At first blush, Reverie appeared to be a beneficial idea, whether a client used it for escapism or therapy.

But more of the dark side of the Reverie program became apparent to Mara on Reverie Season 1 Episode 4.

Now we learned about dark Reveries, which are apparently a thing on, yup, you guessed it, the Dark Web.

So there are limitations about what can and can't be included in a Reverie. Paul's explanation about that was fairly vague, but it's encouraging to know there are rules.

Glenn Maybach bought the stolen BCI to steal an experimental drug for his young, dying neighbor. That seems like a selfless act to me. He was doing this for the greater good. How does that qualify as a dark Reverie?

Glenn was a winning character. He struggled with agoraphobia and compulsions. Yet the coder wanted to find a way to help out Liz, to whom he felt attracted, and her son Quincy. Reverie gave him a way to leave his home.

To be more precise, Reverie gave him a way to plan his heist. He just had to get past all his compulsions if he had any hope of pulling it off.

Getting through to Glenn gave Mara to use her greatest skill -- empathy. She drew on her history to remember a childhood compulsion so that she could connect with him.

Charlie sure couldn't bond with Glenn, who made him stand outside while he talked with Mara. Charlie's trying to find out what was going on violated Glenn's space and caused him to flee.

Still, Charlie did come through for Glenn in the end. He convinced Monica to sell the drug-company CEO that Glenn was testing their security when he took the drugs. That led to Quincy getting a spot in the experimental drug trial.

I like the new character, Oliver Hill. He's added some much-needed tension to the series.

Oliver was able to confuse Mara since Charlie, Alexis and Paul have been dribbling out information to her.

She found out about derealizations only because she started experiencing them before anybody told her what she was risking.

Now it was dark Reveries, with a subculture interested in Reveries outside the permitted boundaries of the program.

Then there's the mystery of who is investing in Reverie and why.

No wonder Mara blew up at Charlie. She's been working mainly in the dark since she got to Onira-Tech. And since she's the person who has to rescue clients stuck in Reverie, it would be nice to know how it all works.

Paul has been reasonably forthcoming because the possibilities of Reverie excites him. Charlie knows much more than he is revealing, but I believe that he does have Mara's back, especially if it doesn't conflict with the big picture. Alexis offers up anything grudgingly.

It's a good thing that Mara thinks well on her feet. She's been able to fill in some details on her own.

Unfortunately, Mara's uncertainty about Onira-Tech made her a more straightforward target for Oliver.

Oliver got on Mara's good side by rescuing her from an oncoming car. Then he provided her with information about Onira-Tech and Reverie 2.0 that only insiders should know, but some of which she hasn't yet been told.

Dylan supplying the bare minimum about Oliver and Charlie and Alexis ducking her questions about him didn't reassure Mara, although Charlie later did his best to reassure her.

At least, although it was hard for her, Alexis opened up to Mara and told her all about her relationship with Oliver, from a promising beginning to its crushing end.

I think Alexis' confession, combined with the brain scans that Paul showed Mara, convinced her that Oliver wasn't to be trusted.

Charlie's visit to Oliver was meant to scare him away from Onira-Tech and its personnel. But Oliver is off his meds, which makes him, well, I think the technical term is cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs.

The fact that Oliver offered the security guard $30,000 to steal a BCI showed that he isn't planning just to go away. So now, in addition to recalcitrant clients, Mara is going to have to become aware that Oliver may be lurking in the program.

Between Oliver, the unknown motivations of Reverie's investors, and her derealizatrons, it promises to be a bumpy ride for Mara for the rest of Reverie Season 1.