When Philip K. Dick wrote his original stories, this one in 1955, he could not have imagined the extent to which technology has become such a big part of our lives. In this episode, the government's Clearance Division has enlisted a 'Teep' to partner with a 'Normal' to identify subversives who might lead an uprising. Not unlike the government today pressuring a global company like Apple to unlock the phone of someone who's considered a terrorist. There comes a point though, when the honorable intentions can be turned against the very citizens it's purported to protect. That's when we get things like an 'Anti-Immunity' bill to provide cover for actions that might otherwise prove to be illegal. When you take all this into consideration, then who are the good guys and who are the bad guys? Unfortunately, this episode doesn't reach a resolution between the fate of the principal characters, or the larger question is appears to posit, that is, insuring an individual's freedom of thought. I don't think it gets easier from here.
Review of The Hood Maker
