Broadly speaking, there are two areas of particular interest in this episode, one being the philosophical quandaries relating to and societal ramifications of this technology, and secondly the legal aspects. The potential downsides of the former seem obvious (although they escaped Renee), so I will focus primarily on the latter in this post. This album is a bit more law-centered than some of the others, something fans of "Blind Justice" and "A Victim of Circumstance" should appreciate.
Renee exploited her status as an intern to carry out her own agenda by "borrowing" a piece of his proprietary, trade secret technology, and carrying out experiments with it on a live subject, in Whit's End, all without either having or asking permission (probably because she knew all along that he wouldn't approve). This is already dubious, but Mr. Whittaker seemed to be willing to let it go with the equivalent of a 'cease-and-desist' warning. Afterwards, she, in my estimation, demonstrates dangerous ignorance of intellectual property rights laws.
Renee has the idea that, although she cannot directly use Mr. Whittaker's technology, she can go and implement her own version of it. She then tops it off by deciding to look at his schematics for reference. The former is already on shaky grounds, because Mr. Whittaker could very well argue that as a worker at Whit's End, Renee had access to information that she never would have come up with on her own. (After all, Horus is not unintelligent, and he felt he was at a dead end.) I think the latter, however, makes her behavior indefensible.
Maybe there is a difference between the laws that regulate software and hardware (although given the nature of the technology, I think the former would likely be applicable anyway). But I know that when you work with software, you have to be careful about how you handle replicating someone else's code, especially when it hasn't even been released. If Renee disassembled the hardware and software of a commercial product that Mr. Whittaker had been selling to the public, wrote a guide about how it works, and gave that guide to Horus so that he could write his own version (without having ever seen the original), she would probably be safe. But as-is, Renee's attempted actions seem best described as industrial espionage. Connie and Eugene were arguably fired for less, and in most cases, Renee would have faced civil and/or criminal consequences. The fact that he ends up hiring Renee as a full-time employee right after this shows what some might call a "reckless forgiveness". Mr. Whittaker can forgive and hire whoever he wants, and it isn't my purpose to question his judgement in that respect, but to point out that this was not a small affair. Rather than being grumpy, angry, or mean, Mr. Whittaker is actually unusually calm and lenient, by any reasonable standard.
From a production standpoint, I thought the episode was mostly fine. Ms. Pemberton had been doing a good job and losing her is disappointing, but the new actress is close enough not to be too jarring. As far as adult casting changes go, it is probably an above-average match, one of the better ones they've done. By the end of the episode, I can barely tell the difference.
I'm not sure they explained the backstory with her professor, Lebernis, sufficiently to people who have never had the Club. It is certainly a compelling and powerful point, given Renee's background, that helps drive home how she's gone astray, but if I didn't already know what had happened, I think I would feel like Jason in "Moving Targets" - "Who's Glossman?"
Although Whit might be a bit more forgiving here than he was in early episodes, I don't think we would have experienced any of the controversies that have plagued the show over the last few years if they consistently wrote him this way. His views on technology and children are in line with virtually all of his portrayals earlier in the show. It is also interesting how poised he is here, even when Renee nearly asks 'how can he be so stupid'. It contrasts with his previous episode, "Game Night", where he explodes after a prolonged interrogation from Jason, Jillian and Wooton. I suppose he lets his guard down with those he considers his close friends, while Renee is not in that inner circle.
I have no particular complaints or comments to make regarding Horus or Trey Calhoun at this moment, but that may change in the future.