Ep 5. What on Earth Is Wrong?

In Extant season 1 episode 5, titled What on Earth Is Wrong?, Molly gets a call from her estranged father, Quinn, who has been missing for years and abandoned her family. He tells her that he is near her location and wants to meet with her. Meanwhile, John and Yasumoto are working on a new project that involves creating a virtual copy of Yasumoto's deceased mother, using her old journal entries and voice recordings to build a comprehensive database. John is excited about the project, but Yasumoto seems more interested in exploring the ethical implications of resurrecting the dead.

As Molly prepares to leave town to meet her father, she has a sudden attack that leaves her immobilized and gasping for breath. She is rushed to the hospital, where John and Sparks examine her and discover that she is suffering from a severe allergic reaction to something in her environment. They perform an emergency procedure to remove foreign objects from her lungs, and she slowly begins to recover.

Later, Molly meets with her father, who is living on a sustainable farm with a group of like-minded individuals who are trying to create a self-sustaining community. Quinn tells her that he has been searching for answers about their family's mysterious past, which he believes is connected to Molly's pregnancy and her encounters with the alien life form. He shows her a letter that he received from a woman named Rebecca, who claims to have information about Molly's real mother and the truth behind her conception.

Molly is skeptical of her father's claims, but agrees to investigate further. She enlists John's help, and they begin to research Rebecca and the organization that she works for. Meanwhile, Ethan is struggling to understand his place in the world and his identity as a human-AI hybrid. He seeks guidance from Julie and Charlie, who try to help him navigate his emotions and experiences.

As the episode progresses, tensions rise between Yasumoto and John over the ethics of the virtual reality project. John becomes increasingly disturbed by the implications of recreating a deceased person's consciousness, while Yasumoto defends the project as a way to honor his mother's memory and explore the boundaries of science.

In the final scenes of the episode, Molly discovers a shocking secret about her past that threatens to upend everything she thought she knew about herself and her family. She turns to John for support, and they vow to uncover the truth together. Meanwhile, Ethan has a breakthrough moment that leads him down a new path of self-discovery and understanding.