Ep 2. The Prisoner's Dilemma

The second episode of Manhattan's first season, "The Prisoner's Dilemma," continues to follow the scientists and their families living in the top-secret town of Los Alamos during the Manhattan Project in the 1940s.

As tensions rise between the researchers, Frank Winter (played by John Benjamin Hickey) takes center stage in this episode, grappling with the ethical dilemma of whether or not to develop a devastating weapon of mass destruction. When Liza Winter (played by Olivia Williams) begins to worry that her husband may be putting himself in danger, she teams up with Helen Prins (played by Katja Herbers) to try and uncover what he's working on. Meanwhile, Charlie Isaacs (played by Ashley Zukerman) tries to reconcile with his wife, Abby (played by Rachel Brosnahan), who is still reeling from the revelation that he cheated on her.

This episode also introduces a new character, Fritz, a German-born physicist who is being held as a prisoner of war in Los Alamos. As the scientists debate what to do with Fritz, they begin to play a game of "Prisoner's Dilemma," a classic hypothetical scenario in which two people must choose whether to cooperate or betray each other for their own benefit. The prisoner's dilemma serves as a metaphor for the overarching theme of the episode: how far are these scientists willing to go to win the war, and at what cost?

"The Prisoner's Dilemma" is a tense episode that delves deeper into the moral complexities of the Manhattan Project. It continues to develop the various relationships and power dynamics within Los Alamos, and introduces new questions about the sociopolitical implications of the scientists' work. Overall, this episode is a fitting continuation of the series' exploration of what happens when scientific genius meets political and social pressures.