Tamal Kundu
Created by Dennis Heaton and Shelley Eriksen, Netflix’s ‘The Imperfects’ is not an ordinary science fiction series. At times, it dabbles in horror, then mystery, action-adventure, and romance, before circling back to science fiction once more. The series revolves around Tilda Webber (Morgan Taylor Campbell), Abbi Singh (Rhianna Jagpal), and Juan Ruiz (Iñaki Godoy) — three seemingly ordinary young adults whose extra-ordinary traits come to the fore when they stop taking certain pills. This prompts them to embark on a journey to find the man who gave them these abilities in the first place.
When the first season of ‘The Imperfects’ ends, it puts forth more questions than answers. One such question has to involve Dr. Hallenbeck, the mysterious scientist that Dr. Sydney Burke (Italia Ricci) speaks to over a video call in the season finale. Here is everything you need to know about him. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Dr. Hallenbeck: Unveiling the Puppet Master
Dr. Hallenbeck doesn’t make an appearance until the very last episode of the first season of ‘The Imperfects.’ Given the way Burke (or rather, Isabel Finch, as she is the one in control at this point) acts towards Hallenbeck, he might be her superior within the hierarchy of Flux and even mentor.
The bigger revelation starts to come after we see the first shot of Hallenbeck, who looks like an older version of Alex Sarkov (Rhys Nicholson), the scientist responsible for Tilda, Abbi, and Juan gaining their abilities. In the conversation between Burke/Finch and Hallenbeck, it becomes clear that Sarkov is a product of an experiment, though the man himself has no idea about it. Hallenbeck created him through cloning and genetic engineering as a super genius, so he would be able to solve the impending crisis that Sarkov mentions to Tilda and Juan earlier in the season.
According to Sarkov, a complex relationship exists between rapid degradation of the human genome, expansion of the human population, and climate crisis. Before the industrial revolution, there was a balance in the progression of human evolution and climate change. However, in the past couple of hundred years, Climate change has rapidly escalated, while human evolution has stalled. This is AGDS, the condition that the three protagonists had. Sarkov believes that the situation is so dire that humanity will be the first species in history to cause its own extinction. He believes that the superior race of humanity he is creating will be able to withstand whatever nature throws at it.
It seems that these are the beliefs of Hallenbeck as well, and he created Sarkov to solve this issue. It appears that Burke has been working with Hallenbeck for a long time and reported to him while she collaborated with Sarkov. However, Sarkov’s actions only became more erratic and unpredictable as time progressed, making Hallenbeck wary of his own creation.
In the season finale, Hallenbeck gives one more chance to Sarkov through Burke. When it seems that Burke has formed an attachment to Sarkov, Hallenbeck reminds her that he advised her not to form connections with her subjects. Right now, an interesting dynamic exists between Sarkov, Burke/Finch, and Hallenbeck. Sarkov knows that Burke is actually Finch but doesn’t know that he himself has been created through genetic engineering. Hallenbeck knows Sarkov’s origin but doesn’t know that Finch has taken over Burke’s body. Burke/Finch knows both and holds almost all the cards.
Read More: Do Abbi, Juan, or Tilda Die The Imperfects?
