LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: The new FX on Hulu show, ‘Class of '09’ raises an intriguing question on morality through one of its characters. Amy Poet played by Kate Mara is your average straightforward yet sharp and highly moralistic FBI agent but before her is a man who trained with her at Quantico and leads the bureau in the show’s futuristic timeline of 2034. He is Tayo Miller. Created by Tom Rob Smith of ‘London Spy' fame, ‘Class of ’09’ is a slow-burn detective show that has Artificial Intelligence at the center. What’s missing from the show until now is a “heart.” Told through three timelines of past, present, and future, the most enthralling has been watching Tayo stand his ground as the director of the FBI in 2034.
Tayo, Poet, Lennix, and Hour were Quantico batchmates in 2009 where Poet was known for her empathy, Lennix for his political lineage, and Hour as an Iranian immigrant with a sob story. However, it was Tayo’s childhood memory that shaped his life and drew him to join the FBI. While introducing himself in the first episode before the trainers, Tayo shared his previous experience of working in insurance and stated that the injustice he wants to fix can only be done while wearing an FBI badge. But are Tayo’s motives pure to join the domestic intelligence agency?
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Tayo is a Black man in modern day America
Tayo is fighting hard to pass the physical test at Quantico back in 2009 which includes completing a run in a given amount of time. All of his peers can pull through but Tayo fails in this endeavor. He struggles with the same problems of bullying that he did at school but Poet comforts him with her kindness. Tayo then opens up about his past and his true reason to join the FBI. He reveals he was once beaten by a cop for being “black” for no reason and since then, he’s made a vow to fix this system by joining the FBI.
At the beginning of the second episode, Tayo takes an agent to confront a white supremacist who Tayo believes might cause trouble in the future. Tayo and the agent are shot at when they’re leaving and the agent with her suffers multiple injuries. Tayo’s intentions are clear — he wants to end crime before it even happens. This is the hook that pulls him and makes him the director of the FBI in the futuristic timeline of 2034 in the show.
AI is the tool to understand Tayo’s vision
When a Senator confronts Tayo about a boy being arrested without a specific reason, Tayo defends the technology used in arresting by stating that the AI doesn’t differentiate between anyone. He stands his ground and decides to continue using the technology despite a Senate hearing which asked for justification in the past. Tayo is on the right side of the law but his questionable methods to achieve the grand vision of a crime-less world will have major repercussions on the people around him and the FBI.