Spoilers roundup for the first eight episodes of season two

Okay, if you're on Twitter, some of this won't be news.

Spoilers after the jump.

2x01 Wake-Up Call

After Syfy's last two press releases and the pictures posted earlier today, there isn't really much left to spoil about the season premiere (yes, there is), so here are the relevant bits in case you were skimming:

Season 2 picks up eight months after last year's finale with the stage set for an explosive turn of events at the Binghamton facility (the Guantanamo of the Alpha world) that could have devastating, far-reaching consequences. Dr. Lee Rosen (Emmy Award-winner and Academy Award-nominee David Strathairn), having exposed the existence of Alphas to the unsuspecting public, finds himself discredited and imprisoned by a government desperate to cover up his revelation. The rest of the core team has disbanded and some, without Rosen's guidance and care, have regressed to their old, destructive ways. They must now battle their individual demons in order to reunite and try to save their own.

The press release about Erin Way joining gave away a major plot point for 2x01 and the setup for the rest of the season (no alphas were released from Binghamton in the season one finale):

Led by preeminent neurologist and psychiatrist Dr. Lee Rosen this unlikely team takes on cases the CIA, FBI and Pentagon are unwilling or unable to solve and go head-to-head with many of the criminal Alphas released from the Binghamton facility in last season’s finale episode.

One of the several new recurring characters shows up in the season opener.

Mr. Scipio, played by Elias Toufexis, is one of the Binghamton alphas who will be giving the team a headache throughout the season. Here is what he told Unfinished Man in an interview last month:

I play one of the bad guys in a bunch of episodes in season 2. I’m having a great time. Great bunch of people. Alphas is kind of a mix of Heroes and CSI. The team (which I intend to destroy!) has minor powers that they use mostly for crime solving. It’s a great concept with a great cast and crew.

The good news is, the writers seem to be more committed to their bad guys this season. They keep Scipio alive at least until episode 2x07, even if he burns a few people's faces off here and there.

Dylan Smith plays his buddy Ted Asher, an alpha who can detect people's weak spots and, er, punch anything and anyone into submission.

Alex Paxton-Beesley plays Meg, an alpha who likes to play with electricity (and gets caught in time for the group shot). She plays a major role in how the episode unfolds.

Adriano Sobretodo Jr. plays Unassuming Man, a member of Meg's gang of thugs.

John Boylan plays the Warden of Binghamton.

No word on who the other new guest stars are in 201, but the most important ones are pretty much covered. Returning guest stars are John Pyper-Ferguson as Stanton Parish, Kathleen Munroe as Danielle Rosen, Mahershalalhashbaz Ali as Nathan Clay and Daniel Kash as Mr. Pirzad.

2x02 The Quick and the Dead

If you've read the snippet from the new interview with Bruce Miller, you already know about Hicks and Danielle Rosen hooking up. This episode delves a bit into their relationship.

Guest characters in 2x02 include Eli Aquino, an alpha who can move very quickly and carries around a grudge, his old doctor Lance Casey, a newly widowed Caroline Westman, and Clinton, a DoD analyst who gets on Gary's bad side.

C. Thomas Howell guest stars. He posted a few photos from the set on Twitter last month. No official word on his character yet, but he probably plays Eli. You can find more pics here, here and here.

2x03 Alpha Dogs

Erin Way did a really great interview for the In My Pajamas podcast a few weeks ago. You can listen to it on Blog Talk Radio. Among other things, she said that Kat gets introduced in this episode.

"Alpha Dogs" also introduces the first character backstory told in flashbacks (Stanton Parish) and a new recurring character. Fans of John Pyper-Ferguson will definitely be geeking out at some of the references, assuming the script hasn't been changed in the meantime.

The new recurring guy is called John Bennett and he is the new head of Tactical. (In case you're panicking: as of 2x08, Nathan Clay is alive and well.)

Other guest characters include Dr. Zachary Harrison, a doctor who treats Parish for a minor injury, Matt Seidel, a fight promoter, and a bunch of fighters with special abilities (Bruiser, Super-Flex, Kung Fu Guy, Fighter). Another character who gets mentioned quite a bit in the audition scenes is Bazevich, an alpha (ex-Binghamton) Rachel and Bennett are trying to track down.

IMDB only has two guest stars listed so far: Simon Northwood, as Bruiser and Jason Gosbee as Jack Duffy. They both did some stunt work on the show in season one. Scott A. Cavalheiro and Spud Jones also appear in the episode. They mentioned it on Twitter at the time.

You can find a pic from the set (Tactical guys in action) here.

2x04 When Push Comes to Shove

Nina gets a backstory in flashbacks in this one. The episode is a culmination of a new character arc for Nina that will sit better with some fans than with others.

Casting calls went out for Tommy (Nina's old boyfriend), young Nina and Tommy, and Nina's mom and dad among other characters.

Morgan Kelly plays the older Tommy and Rian Michelsen the teenage version.

2x05 Gaslight

"Gaslight" is as close to horror as the show has gotten so far.

In the less horrory part of the episode, we'll meet Hicks' ex-wife Patty and son Tyler.

Other guest characters include Adam Gordon, an alpha who starts seeing dead people come to life, a Rabbi, and two characters who appear in episode 2x07 as well: a 16-year-old alpha called Jason and Charlotte Burton, a New York Senator.

Gage Munroe plays Hicks Jr. He will show up in at least one more episode (2x08).

2x06 Alphaville

As the title says, the team finds a community of alphas in this episode. They filmed it in the woods somewhere. No cell phone signals for Gary.

Guest characters include Skylar Adams (Summer Glau) and her daughter, Alphaville founder Claude, an alpha called Benji who has the same ability as Rachel, Gower, another alpha who likes to play with electricity, and Bip & Tricia, Mr. Scipio's new friends.

Summer-Glau.net has posted an extended clip from Summer's Q&A at Supanova Melbourne last month. Among other things, she talked about what she was looking forward to exploring in season two:



2x07 Gods and Monsters

Another major episode for Stanton Parish. Can't give details without spoiling too much, but he and Rosen have themselves a nice chat in this one.

Guest characters include Jason, the young alpha from 2x05, a bunch of his school mates who start behaving strangely, and Senator Burton again.

Here is a nice shot of David Strathairn on the set of 2x07 the other day:

2x08 Falling

Casting calls went out for Dylan, a guy from Kat's past, Dylan's friend April, little Dani, one of Clay's two sons, Shelley & Tony, two twentysomethings living dangerously, and Mrs. Dolan, Tony's mother. I don't think they've started filming this one yet.

Last (because I am not sure in which episode this happens), Azita Ghanizada mentioned that there was a love scene coming up for Rachel. I'm guessing probably somewhere between episodes 2x03 and 2x07.

All right, that wraps it up for the first eight episodes. Will post info for 2x09 if/when I have it.