It’s always amusing to see how TV shows incorporate their setting into the main storyline. I’m not talking about shows where the setting is a main character, but ones that find interesting ways to establish where the characters live and how it affects their day-to-day. In “Harper,” Cupertinoaddresses one of the defining aspects of the Bay Area circa 2026—a perpetual snarl of traffic congestion—with a huge chunk of the episode taking place on U.S. 101, where <a href="https://comicvibe.com/michael-b-jordan-and-austin-butler-make-blink-and-youll-miss-em-cameos-on-snl/” title=”Michael B. Jordan and Austin Butler make blink-and-you’ll-miss-em cameos on “SNL””>Michael and Olivia are stranded on an interminable commute while arguing a time-sensitive case over Zoom. Expect a lotof honking throughout.
“Harper” has many fascinating aspects; we never meet the titular Price, Siffre, & Associates client, for example. And yet, Cupertinomakes us care about Harper Gervin. After years on the liver-transplant list, the 27-year-old is finally on deck to receive a life-saving organ donation, much to the relief of her mom and her roommate, Christy. But just before the surgery, Harper gets bumped down the list in favor of an older man, a wealthy VC exec named Albert Ensler. And thus begins a “Who deserves to get this liver?” battle pitting Michael and Olivia against Albert’s attorney, Ry (welcome back, Steven Pasquale). However, this trio, as well as the judge assigned to the dispute, are all stuck in traffic on the way to the courthouse in their respective cars/cabs.
With waiting for in-person arguments out of the question— the liver is only viable for four more hours—the case goes remote, which is reminiscent of watching viral courtroom videos during COVID-19 lockdown. Luckily (or not?), no one uses a cat filter or is driving with a suspended license—although the judge does accidentally hail an UberX Share, spending most of his ride alongside a young man whose girlfriend is breaking up with him. (Ry, for his part, keeps getting interrupted by his Waymo.) Christy is the only one running around at the hospital, talking to doctors and people in charge, while comforting Harper’s mom and trying to keep her own emotions in check. One of my favorite things about Cupertinois just how fast Ella Stiller has settled into this role, her ability to pull off a snarky look or remark even in the wildest situations.
Olivia is riding with her brother, Jacob (Gilles Geary), after picking him up from the airport. He might be visiting her, but Jacob’s also in town to finally meet Angela, his long-distance girlfriend who lives in the East African country of Burundi, builds houses for orphans, and frequently takes money from Jacob to do so. In other words: Angela doesn’t exist, and Jacob has fallen for an online scam, but he refuses to believe his sister when she tells him that. Nothing convinces him it’s a ruse, not even Vik confirming that the photos of “Angela” that Jacob has are AI-generated.
Meanwhile, Michael’s stuck with Nichole in her car because she sprung a surprise breakfast visit on him. Nichole wants her ex’s advice on whether she should leave her East Coast job and accept the new role she was offered at a boutique West Coast firm that works primarily for the Magnificent Seven. This upscale law firm, with only eight total lawyers, is impressed by how Nichole can stand up in court against Michael and Olivia. And this is how we learn that Price, Siffre, & Associates have already frightened a lot of Big Tech companies. Nichole’s recruitment is a preemptive move for whenever Michael and Olivia come knocking.
I like that Cupertinoprovides some crucial insight into its protagonist’s relationships amid the wonderful stuck-in-traffic gimmick. It’s clear that, for the longest time, Oli her growing up). With all this time away in California, she’s toughened up to the realities of life. Unlike Jacob, she instantly thinks something is wrong with Angela and digs her heels into the problem—all while being stuck in a car and fighting a case!
“Harper” also shows us that, despite their professional rivalry, Michael and Nichole have a connection that’s hard to sever—they were engaged to each other, after all. It speaks volumes that even now, she sought him out about the job offer. Sure, part of it was so that she could convince him to drop his anti-Big Tech mission, saying that he has a romantic notion of heroism and how his ragtag crew thinks they can make justice prevail. She might be right, but thankfully, Michael has enough conviction to power through.
As for the “Who should get the liver?” debate, it spices up when Christy learns from Harper’s surgeon that the hospital uses AI to determine who should get an organ—something that’s deemed cutting-edge technology. Michael and Olige that in most cases, an algorithm cannot decide this beyond just external factors. Of course, AI doesn’t have the on-the-ground, emotional context that doctors will possess
However, an even more nefarious game is afoot. When someone from the organ transplantation network appears, they reveal that AI chose Harper, notAlbert, to receive the liver. It means someone—a human—decided to ignore what the algorithm said and prioritized Albert getting the organ. But why? Christy’s investigations in the hospital lead her to the chief doctor, whose just-fired assistant comes in handy. She reveals that her boss was essentially paid off by the Ensler Foundation, which promised to make a donation for cancer research if Albert got the liver. So ultimately, the organ goes to and likely saves Harper’s life.
I can appreciate that Cupertinowants to consistently remind us that AI isn’t all magic, and that it can be used in several disturbing ways detrimental to society. But “Harper” also conveys that, well, everyone makes bad choices and hurts each other in the process. People are responsible for their actions, but at least in a procedural way, the messiness can end with a comforting group hug like the one shared by Harper’s mom, Christy, Michael, and Olivia.
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Nichole visits the boutique firm that offers her a job, and everyone’s vibe in there is very chic New Age. Also, there are a ton of dogs in that office.
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Ry brings in a biophysicist as his pro-AI expert witness, only for her to reveal that she’s currently with a nudist community at Burning Man. Now that feels very Silicon Valley as well.
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My favorite comedic shot of this episode is when the organ transplant network guy walks into a very empty, silent courtroom, only to realize that everyone else has tuned in
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At one point, Ry brings up the fact that Oliupertinoremembers the chemistry that Rachel Keller and Nik Dodani shared back in episode two
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“I need to find a bathroom, or Noah’s going to need to build another Ark”
Saloni Gajjar isThe A.V. Club‘s TV critic.
