirik hiding in a construction company’s truck.
Class ’09 Episode 3 Ending: What Is In the Card For?
In the episode’s final act, Tayo catches Tupirik and interrogates him. However, Tupirik insists that his capture will not affect the outcome of his ultimate plan. Therefore, it is evident that Tayo will have to make more efforts to thwart Tupirik’s plan, meaning he might turn to Better Life once more, explaining his championing of the system in the future. On the other hand, The Future sees Poet trying to make sense of Amos Garcia’s final moments before his death as he was trying to tell her something. Although Poet is initially unable to make the connection, she realizes that Garcua’s death is connected to Better Life, which has taken over nearly every aspect of the FBI and the agents’ life.
The episode’s final moments see Poet trying to uncover the truth behind Garcia’s death and recollect the card he gave her before his death. Poet visits the house where Garcia was killed and finds a room filled with computer screens. In the room, Poet finds an empty slot where she inserts the card, leading her to a video of Garcia. The video reveals that the FBI’s system for catching criminals and protecting their actions works without human input. It has developed to a level where it has a mind of its own and can operate without human intervention. Ultimately, the episode’s ending confirms the long-standing theory about the pitfalls of using an Artificial intelligence system in criminal justice space and how it takes over nearly every aspect of the FBI. As a result, Poet must find a way to convince Tayo about the dangers of the system and shut it down for good.
Read More: Class ’09 Episode 1 and 2 Recap and Ending, Explained
